While the futuristic BE 6 might have grabbed eyeballs initially, it’s the XEV 9e that buyers interested in Mahindra’s new-gen EVs are putting their money down for. Built on Mahindra’s state-of-the-art new EV platform, the 9e also entices with its presence, packed features list and the promise of impressive performance and range figures. We came away seriously impressed from the first drive, but we’ve now put the big Mahindra through its paces in the real world to see what it’s like to live with and if it delivers all that it promises.
Mahindra XEV 9e exterior design and engineering – 7/10
Striking design, large dimensions give it good road presence. Underpinned by Mahindra’s new INGLO architecture.
At first glance, the XEV 9e does appear like a futuristic, coupé-SUV version of the XUV700. The face is dominated by a light bar that spans the SUV’s width and extends downwards at both ends. The main headlamp cluster is placed lower down in the bumper, flanking the large, closed-off grille. It features Mahindra’s new infinity logo for EVs on the bonnet and a large air dam at the bumper’s bottom.
You really get a sense of the 9e’s size in profile. Large 19-inch rims that fill the wheel arches well help to this end. An interesting material choice is the use of gloss black for the wheel cladding and lower portion of the doors. While this does look good, the surface is prone to scratches and stone chips and will be a pain to maintain.
The front door handles sit flush with the body, the rear handles are integrated into the C-pillar, and the sloping roofline tapers down neatly into the boot lid. Like at the front, the rear, too, gets a light bar that spans the width and tapers down at either end. The gloss-black treatment also extends to the high-set rear bumper, and there’s a faux skid plate element lower down. Rather oddly, the charging flap is positioned on the left rear corner of the boot lid, which some owners may find inconvenient. Overall, the XEV 9e is big on size and flash value, and as such, it’s got a lot of road presence.
Underpinning the XEV 9e is Mahindra’s INGLO skateboard architecture – this is a born EV and not an ICE-to-EV conversion. This same platform also underpins the BE 6 and will form the basis of multiple future Mahindra EVs. For now, the standard configuration is a rear-mounted motor with rear-wheel drive, but the architecture can also support a secondary front motor, thus enabling all-wheel drive. As for dimensions, the 9e is a substantial SUV, measuring 4,789mm in length, 1,907mm in width and 1,694mm in height, with a 2,775mm wheelbase (common for all INGLO models).
Nestled in the wheelbase is a lithium-ion battery pack, which uses LFP chemistry. The pack consists of blade cells that are energy-dense and compact and are said to offer the highest level of safety.
Commendably, Mahindra is offering a lifetime warranty on the battery for first owners. The caveat here is that the ‘lifetime’ is 15 years before the car needs to be re-registered. As for battery sizes, two are on offer – a 59kWh with a claimed range of 542km (MIDC) and a 79kWh with a 656km claimed range.
Mahindra XEV 9e interior space and comfort – 8/10
It’s spacious, premium and has comfy seats. Has certain ergonomic shortcomings.
Stepping into the cabin is a relatively easy affair thanks to doors that open 90 degrees, though you have to be mindful of the sill that protrudes slightly. Once in, you’ll notice a familiarity with the XUV700’s cabin but with a lot more modern, tech-heavy flourishes. Standing out is the wide, 3-screen setup, which you’d only expect in a car two or three categories above. And this largely remains the theme with the 9e, as you’ll find out.
Then, there’s a new 2-spoke steering wheel that displays the new Mahindra logo and comes with touch-operated buttons, toggle switches and four buttons for regen braking, boost mode, and one-pedal mode. The steering is nice to hold, but what’s annoying is that pressing the touch buttons with a little too much force activates the horn.
Lower down, there’s a large cubby in the centre console, housing the wireless phone charger and USB ports; there’s a new gear selector and a rotary knob to control some key functions of the SUV. It’s a practical place, too, with large door bins, a sizeable cubby below the front armrest and a decent-sized glovebox. However, there’s no storage under the centre console, which you’d expect on a born EV; remember, there’s no traditional transmission tunnel to work around.
There’s a good mix of colours and materials inside, and on the whole, the 9e’s cabin feels premium and well-built. But the gloss-black trims pick up scratches easily, and the ivory upholstery will be challenging to keep clean in our conditions.
The 9e’s front seats are well-padded and accommodating for even larger passengers, and what’s nice is that they feature ventilation, electric adjustment and lumbar adjustment. You also get a great view out of the front, but the view out back from the interior rear view mirror is poor at best, thanks to the rear centre headrest and the small, tapering rear windshield.
