By Johnson
Today we pit the Mahindra E2O against not only the Tata Nano but also some of the best subcompact (small cars) of the world like Swift, Alto, WagonR, i10, and Santro. Of course the only other car that is better is the miniCooper but then consider also its cost... which is not small in anyway.
Mahindra E2O v/s Tata Nano
In this review the E2O takes on some of the best subcompact cars not one at a time but all together! We have compared them against 36 criteria. This is done so that there is complete transparency and everybody is able to judge for himself how good the car does in that criteria. It also lays bare the strengths and weakness of each car.
Usually people think Santro is economical as it runs on CNG. But this review shows Santro is the most expensive even though the CNG price is less but it has the least mileage. Probably when the price of Petrol increases maybe then Santro-CNG will be an option… but not when you already have an electric cars like the e2o.
Usually people think Santro is economical as it runs on CNG. But this review shows Santro is the most expensive even though the CNG price is less but it has the least mileage. Probably when the price of Petrol increases maybe then Santro-CNG will be an option… but not when you already have an electric cars like the e2o.
NOTE: The top variant of E2O in year 2014 has a Range of 120 kms
Is E2O a poor man’s car? Not exactly. Poor men travel by Public Transport. Car is for people who can afford a little comfort and for this there is that little extra cost. This bit is true for all cars. And this is one of the reasons Electric Cars will not get a subsidy in India, maybe an e-bike or an e-rickshaw might get these subsidy. Although the government has promised subsidies in April 2014.
Thus its not advisable for a person who cannot afford to pay his phone bills to buy a car. Just like its not advisable for those who cannot afford bread to eat cake instead. But then India is a free country and people are free to do as they wish. So its not strange to see a car in parking 28 days of a month and taken out may be 2 days.
Thus its not advisable for a person who cannot afford to pay his phone bills to buy a car. Just like its not advisable for those who cannot afford bread to eat cake instead. But then India is a free country and people are free to do as they wish. So its not strange to see a car in parking 28 days of a month and taken out may be 2 days.
E2O’s price tag of around Rs 750,000 pushes it out of the smaller league and pits it against one of the best Subcompact car not only in India but in the ENTIRE World. (other better subcompact being the Lee Cooper). This is a huge task for a Version-ONE of any car (Reva car cannot be compared as “Version 1” as it was completely different 2 door car running on Lead Acid batteries). But E2O although beaten to 2nd place still comes out with its head held high and having some features that even the mighty Swift did not have and some features that the Swift will NEVER have.
In the comparison chart Serial Nos. 1 to 30 denote the features of the car while 31 to 36 denote the Savings/cash benefits to the user. In the first part the Swift comes out scoring 10 marks out of 30 while E2O comes a close second with 9 out of 30 while Nano manages just 3 out of 30 and the fact that Alto scored just 2 out of 30 says how brutal the test was. Alto scores for its Automatic Transmission which it tied with E2O and then for better breaking system which it definitely needs due to its higher speed.
In the Cash Saving test from 31 to 36 E2O out performs all. The higher cost of the battery eats a lot into the benefits of the E2O but still manages to save more than the rest of the cars. After 3 or 4 years when you will go to replace the E2O battery the cost will be much lesser and the technology would also be better. So the E2O owner doesn't fear of increasing cost while the rest of the car owners will face an increasing cost pattern. The battery is expected to last 5 Yrs if you drive 10,000kms per year (as most people do in India), it could survive up to 8yrs too but with reduced range. In the calculations I have added battery change every 3 yrs.
Although this review was written in year 2013 within one year the E20 has bettered itself as the numbers above tell. This picture about performance has been added in July 2014.
Kitna deti hai? How many KmPL? Thats the favourite question... so here are my figures...
Of the Petrol cars Tata Nano gives the best milage with 25kmpL. While E2O gives more than 4 times the milage of Tata Nano.
E2O gives 120km per Ltr.
How?? Consider petrol price per ltr is Rs 76. Thus for one charge (Rs 76) you get to travel 120kms.
Of the Petrol cars Tata Nano gives the best milage with 25kmpL. While E2O gives more than 4 times the milage of Tata Nano.
E2O gives 120km per Ltr.
How?? Consider petrol price per ltr is Rs 76. Thus for one charge (Rs 76) you get to travel 120kms.
The cost of E20's Battery is guranteed to fall and the cost of the Petrol cars is guranteed to rise. In 5 yrs the fall in battery price will be 50% and rise in petrol price will be 50%. The advantages of going Electric is you have kept away inflation from affecting your local travel.
