Quote:
Originally Posted by Humane India Hey ABG
I will try my best to give you point to point opinion on your dilemma about EV v ICE :- "Switch To An EV ASAP" |
Thanks a lot for your inputs!
I took a short test drive of the Curvv EV with family this week.
The display vehicle was accomplished +S, while the test drive one was the top model, empowered+.
Took about 25 - 30 km within city for the ride, with kid in front and wife in back.
The test drive experience was really good.
Observations:-
1. Comfort : Front seats are really comfortable. Perfect size for me (5'6"medium). Ventilated seats are a boon. 6 way electrically adjustable seats helped me to find a perfect driving position very quickly. It would have been great to have memory seats.
2. Visibility: With the tall seating position, visibility is great all around. This is completely in contrast with my current drives (Verna & Altroz). It took some time to get used to, but felt very comfortable with the view and seating position.
3. Steering: Very direct and precise, liked it. Better than Verna. But the touch buttons are not to my liking. No steering mounted mute button, it is a terrible miss. The new steering design is more glamour than purpose. I would take a conventional Altroz style steering over this one any day.
4. Ride quality : Absolutely Great! Put the car in drive mode, released the break, no noise or drama whatsoever! Started moving smoothly, applied some a-pedal, it gathered speed so smoothly and gradually! Just like that. Absolutely liked the way it drives. No ICE car is a match to this. On an open stretch, tried the Sport mode and pushed it a bit (did not floor the pedal) - it is some serious acceleration! I could dart it around at some serous speeds within the city, with good control. I could not check out the behavior on curves though, hope it would be good enough. The car felt solid, no rattling, unwanted vertical or lateral movement etc., even when riding over bad patches.
5. A/C: Chilling, great controls on the head unit. But the physical controls will be missed. I don't know what is is this infatuation with touch buttons. They are not good to use. I could operate the physical buttons without taking my eyes off the road. That is not possible here. Cooled seats are great and will help a lot in the long runs.
6. Rear Seats: As per wife, the rear seats are comfortable, at par with Altroz. There was enough leg room and head room for her (5'3"). No complaints here. But not sure whether it can fit three adults.
7. Boot space: Larger than what we need! Big opening too. But loading will take some effort, the lip is bit too high to my liking.
8. Fit and Finish: Not bad, at par with expectations

. Interior quality is very good, though it is not plush. Indica style power window buttons are an eyesore.
9. Music system: SA wanted to have a demo session of the music system separately, and it was absolutely great! Wife and kid loved it, I was okay with it.
10. Sun roof : I am not a great fan of it, some how my family is.
11. Cabin Storage spaces are at a premium. There is no cup holders, no place to keep small items. Could not test the door pockets with 1 L bottles. TATA should have done a better job planning the convenience spaces.
12. Range: The latest claim from TATA is 500 km. The MID was showing range of 156 km with 42% SoC. So I assume it could give something like 370 km for 100% SoC in day to day life. This is significantly less than what I expected. I was hoping for something like 400 km minimum. I need to drive about 370 km one way on weekends, with no stopping on the way. So this makes me worried.
13. Looks: Looks good, but not great in my opinion. Longer wheelbase and shorter ground clearance would have made it look so much more better. The front design looks out right ugly to me. ICE version looks way better than the EV. TATA should have provided the same treatment for EV and placed the charging port on the side? Is there a way to retrofit ICE grill to the EV?
14. Colors: There are not too many colors to choose from. While the white shades are neutral, the red and grey are not good on this car. The Virtual Sunrise shade is somewhat OK, but that is mainly because of the lack of choices. Darker shades are best suited for this design, like the opera blue or Daytona Grey, which are offered only in the ICE versions! The best choice would have been the Gold Essence, but that too is available in the top trim ICE version only!
Overall, the Curvv EV is a good package with great ride quality, excellent sound system, lots of gizmos, but with poor color choices, ugly looks and moderate range.
The Curvv EV is still a contender to replace my Verna. A lot of scrutiny is still needed. I am considering Safari as an option too, but that stretches the budget a lot. I think I should give myself couple of months time to take a final call.