Mahindra introduced the first two of its Born Electric vehicles— BE 6e and XEV 9e— amidst great anticipation. While the XEV 9e is yet unrivalled, the BE 6e goes head-to-head against the recently-launched Tata Curvv EV. Not only do they belong to the same segment but also have a very familiar coupe-like design.
Let us get into more details of both these battery-powered SUVs and how they fare against each other in terms of range, performance and other key attributes.
The BE 6e is significantly longer, wider and only marginally shorter than the Curvv EV. However, the biggest difference is its wheelbase of 2775 mm which isn’t segment leading but more than 200mm longer than Curvv EV. This would ideally translate into a much better interior space especially the rear legroom and knee room. Ground clearance for both vehicles are comparable. The Curvv gets one thing going for itself which is a larger boot.
Mahindra is offering two battery packs with the BE 6E– 59 kWh and 79 kWh— both made of Lithium Ferrous Phosphate (LFP) chemistry. Both the battery packs are powered by rear axle-mounted electric motors; the 79 kWh unit is powered by a unit producing 282 bhp and 380 Nm of peak torque whereas the 59 kWh battery gets a smaller electric motor developing 221 bhp and the same torque.
Mahindra claims an ARAI-certified range of up to 682 km on a single charge with the 79 kWh battery pack. On the other hand, the 59 kWh battery pack offers a certified range of up to 535 km. The battery can be charged from 20–80 percent in 20 minutes using a 175 kW DC fast charger. It also gets a 11 kW AC fast charger which takes 6 hours and 8 hours to fully recharge the 59 kW and the 79 kW batteries, respectively.
Tata Motors also offers the Curvv EV with two battery packs: 45 kWh and 55 kWh. The former offers a range of 425 km and the latter offers 585 km range on single charge. Both packs come with the same front wheel-powered electric motor that produces 165 bhp and 215 Nm of torque. The battery packs on Cuvv EV can be charged by up to 70 kW DC fast charger which replenishes around 150km in 15 minutes.
As for performance, the Curvv EV can clock a top speed of 160 kmph and can breach the 100 kmph mark from standstill in 8.6 seconds. The top speed of BE 6e is not yet available but it can reach 100 kmph from static at a blistering 6.7 seconds.