September 2014 Edit:The benefits of EV are much more... the sense of freedom and liberation is hardly commented on! The freedom of just getting in your car and driving of to somewhere is not available to the guy with a petrol car as the fuel-cost is always on his mind. Petrol Price is Rs 76/Ltr
The cost over time of an EV is pretty cheap...lets consider 10yrs.
Cost of e2O=800,000
Cost of 1 extra battery after 5yrs = 150,000
Charging cost per day = Rs36 x 365days x 10yrs = 131,400
Total cost of Mahindra E2O = Rs 10,81,400
Cost of Alto or similar car = Rs 300,000
Cost of petrol at say Rs 76 x 7 Ltrs (to travel 100kms) = Rs 532 per day. Now Rs 490 x 365days x 10yrs = 19,41,800
Kms travelled = 3,65,000 (@100kms per day) = 36 services costing @ Rs 3,000 every 10,000kms = Rs 108,000
Total cost of Petrol car = 300,000 +19,41,800+ 108,000 = Rs 23,49,800 Plus add deflation to Rupee over the years and inflation to 1) cost of petrol 2) service cost...3) lack of software updates unlike the EV to get higher range... in total the cost of a Swift over 10 yrs should be around 30 Lakhs.
Cost of that tiny petrol car is DOUBLE I didnt include a lot of parts you might have to replace. Also consider the cost of the battery will surely come down and also the EVs can improve its range just by software updates and also by battery upgrades. So the range of the EV bought today could easily be increased to 300km in 10 yrs time. Presently the range has increased from 80kms to 120kms in the top variant.
If the aspect of improving range through better software and hardware improvement over the years is considered then the total cost of the petrol car is atleast about 3 times the cost of the EV!
The cost over time of an EV is pretty cheap...lets consider 10yrs.
Cost of e2O=800,000
Cost of 1 extra battery after 5yrs = 150,000
Charging cost per day = Rs36 x 365days x 10yrs = 131,400
Total cost of Mahindra E2O = Rs 10,81,400
Cost of Alto or similar car = Rs 300,000
Cost of petrol at say Rs 76 x 7 Ltrs (to travel 100kms) = Rs 532 per day. Now Rs 490 x 365days x 10yrs = 19,41,800
Kms travelled = 3,65,000 (@100kms per day) = 36 services costing @ Rs 3,000 every 10,000kms = Rs 108,000
Total cost of Petrol car = 300,000 +19,41,800+ 108,000 = Rs 23,49,800 Plus add deflation to Rupee over the years and inflation to 1) cost of petrol 2) service cost...3) lack of software updates unlike the EV to get higher range... in total the cost of a Swift over 10 yrs should be around 30 Lakhs.
Cost of that tiny petrol car is DOUBLE I didnt include a lot of parts you might have to replace. Also consider the cost of the battery will surely come down and also the EVs can improve its range just by software updates and also by battery upgrades. So the range of the EV bought today could easily be increased to 300km in 10 yrs time. Presently the range has increased from 80kms to 120kms in the top variant.
If the aspect of improving range through better software and hardware improvement over the years is considered then the total cost of the petrol car is atleast about 3 times the cost of the EV!
And to those doubting Thomas-es who are unsure about the strength of E2O I quote the below from Team-BHP Websitesource. This is proof that E2O is STRONG!... not even a dent!
Conclusion:
The Suzuki Alto gets just 2 points out of 36 which shows how bad the car is, yet it is the most selling Car of Suzuki/Maruti. It has higher speed and better break technology (good-only-at-higher-speed) - both of which are rarely used. Inferior products are bought because people are misled by the power of advertisement and people are not aware of the virtues of Electric car.
Swift comes out as the 2nd best small car in the shoot out. It has the best riding quality of the lot.
Out of the 36 key areas the E2O gets 14/36 while the Swift gets only 10/36. This is proof that Mahindra E2O is the best small car in the WHOLE WORLD... What a shame it could not even get a decent review in the ENTIRE WORLD!
Go ahead and buy your E2O... you will never regret. (Make sure there is a charging point near you, or you can pull a power line near to it).
The Suzuki Alto gets just 2 points out of 36 which shows how bad the car is, yet it is the most selling Car of Suzuki/Maruti. It has higher speed and better break technology (good-only-at-higher-speed) - both of which are rarely used. Inferior products are bought because people are misled by the power of advertisement and people are not aware of the virtues of Electric car.
Swift comes out as the 2nd best small car in the shoot out. It has the best riding quality of the lot.
Out of the 36 key areas the E2O gets 14/36 while the Swift gets only 10/36. This is proof that Mahindra E2O is the best small car in the WHOLE WORLD... What a shame it could not even get a decent review in the ENTIRE WORLD!
Go ahead and buy your E2O... you will never regret. (Make sure there is a charging point near you, or you can pull a power line near to it).
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