[X_T_A Rose]

Originally Posted by sj_koova

but my wife wants a smaller and less expensive car at purchase and use.

I would strongly urge you to take a test drive, let your wife take a test drive of the AMT Nano and decide for herself.

Originally Posted by kaviprem

If you are looking for an alternative with that dimension for your wife, the best that would match e2O size and with better usability would Tata Nano AMT. Its just an amazing vehicle for city drive. Nothing can beat Nano AMT for its pricing and its utility factor.
If Nano AMT was launched when I bought e2O, I would have definitely bought Nano AMT and would NOT have sold it off in 13 months of usage :(

Go for a Nano AMT TD with open mind and be closed for others' inputs about Tata
Prem.

Well Said Prem. We were in the exact same predicament until a test drive of the Nano sealed our decision. The Nano AMT has been a revelation with its small footprint yet immense interior space. In the GenX AMT avatar its a complete car for us ladies for the in-city runs.

[sj_koova]

We did a test drive of NANO too. My wife liked the space inside, but not how the AMT behaved and hated the poor braking.

I too had a question about resale of E2o. I would assume the technology would have advanced so such that there will be no taker for the current gen.

[kaviprem]

About the resale, I had a lot of queries coming in for my e2O when I put for sale. I didnt find anything abnormal with it.
May be, its due to my low running for an year old. This may be a reason though.

Prem.

[samabhi]

I finally sold my e2o last week after waiting for about 8 months. Its a lovely little car to be used in the city and sure we are going to miss it. Our decision to buy an electric car was never wrong as the expectation from an electric car with low maintenance, low running costs is totally justified. Its only the quality of the car that left us to desire a lot. Suspension is one of the biggest problems and its not meant for Bangalore sub-urban roads and one of the main reasons why we wanted to sell it. Due to the pathetic road conditions, we even had to replace the Front left suspension at the first service.

A big shout out to Mahindra Reva Service team. They never hesitated to change any part under warranty when they felt its needed, unlike other manufacturers who reject the claim under warranty at every possible chance.

Will I buy a electric car in future? Sure. I will.

Will it be e2o again? May be, if Mahindra improves the quality of the car.

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

Hi,

A bit off topic and out of curiosity, If you don't mind sharing , would like to know, how do you dispose off a car like E2O in the 2nd hand market ? Are there takers for it ? What is the resale value ?

Regards
Dieseltuned

Originally Posted by sj_koova

We did a test drive of NANO too. My wife liked the space inside, but not how the AMT behaved and hated the poor braking.

I too had a question about resale of E2o. I would assume the technology would have advanced so such that there will be no taker for the current gen.

Originally Posted by kaviprem

About the resale, I had a lot of queries coming in for my e2O when I put for sale. I didnt find anything abnormal with it.
May be, its due to my low running for an year old. This may be a reason though.

Prem.

I got so many queries from many about the car and quiet a few of them actually came and checked the car in person. Either the asking price was too low or they just want to check only the electric car aspect, etc..most of the deals didnt go through.

Price being quoted for the e2o in the user car market is very low. Mahindra Reva's pricing with and without battery made it even more worse. Like in my case, I bought the car including the battery price and the depreciation hit is huge as the base price for my car was easily mistaken with the price which doesnt include battery price. I tried through different channels - dealers, individual buyers (through OLX, T-BHP Classifieds, my company portal) and even cars24.com. Couple of dealers quoted a decent price, but its way off the market price and I was taking a huge depreciation hit. I waited patiently for a long time as I was not in a hurry either and finally found a genuine buyer who is interested in the electric aspect of the car.

If you are in a hurry to sell off the car, be assured to get a very low price. But if you can wait, you can get one of those buyers who are genuinely interested in buying an electric car, but cannot due to the initial high price.

[hkollar]

Mahindra is launching E2O in UK. And surprise surprise!! They have a far better version for UK market. It has two world standard charging port options - IEC Type 2 or CHADeMO.

Other thing I noticed is that it also has a bigger battery pack (40% more) and a bit more powerful motor.

Of course, they have priced this way higher. The base version with only IEC type 2 charger is £13,000 Which is approximately 12Lakhs India. And the one with the DC fast charger (CHADeMO/TechX) version is almost £16,000 (almost 15Lakhs)!