The XEV 9e also excels in terms of the back seat experience. Getting in and out is easy enough, and the wide cabin means three adults can sit here comfortably. Unlike other EVs, the placement of the battery under the floor doesn’t lead to a knees-up seating position, and that is a big plus. There’s plenty of kneeroom and headroom on offer, though people over 6 feet may find their hair grazing the roof.
The seat is nicely cushioned, and what adds to the comfort is a reclining backrest, a centre armrest with cupholders (it sits a tad high, though) and sunshades for the windows. There are also dedicated AC vents, a wireless charger and, uniquely, a dock and a dedicated 65W charging slot to mount a tablet onto the front seat backrest from which one can also control certain car features.
As for cargo space, the 9e gets a sizeable 150-litre frunk that can comfortably accommodate the charger or a couple of soft bags. Then, there’s the cavernous 663-litre boot that can swallow up a lot of luggage. However, thanks to the rear motor and a space-saver spare, the boot floor and loading lip are high.
Mahindra XEV 9e features and safety – 9/10
Comes absolutely packed with features, some not offered on far pricier cars.
| Mahindra XEV 9e features check list | |
|---|---|
| Auto LED headlamps | Yes |
| Touchscreen | 12.3-inch |
| Digital cluster | 12.3-inch |
| Ventilated front seats | Yes |
| Panoramic glass roof | Yes |
| Wireless charger | Yes |
| 360-degree camera | Yes |
| Auto parking | Yes |
| Ambient lighting | Yes |
| AR heads-up display | Yes |
| Level 2+ ADAS tech | Yes |
| Airbags | 7 |
The Mahindra XEV 9e packs in more tech, safety and comfort features than any Mahindra before. Key to this is the Mahindra Artificial Intelligence Architecture (MAIA), which is an electrical and electronic architecture that forms the spine for all the software and hardware necessary for functions like infotainment, ADAS, and more.
The headlining piece of tech is undoubtedly the trio of 12.3-inch screens that dominate the dashboard, which is something you’d usually see on high-end luxury cars. The centre one controls all your infotainment and certain vehicle functions, and it’s packed with on-board apps. This screen is vibrant and responds well to inputs, but the interface is cluttered and comes across as confusing, at least at first.
But what’s a bigger downer is that the screen has swallowed up too many basic functions like controlling the HVAC system and the drive modes. Sure, there are some physical shortcut buttons to access important features like the AC controls, but that’s a 2-step process and feels unintuitive to use. Even the menu for the drive modes appears on the far left of the screen, so you have to stretch a bit to make changes. There’s definitely scope here to improve the UI/UX to make it more user-friendly.
The touchscreen also features wireless smartphone integration, a decent 360-degree parking camera, a lap timer and all sorts of data relating to the battery and charging status. In our time with the 9e, the touchscreen remained relatively bug-free, but it did freeze on one occasion.
Coming to the 12.3-inch driver’s display, this screen, too, impresses with its resolution and the animations for the different drive modes. Apart from all the necessary driving data, it also displays the ADAS functions at work and can even show navigation in full-screen, which comes in handy. Then, there’s the well-executed heads-up display that uses augmented reality to display what parameters you choose. Overlays for navigation into your line of sight are particularly cool.
The third screen in front of the passenger is also a high-res 12.3-inch unit, and it’s packed with a whole host of apps like YouTube, Instagram, Amazon, and much more. While it’s nice that it has all these built in, some of them are just overkill (it’s got LinkedIn, too). But a bigger issue is that it doesn’t have a privacy setting/filter and can be a distraction for the driver on the move.
But that’s just the screens. The 9e also packs ventilated front seats, an absolutely superb-sounding 16-speaker 1,400W Harman Kardon sound system with Dolby Atmos, and a large glass roof that can put on a light show with different colours and effects, and even sync to your music. Then, there’s the option to control the car via the key fob and have it roll into a slot in tight parking spots, along with an auto-park feature, too.
There’s even an internal camera mounted on the roof, playing multiple roles. It monitors driver alertness and can also be used to remotely monitor the interior, make video calls, and take selfies using the AI filters. It’s gimmicky but fun nonetheless. In conclusion, the Mahindra XEV 9e packs features we’ve never seen this side of Rs 50 lakh, and that’s commendable.
Mahindra hasn’t skimped on safety either. There are seven airbags, traction control, hill-start assist and hill-hold control. It also has radar- and camera-based ADAS features. On our test drive, features like lane-keep assist worked really well on clearly marked roads, and so did the adaptive cruise control, which has the ability to bring the car to a complete halt and start moving when the car ahead does.
