[123.rishabh]

Since a long time I wanted to get my hands on an Electric Vehicle, but due to lack of infrastructure & high purchase costs could never justify buying one of them.
After selling off my 2009 Jazz, i realized that one small beater car is required for daily household running. My office is < 4 km from my home & none of my vehicles (Endeavour 3.2 & A4 TDI) would even reach their running temp in this short run. Looked at many EV options & the Nexon EV felt like the most practical one, still i had many questions in mind
1. Could i take it on highways ?
2. Do i need to take it on highways when i have other vehicles for that purpose
3. Will the real world range of ~250km be sufficient
4. Do i even need that much range for a daily commute ?
Despite having multiple cars, one still tries to find an allrounder in every car he owns & same was my case with the new EV.

After Test driving Kona, ZS, & Nexon, one fine day i scheduled the test drive of the newly launched Tigor EV. The car was supposed to come in the evening & before that, I received a call from a friend who told me about the stock clearance being done by Mahindra for the E Verito models.
Initially i was replusive on going in for a dated electric model but once he told me the lucrative deal which was around 35% discount, that got the ball rolling.
A daily driving EV with an ARAI Range of 181 Km (Actual 140 Km) started to sound sufficient all of a sudden. I immediately took the test drive in the evening & found the following pros & cons with the car

Pros-
- Excellent Ride quality with magic carpet like smoothness soaking up all bumps (Way more superior than the Tigor, Nexon, Kona & ZS EV)
- Spacious & comfortable wide cabin
- Robust build quality (Thanks to the Renault/Dacia Origins)
- F Mode in the gearbox helps to enhance range despite keeping heavy foot on the throttle
- B Mode helps in quick overtaking

Cons-
- Dated design both inside out
- Low Power Output compared to modern EVs (41 PS & 91Nm)
- Power consuming Hydraulic Steering (I personally dont mind it but an EPS is better for a low speed city car)
- 86 Kmph Top Speed
- Taxi Image

After the test drive, I immediately headed to the nearest Mahindra service center who work on EVs & spoke to the Service advisors on the pros & Cons in terms of maintenance

Maintenance Pros-
- Simple EV hardware (Air cooled batteries vs Liquid Chiller Cooling in modern EVs)
- Low Battery Replacement cost (Vs Modern EVs)
- Primary battery consists of 23 modules which can be replaced individually
- Service interval of 20,000 Km or 2 years whichever is earlier at an approximate 5000 Rupees

Maintenance Cons-
- Car cannot be towed using a tow strap for long distance in case of a battery drain as it damages the motor
- No option of Portable RSA charging in case of low battery (Hyundai has Vehicle 2 Vehicle charging facility for Kona customers)

Charging Options-
- The car comes with one GBT type fast charging port on the front left fender & a Type 2 slow charging port on the existing fuel door area on the rear right side.

After understanding everything I made my decision of buying the vehicle & went to the showroom to check out the cars available. By the time we reached, the D6 (Top Trim) models were sold out & only the D2 models were remaining.
The difference between these 2 was that the D2 missed on
1. Driver Airbag
2. Electrically adjustable ORVM
3. Alloy Wheels
4. 2 Din Audio System
5. Keyless Entry
in comparison to the D6 trims which were sold out.
There were only 2 cars left & I had to decide quickly. I talked with a few friends & finally booked the car on the spot.

Went to take the delivery of the car on the next day & the car was ready with 90% charge. Did the mandatory PDI of the vehicle, understood the details of the charger installation and got it home




Ultra Wide Rear Seats


Work Done post purchase-
Drove the car around for a few days & decided to get a few basic things done on it
First one was basic ICE system. It came with a 2 din slot & i wanted to fit a basic system in order to keep least power drain. I have no knowledge about ICE, so took a friend along to a shop & we started looking at different models. In the end we decided on the 6.75 Inch Blaupunkt New York 750 which was the only system to offer wireless android auto & CarPlay under 7 inch (Definitely not a basic unit).






In terms of speakers we got basic 4 speaker system with Blaupunkt Components in the front & Coaxials on the rear parcel shelf.