Here is more info:

http://insideevs.com/mahinda-e2o-ele...on-sale-in-uk/

A review by Fully Charged Show -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WS9i59rfGI

[hkollar]

Originally Posted by samabhi

I finally sold my e2o last week after waiting for about 8 months.

Sad to note you had to. Having owned a car for over a year now, I agree it is a lovely little city car. And I also feel Mahindra service on this car is top notch. After an initial small glitch, I have been really enjoying the car. I never pull out my other two cars, unless there is a family need.

I also agree, Mahindra should improve the Suspension, and also the seats. They are no good. Other thing I hate about the E2O is the entertainment unit.

I am not convinced about their E-Verito. It neither has the advantage of range and power, nor the advantage of a small city car.. Wonder where it fits in!

Hope Mahindra improves on 'small city car' angle, with more range (UK version just launched with 40% more battery), better specs without much rise in price.

Originally Posted by kaviprem

SJ

e2O pricing works well with "bargaining". If you need, I can share my contact from Reva showroom, direct dealer from M&M.

Prem.

This is one aspect of Mahidra I detest. If you are not good at bargaining, you are bound to be screwed.

Here is how to deal with Mahidra-Reva. Give your visiting card to them and tell them to call you when they have Rs.1Lakh rupees discount on car. And be patient. They will come around.

I jumped the gun and lost out on atleast Rs.50,000 discount that others got at the same period I purchased.

Originally Posted by sj_koova

We haven't discussed the discounts. He promised he can worked out some if I book it in a week. I got a sense it may be in the range of 25000.

Anyone here has an idea about the latest pricing model and clarity about the HU mystery?

Will I buy this car? May be at 1L less.

Yes. Tell them you'll buy if they offer Rs.1Lakh discount. Tell them you know other's did buy it cheaper. They will come around - as their sales process is non-transparent and heavy bargaining needed. This strategy works really well at Quarter or year end time.

E2O is a fantastic city car. Both my wife & I, want to take only this car, when ever we want to go to congested areas or thru heavy traffic. Reduces driving stress by a huge amount. So, as long as you drive in good roads (non-bumpy roads), you will enjoy the car a lot.

I am surprised about the Head Unit too. But, I agree with their decision. Better to go for an after market Head Unit as the one it comes with it is not that good. Neither are speakers.

[samabhi]

Got a mail today from Mahindra Electric, that they are offering extended warranty on the 4th and 5th year for an additional cost of Rs 32,150. IMHO, its totally worthy to go for this extended warranty and have that piece of mind for another 2 years.

More details :

http://mahindrareva.com/owners-hub/extended-warranty

[hkollar]

Originally Posted by samabhi

Got a mail today from Mahindra Electric, that they are offering extended warranty on the 4th and 5th year for an additional cost of Rs 32,150. IMHO, its totally worthy to go for this extended warranty and have that piece of mind for another 2 years.

More details :

http://mahindrareva.com/owners-hub/extended-warranty

I agree. But, when I bought it (in 2015 Feb), they were offering the same 4th/5th year extended warranty for only Rs 16K+! I went for it on the day of delivery itself.

Wonder why they have doubled the amount now!!

[hkollar]

Again I see advertisements for Rs.1Lakh discount now!

This is a crazy pricing policy that Mahindra is doing. Does a lot of damage to product credibility and value perceived by customers.

They should either make a transparent pricing, that provides a good value to all, or hold a high price for long.

Occasional deep discounting only serves the purpose of making people bitter with you, or just wait for you to offer discount.

[14000rpm]

I recently test drove the BMW i3 here in Finland. had the car for 2 days for 'practical' testing in real usage conditions. must say on both the days I suffered from Range anxiety driving around Helsinki region. I had the pure electric version which had a 140km range. every traffic light made me stare at the Range display and I had to shut off AC and Music to see Range go up. the E2O has lower range, driven in indian Metro's which are constantly on red-lights and the heat requires AC all the time. how did you guys manage to use this car daily?

