Mahindra XEV 9S – The electric XUV700! | First Look | Autocar India
Say hello to the XV 9S, the latest addition to Mahindra’s electric lineup of SUVs. Now, in case it looks familiar, that’s because you could think of it as an all-electric version of the XUV 7O. While the shape is familiar, under the skin, it’s built around Mahindra’s all electric architecture. Now, this video is going to be a quick introduction to what is a very exciting new EV. One of the reasons you should be interested in the XCV 9S is its aggressive price tag. Prices start at 19.95 lakh rupees for the 59 kWh pack 1 above variant while the topsp spec 79 kowatt hour pack 3 above variant comes in at 29.45 lakh rupees. Now for comparison’s sake it works out about 2 lak rupees less than an XEV9E. In terms of styling up front it has a strong resemblance to the XEV9E but the two are not identical. For instance, this lighting treatment is a lot thicker on the XEV9S. of the other details, Mahindra’s Infiniti logo also sits on this concealed section up front and it’s moved down from the bonnet as you get on the XCV9. Now talking of the bonnet, this raises to reveal a 150 L frunk and it is quite a handy size and can store quite a bit of luggage. Now coming to the sides, uh you will see gloss material, something we’ve seen on the other Mahindra electric SUVs as well. Now a point to note is the XCV 9S rides on 18in rims. The 9E gets 19 in as well as 20 in as an option. Now if you come further back there is this gloss material for the lower section of the bodywork and that highlights the position of the battery in the body. Mahindra says ground clearance is 219 mm. Now, another interesting fact is that the 9S is marginally shorter than the 9E in its wheelbase, though both are still built on the Inglow architecture. Now, what explains this little bit of a divergence is the fact uh that Mahindra needed to shrink the wheelbase slightly so that it could use XUV 7O’s bodywork on the architecture. Now, coming further back, you get a conventional roof line. what we’ve seen on the XUV 7O. And in fact, the doors uh and these panels are shared as is the glass house. Coming further back, you’ll find more differences. For instance, at the tail lights, you get this concealed look, a gloss finish, uh LED lighting for the tail section. And these little elements, they also light up and look really nice. They sort of give the look of glittering. You also get this thick band of gloss black over here. XCV 9S badging lower down. More gloss black lower down. So, there are quite a few details to distinguish this from its ice cin, the XUV 7O. Now, as for luggage capacity, the first point is that the tailgate is not powered, so it needs a bit of effort. There isn’t all that much space. uh you can store maybe a couple of soft bags at the very most with all seats in place. But if you do fold down the third row, you get 500 L of luggage capacity and it is really accommodating. And yes, Mahindra has incorporated a spare tire right here. Now, on the inside, the XEV 9S is no different to the XEV9E, at least when you’re sat up front. So, you get this same triple screen layout. Uh, it’s a feature that people uh that a lot of people love and a lot of people haven’t quite taken to. So, you get three 12.3 in screens, 12.3 in for the digital dials, a center touchcreen, as well as a dedicated passenger display. Now, uh the screen is really good on functionality, but one complaint that we had with the 9E as well is that it just packs in too much and the user interface isn’t all that nice. You still have to sort of work your way through it and there is quite a bit of a learning curve. But in terms of quality, really good materials used here, but there are hard scratchy plastics lower down, a generous use of gloss materials. And you also find that gloss effect on this two-spoke steering wheel. As we’ve seen uh on uh the other Mahindra electric vehicles, it’s got Mahindra’s new Infinity logo which lights up when the car comes on. You have uh your paddle like controls for regeneration, boost mode, and the other functions. In terms of seat comfort, the seats are nice and large, very well cushioned. They pack in uh ventilation. There’s also a power adjust. But I have to bring in the ventilation function and controls are on the touchcreen. So again something that you have to learn on the go. Now unfortunately there’s still no privacy filter on the passenger side display. So it is visible to the driver. Now talking the passenger seat. This is a very cool way to uh kill time if you’re stuck in traffic jams. And what’s also nice is that the front seat passenger gets electric power adjust. A large and airy middle seat experience was always a highlight on the XUV 7O and that has been carried on to its electric cousin as well. There’s a good amount of space. The seat is very large. The windows are large and of course this massive panoramic sunroof makes a big difference to the sense of space that you get inside the cabin. Now seat comfort again very well cushioned. Seats are quite flat. Uh there is enough width for three uh adults to sit in comfort. You can fold down the center armrest. It gets two cup holders. There’s also other amenities like wireless charging pads at the back. A 65 uh watt charger. You can uh use what Mahindra calls bring your own device. So you can attach your own tablet and use that as a rear seat entertainment system. There are sun shades which really cut out the light and Mahindra has also made amends to other features. So the seats now get a slide function which is something that was missing on the XV7O as before. You can also adjust the back rest recline and Mahindra has also added in powered adjust and a powered boss mode so you can really stretch out and sit at the back of the XEV 9S. And another feature that’ll be really appreciated by the chauffeur driven is rear seat ventilation. Now, because the middle row seats can be slid forward and backward, uh getting into the third row isn’t as hard as it is uh on an XUV 7O, so you still get a one-touch tumble and fold operation. There is a good amount of space to walk in. Now, space at uh the very back. It still feels u a bit tight for someone of my height. I won’t be able to sit here for very long, but someone of an average build, average height can actually make the most of the third row of seating. Now, because the uh middle row seats can be slid forward, there is a whole lot more flexibility. So you can really balance the space within the cabin and that is a big big advantage over the XUV 7 O. Now the battery pack is positioned under the floor. It’s an LFP battery pack, but interestingly, they’re not two, but three sizes of battery packs. So, there’s a 59 kW and a 79 kW, which you also get on the BE6 and XCV 9E. But a new inclusion on the XCV 9S is a 70 kW battery pack. Now, in terms of range, the 59 kWh battery pack delivers a certified range of 521 km. The 70 kWh delivers a 600 km certified range. and the 79 kW delivers 679 kilometers of certified range. Like the XUV 9E and the BE6, the XV 9S also uses a rear-mounted motor that only powers the rear wheels. Now, the power outputs depend on the battery capacity, though in all configurations, the peak torque figure remains 380 Newton m. As for max power, on the 59 kWh version, the motor makes 231 horsepower. On the 70 kWh version, the power goes up to 245 horsepower. And on 79 kWh versions, the motor makes 286 horsepower. Charging options include 7.2 kW AC charging, 11.2 kW AC charging, and up to 180 kW of DC charging. If you can find a 180 kW DC charger, and Mahindra is setting up a network, you should know that 20 to 80% of charge takes just 20 minutes. So, that’s your first look of the new Mahindra XEV9S. What do you think of it? Is it an electric SUV of interest to you? Is it an SUV that could sway you from petrol or diesel SUVs in the same price band? Let us know in the comment section below. We’ll be driving it over today and tomorrow. So stay tuned for a review that drops on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
Mahindra has launched the XEV 9S at Rs 19.95 lakh (ex-showroom). Nikhil Bhatia gives you a quick introduction.
Editor – Siddhesh Kadam
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