e2o vs Nano vs Alto - Small hatchback shootout!

By Johnson

My older post - E2O Vs Swift, Alto, WagonR, i10, Santro, Nano,  has become very popular here, so i decided to make a spinoff post, comparing the small and popular petrol/CNG based hatchbacks against the electric flagship Mahindra e2o
Ideally we do not recommend comparing an electric car with the cheapest category of petrol cars, as electric cars have lots of features not available even in sedans!
But lets take a stab at this just to satisfy people out there and for the fun of it!

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We look at various features of the 5 cars that are compared :

• Tata Nano CNG eMAX - (CNG + Petrol)
• Tata Nano GenX AMT - (Petrol)
• Maruti Alto K10 VXI AGS - (Petrol)
• Maruti Alto K10 LXI CNG - (CNG + Petrol)
• Mahindra e2o T20 - (Electricity)

Parameter	Nano CNG eMAX	Nano GenX (XTA)	Alto K10 VXI AGS	Alto K10 LXI CNG	E2O T20	Winner (Scores)
Mumbai Price (rounded)	2,50,000	3,20,000	4,30,000	3,80,000	5,12,808	NANO (1) Not only is the CNG NANO low cost to buy but it is also low to use. The low cost of operation of this car almost make one feel like having an electric car. CNG is a fuel that one can make at home in a bio digester.  CNG as a fuel is far safer than LPG. Obviously the biggest discouraging factor of the e2o seem to be the price.  But then with electric cars, one must always look at the long term cost of ownership, which is always low.
Warranty	4 Yrs	4 Yrs	2Yrs	2Yrs	3 yrs	Nano (2) offers twice the period of other cars.
Fuel	CNG + Petro	Petrol	Petrol	CNG + Petrol	Electric	Nano (3) & Alto (1).  CNG + Petrol – Dual fuel is better than single fuel. In EV full Electric is better than Hybrid but then due to non-availability of Charging points this becomes a problem for longer trips. Electric cars need charging points and as of now there are few along the roads. But hopefully more charging points will keep appearing in future.
Mileage (kmpL)	36 & 25	21	24	32 & 24	120	e2o (1) can reach 120 kms per charge.
Fuel Capacity	4.5 Kg CNG +15 Liters	25 Liters	35 Liters	9 Kg CNG +35 Liters	10 kWh	Alto (2) has the highest capacity
Total Range (km)	537	525	840	1128	120	Awesome range combined with higher speed make Alto (3) the best small car for long distance travel. Meaning on one full tank of CNG & Petrol, I can almost drive from Pune to Kerala!
Cost of traveling 1,000 Kms	Rs 2,426 Dual fuel Rs 1194 CNG	Rs 3,523	Rs 3,083	Rs 2,639 Dual Fuel Rs 1,343 CNG	Rs 500 Rs 0 (Solar)	e2o (2) Amazing! Car traveling at the price of a bike!!! While if one uses only CNG as fuel then the Nano comes second. Even better charge the e2o from the power of the Sun and you can travel for free!
Parameter	Nano CNG eMAX	Nano GenX (AMT)	Alto K10 VXI AGS	Alto K10 LXI CNG	E2O T20	Winner
Width	1750	1750	1475	1475	1514	Nano (4) has a huge 300mm more width and also has more space inside the car. Alto is pathetic in this aspect.
Wheelbase	2230	2230	2360	2360	1958	Alto (4) – superior handling due to longer wheelbase
Ground Clearance	180	180	160	160	180	Nano (5) & e2o (3)
Turning Radius	4 m	4 m	4.6 m	4.6 m	3.9 m	e2o (4) Easier to park than a Nano!
Brakes F/R	Drum/Drum	Drum/Drum	Disc/Drum	Disc/Drum	Disc/Drum +Regen	e2o (5) Scores due to regen feature.
Fog Lamps	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Nano (6) Fog Lamps are not of much use in the fog but more useful during daily night time driving for more illumination especially in interior areas without streetlights. Great to have it especially for the long distance driver.
Seating Quality & Comfort	Average	Average	Average	Average	Average	The Seat Quality of all are similar. Nano (7) has greater Knee & leg space for rear passengers.
Dashboard	Average	Average	Good	Good	Best	e2o (6) wins due to the Navigation System and the Digital Speedometer. Although one can use their Smartphone as a navigation device, the availability of an onboard one is really convenient.
Boot space	OK	OK	Good	Good	OK	Alto (5) strangely seem to have more boot space. But once the rear seats are folded down all of them have almost similar area. e2o has the flattest floor area!
Alloy Wheels	No	Option	No	No	Yes	e2o (7) Alloy wheels make the vehicle look good and sporty. It’s a must have for all cars.
Connectivity	No	No	No	No	Yes	e2o (8) is an very clever car,  with smartphone integration and personal webpage, you are always connected to your car.
Rear Camera	No	No	No	No	Yes	e2o (9) Enough said. Even many sedans don't offer parking assist rear camera!
Touch Screen + Inbuilt GPS Navigation	No	No	No	No	Yes	e2o (10) has no competition here.

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Winner
The Mahindra e2o wins the small hatchback shootout, due to superior features!

The Mahindra e2o electric car has truck load of features that are easily ignored due to its small size.
People compare it to a Nano or an Alto and don't try to look deeper to understand the super features

People don't even bother to think of the intangibles benefits for them, for the environment and for the country, when using an electric car. Some of them are listed here and you can read more about these intangibles here

• Clean air in our cities
• Dependence on foreign oil
• Sense of independence
• Reliable with hardly any maintenance
  

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Final Words
Yes! The Mahindra e2o is expensive, but due to its incredible running costs, you can save as much as Rs 70000 every year, in fuel and maintenance costs. And those savings add up over the years.
While your petrol engine complains every 6 months and would need to go to a service station, the electric motor will happily chug along!