Also fitted a reverse cam as this car does not have any reverse aid




The second thing i wanted to check was the underbody & see the protection. After seeing the TBHP review of the New Tigor EV and its underbody without any protection i was really worried.
Took the car to a friends workshop, lifted it up & i was pleasantly surprised by seeing not 1 but 4 heavy duty metal protection plates (2 under the battery pack, 1 covering the HT Wiring & 1 Metallic shield under the motor same as the engine shield in ICE Cars)


On seeing this i thought of also getting an underbody antirust coating done. Masked the Orange HT wires, Used Bardahl Rust Coat for the same & was happy with the results




Few pics of the car after the work was completed






Charging-
Now coming to the charging part. This car comes with a 3Kw Portable wall mountable charger with an Industrial Socket on the inlet side & Type 2 on the outlet socket. It runs on single phase & I was specifically told by the sales advisor that the warranty wont be valid on the charger incase one plugs it into a 3 phase outlet & spoils it.
This was the first EV in my society so it came with its own set of challenges which are as follows
1. Can the existing substation in the society handle this charger (Stupid)
2. The car buyer will have to get the full setup done himself after getting all required components from specific brands approved by the society
3. Society is planning to charge me with commercial charges because its electricity is not being used for household purpose (Totally unacceptable considering people are already buying such expensive EVs with govt. subsidies & the society wants to make money in this)

So I had my list prepared & after confirmation of the brands got the following stuff
1. 20 Meters 4 Gauge 3 Core Wire
2. Digital Electricity Meter
3. 2 x 16A & 32A DP MCB units
4. Industrial Socket with box (Single Phase)
5. Flexible PVC Pipes for Clean mounting.

Car loaded with all the stuff






Driving-
Now coming to the driving part
I have covered 500 kms in the car & am mostly driving with a mix of Boost & Forward modes with AC on always & am getting 85 - 100 Kms on using 85% of the battery
The car switches on the AC in order to cool its batteries after trips for around a min which eats up batteries in short trips. I personally feel that this car can do more kms if driven without a break. I usually drive it for 5 -8 kms in one go & have done a run of 24 kms max at a stretch. Plan to test its range on a open road soon.
You never feel less power & 41 BHP of this car feels no less than 100 BHP of my FIAT Petra 1.6 atleast under 60km/h
Have stalled the car once and that was completely my fault. The car had 13% battery & was already running in Economy mode when we decided to take it for fitting the ICE system which took 3 hours and they had also switched on the rear defogger by mistake. When we started back the battery rapidly dropped in a span of 3 kms from 12% to 8% and the car switched to Limp mode & had to tow it back home from there.


Thankfully in limp mode the steering & brakes of the car are active. Also it was only 2 kms from my place so i planned to tow it with a friends car or else it is advised to only use a flatbed to avoid damage to the motor of the car (Need to educate myself on this)

Things to do next
1.Being a stock clearance car it is a Nov 2018 manufactured model (One of the last lots of E Verito). Although the dealer said that all fluids etc have been changed after they got the car from the plant in Aug, still i plan to get a full service done once the car reaches 1000 Km just to be double sure.
2. Planning to put some decals to differentiate it from Lithium & BlueSmart Taxis , your suggestions are welcome
3. Thinking of getting 14 inch alloy wheels as they will enhance some looks and slight weight saving. Not planning to upsize as a bigger & wider rim will reduce the range of the car

Will keep updating this thread !

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[dailydriver]

At about the same time as your Verito's birth, a colleague bought one in the top trim. It cost her thirteen lakhs then (Karnataka registration).

I tried to dissuade her from purchasing it, citing the taxi looks, low range, insufficient power and of course the usual Mahindra niggles. Nexon EV (was yet in the works then) would be a better choice and hence worth the wait was my argument.

With a Xylo, 1st Gen Thar, MM 540 and an Omni in her garriage, the lady went ahead with her purchase.

At the time of purchase, her daily commute was 50 kilometers a day. Now, it is nearly 120 and therefore range anxiety has kicked in big time. The car gets charged twice a day - just to be on the safer side.

Once, she plugged in her charger into a power outlet at an alignment centre and blew up both the charger and the point. Fortunately, Mahindra replaced the charger for free.

In your case though, this purchase makes perfect sense, Congratulations!

Wish you a trouble free and long lasting ownership experience.