[hkollar]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

I recently test drove the BMW i3 here in Finland. had the car for 2 days for 'practical' testing in real usage conditions. must say on both the days I suffered from Range anxiety driving around Helsinki region. I had the pure electric version which had a 140km range. every traffic light made me stare at the Range display and I had to shut off AC and Music to see Range go up. the E2O has lower range, driven in indian Metro's which are constantly on red-lights and the heat requires AC all the time. how did you guys manage to use this car daily?

No problem at all... I have been driving E2O for over a year in Bangalore's worst traffic. Have been stuck in traffic for long too.

My everyday commute is only about 15km (two way), and I never even glance at the Battery levels. Longest I have done are about 75km in a single charge with air conditioning and here is how I managed it:

1. The Air conditioning has varying levels, I keep it at bare comfort level (not chill levels). Typically 1 or 2 dots. More than sufficient for Bangalore's temperate weather (except for couple of months of summer).

2. I don't use Air-conditioning in sparsely crowded, open stretches. Just drop down the window a bit.

3. I don't use the boost mode, which tends to waste energy more. Acceleration is a bit more sedate in regular drive mode, but not sluggish enough to worry in a city environment.

E2O consumes about 15% battery charge per hour of Air conditioning (know this by experience). But, reducing the Airconditioning to minimum manages it with about 10% per hour. So, 3 hours in traffic can kill your range by 30%, leaving enough to cover about 80kms.

In covering 75km, I still had nearly 12% battery left.

If you are stuck in traffic for long hours, you may have to worry, but normal 3hr a day commute is OK. Unless ofcourse you are trying to travel away from town and are munching miles (and battery).

E2O is a city vehicle. Not even a second vehicle in family - Ideally a 3rd vehicle! It works fabulously for that purpose. I rarely take my other two cars.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by hkollar

E2O is a city vehicle. Not even a second vehicle in family - Ideally a 3rd vehicle! It works fabulously for that purpose. I rarely take my other two cars.

Thanks. thats a well put-together response. However, I had to drop the idea. I currently drive a CRV. I have an infant for whom I have installed a child seat and take her pram/stroller everywhere + associated baggage. I hoped the i3 would be manageable if I squeezed stuff a bit but that didn't work. as you may have concurred, I was planning to replace the CRV with this. Not anymore.

Helsinki does offer perks though - free parking in some areas, free charging as well. despite all this, it scored a zero in practicality. Range anxiety did play a roll too.

I'm now considering a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV but then, thats not pure electric. will revisit this thread then.

[vikram_d]

One thing hkollar has not touched upon is Regen. If you drive the vehicle wisely you can regenerate quite a lot. See photo below to understand what I mean. Note Trip 'A' resets to zero as soon as you start charging the car.

My daily commute is 60kms two way. On the trip in the photo below the AC usage was between 30-40%. Pretty good I'd say.

For me the E2O is the primary city car now. I drive it pretty much everywhere. I haven't driven my Fiesta AT in almost a month now.

[hkollar]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

I'm now considering a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV but then, thats not pure electric. will revisit this thread then.

Yes. If you have a requirement of long drives, then a hybrid works better.

I drove the BMW i3 last September in US. I liked it even better than Tesla Model S that I drove. I normally don't like low slung sedans, Tesla was a pain to get in and out.

i3 was a dream.

But, for long drives PEVs should have about 200-250mile (300-450km) range and fast recharging capability to get 60-80% charge in about 30minutes. Tesla Model S and Model 3 have it.

Good news - Within a few years many more cars will have ranges enough to drive from Bangalore to Chennai without recharge.

[hkollar]

Apparently Karnataka is considering an exemption on all taxes for Electric Vehicles, per a news report in Times of India.

What I found strange is the way E2O price stayed flat, even as FAME subsidy kicked in, and even as world price of Battery went down and now even after proposed State Govte government exemptions!

All of a sudden the OTR price is showed to be - Rs. 8,55,000/- When I bought it a year and half back, OTR of T2 model (without subsidy or dicounts) was just 7,64,404/-. Ex-Show room price was Rs. 5,89,612/-

VAT has changed a bit, but where did other cost increases come from? Mahindra seems to have decided to keep the price at around Rs.7Lakhs and then haggle with each customer to get away with charging the maximum it can!!

I think only some competition will bring them down. Hope there will be more small electric cars in India market in next couple of years.