[ohaak]

I am able to admire your passion for the EV in the writing. It is a great write up. Some observations:

1. do a cell diagnostics and balancing whenever you get a chance to ensure that the cells in the car are doing fine. Mahindra service centre can do it. Since the car is from Nov 2018, you need make sure that the cells are okay.
2. What is the warranty that you have on the battery pack and car?
3. I do not understand the single phase, three phase statement. Residential electrical equipment still use a single power and neutral connection even if there is a three phase supply. https://www.wellpcb.com/single-phase.html

[onyxgaze]

Hi,

What was the bargain like, price-wise?
Cant find the e-verito available now.
Tata cars like the Nexon are in the 13-16 lac price range and others are in the 20+ lac range which make them expensive.
Forthcoming launches look more attractive for a EV runabout -
M&M's eKUV100 for 8+L. Tata's Tiago at 6+L and Renault's Zoe at 8+L.
I have booked the Strom - they say delivery maybe next year.

[quattroa4]

Dear Rishabh,
Just keep the tyre pressure to 38 psi , you will get a good range without changing the tyre profiles or so . The ride will become a bit stiff but taking in to account it's good suspension system can be a good trade off. I keep my Nexon EV's tyre pressure to 40 psi and since then the range has shot up my 15-20 % and as I use it as a city car it is boon to have that much pressure .

[Thilak29]

Thanks for sharing your experience with eVerito.

Why there are EESL decals in the car ?

[rkw]

Congrats on your new possession. I guess M&M were the frontrunners in introducing electric cars in India but somehow did not capitalise on it. Can you pls indicate the on-road price at which you got?

[Simhi]

Originally Posted by 123.rishabh

The difference between these 2 was that the D2 missed on
1. Driver Airbag

Congratulations on your purchase.

Query - Isn't driver side airbag mandatory ? How come M&M sold a car without driver side airbag? What was the manufacturing year of the model? Is this model still under production?

[rkw]

Originally Posted by Simhi

Query - Isn't driver side airbag mandatory ? How come M&M sold a car without driver side airbag? What was the manufacturing year of the model? Is this model still under production?

I think, airbag becoming mandatory is a recent development. Not sure if it has already come into effect. As mentioned by OP, manufacturing year is 2018. But your query is still valid - any law which comes into effect has to be followed for all registrations happening from the date of the law coming into effect. We saw this in case of BS6 norms as well. So most probably, that is the reason why M&M was trying to clear the stock before the mandate.

[gururajrv]

A confident & practical move, sir. Now that you’ve known the car for a fair bit, how safe is it compared to Tigor EV? While range is one of the concerns associated with EV purchase, I’m interested on the safety front.

[RYP]

A beater car for a 4 Km commute. The dealers must love customers like you sir. Even a 75% discount wouldn't have persuaded me towards a e Verito. I'm a Automobile Crash Analysis Engineer for about a decade, I live, breathe and eat automobiles (not literally ) I follow EV developments from each part of the world, even a Tata Ace like utility EV wont miss my radar. I have quite mixed feelings about this. Range is sub par, battery tech is ancient, no charging infrastructure, under body plates look like its been welded on a road side garage, heck they dint even bothered to install a home charger (even a 1.2L Ather does it, FOR FREE!). EV's are not about the product itself, but its about the Ecosystem as a whole. I don't know if I'm missing something, I'm very sorry, hope it fits your needs

[H Karter]

Originally Posted by 123.rishabh

Society is planning to charge me with commercial charges because its electricity is not being used for household purpose

Resale of electricity is illegal as per Electricity Act 2003. It may attract penalty under section 126 since such societies are not licensed distributors of electricity in that particular area(state).
I suggest you to route your charging point through your own residential meter.

[sandeepmohan]

I wish Mahindra could have done something to make the real world range closer to 200km on 85% battery. The car has been around for 5 years. I am sure there is some possibility to increase battery density. The 80 to 100km range is low by modern day standards. Granted the car was never designed or built to take a EV system so there are compromises. Had the range been better, I am sure even the private (some) and cab market would picked these up in spades. The latter cares less about looks. Right now, the range isn't practical. Might be alright if you don't travel much.

I was under the impression that electricity meter installation could only be done by the authorities. Did not know you can buy and fix one yourself.

[SulemanP]

@123.rishabh your decision is right in terms of your requirement and not many do that before they invest their money on their ride.

Everything is okay over here as far as the product is concerned cause your usage itself is less (as long as it goes with the car range). But i still don't get why should the society charge you for electricity used assuming that you are utilizing electricity from your own meter.

I can understand if you plug your vehicle for charging in society common meter circuit, if that is the case! Ideally you can pull a connection from your own meter and do the charging and no one should have any problem with that.