There’s even autonomous emergency braking that Mahindra says has been calibrated to suit Indian road conditions, but thankfully, we didn’t experience it. It’s a sign of a well-tuned system when you don’t have to turn the ADAS features off, and that’s the case with the 9e. Even if the ADAS is getting thrown off by anything, you get a clear warning, so you can take necessary action. And to round it all off, the Mahindra XEV 9e has also received a full 5-star crash-safety rating from Bharat NCAP.
Mahindra XEV 9e performance and refinement – 10/10
Powertrain is superbly calibrated, refined and delivers in terms of performance.
| Mahindra XEV 9e specs, acceleration, braking, noise levels | |
|---|---|
| Motor type and setup | Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor, rear mounted |
| Power (hp) | 286 |
| Torque (Nm) | 380 |
| Weight (kg) | 2,201 |
| Power to weight | 129.94hp per tonne |
| Torque to weight | 172.64Nm per tonne |
| Transmission | 1-speed automatic |
| 0-20kph (seconds) | 1.42 |
| 0-40kph (seconds) | 2.78 |
| 0-60kph (seconds) | 4.14 |
| 0-80kph (seconds) | 5.59 |
| 0-100kph (seconds) | 7.45 |
| 0-120kph (seconds) | 9.86 |
| 0-140kph (seconds) | 13.10 |
| 1/4 mile time | 15.60 |
| 20-80kph in kickdown (seconds) | 4.17 |
| 40-100kph in kickdown (seconds) | 4.61 |
| Braking: 80-0kph | 25.88m, 2.64sec |
| Sound at idle: AC off (dB) | 35.1 |
| Sound at idle: AC at half (dB) | 52 |
| Sound at idle: AC at full (dB) | 61.7 |
| Sound at 50kph (dB) | 59 |
| Sound at 80kph (dB) | 62.6 |
The XEV 9e Pack Three featured here is powered by a single motor that’s mounted on the rear axle and drives the rear wheels. The motor produces 286hp and 380Nm of torque. While the torque remains the same, the motors on the lower Pack Two and Pack One variants put out a lesser 231hp. In our performance tests, the 9e completed the 0-100kph sprint in 7.45 seconds, which is a bit off its claimed 7.1-second time but still mighty impressive.
The 9e doesn’t launch aggressively, and there’s barely any wheel spin, but after that, it pulls hard in a progressive manner. We conducted our tests in both the sportiest Race mode and the Everyday mode, and unexpectedly, the XEV 9e was quicker in the latter. That’s because in Everyday mode, you can use the Boost function, which gives a short burst of full power that isn’t available in Race mode.
On the move, the XEV 9e feels effortless to drive as it responds eagerly to even small throttle inputs, and it feels like it always has power in reserve. Overtaking is also a breeze and doesn’t take much planning. As mentioned earlier, there are drive modes that alter the driving experience. There’s a default mode in which it starts, there’s Range mode for efficiency, an Everyday mode and the full-blown Race mode. What’s nice, though, is that the 9e feels peppy enough even in its most mild setting. Particularly impressive is the refinement, with barely any road, wind or tyre noise filtering into the cabin. This contributes to a relaxing driving experience.
Along with drive modes, the XEV 9e also has three levels of regenerative braking, ranging from least to most aggressive. There’s also a Level 0 that’ll let the SUV coast freely on the highway and a one-pedal mode that’ll bring it to a complete halt without needing to press the brake pedal. The XEV 9e gets disc brakes all around, and as such, stopping power is good, taking 25.88 metres to come to a standstill from 80kph under panic braking situations.
Mahindra XEV 9e range – 9/10
A combined real-world range of 456km is very impressive.
| Mahindra XEV 9e range, regenerative braking, battery economy | |
|---|---|
| Battery capacity (kWh) | 59 / 79 (tested) |
| Battery economy in city (km/kWh) | 5.38 |
| Battery economy on highway (km/kWh) | 6.18 |
| Average battery economy (km/kWh) | 5.78 |
| Range (km) | 456 (combined) |
| Regenerative braking Level 1 (80-20kph) | 297.24m, 20.77sec |
| Regenerative braking Level 2 (80-20kph) | 174.51m, 12.03sec |
| Regenerative braking Level 3 (80-20kph) | 134.95m, 9.72sec |
The Mahindra XEV 9e with the 79kWh battery boasts claimed range figures of 656km on the Indian MIDC cycle and 533km on the WLTP cycle, while Mahindra says it’s good for a 500km-plus real-world range.
Before setting off on our range test, we topped up the battery to 100 percent, set the tyre pressures as per the manufacturer’s recommendation, set the AC to 22degC, fan speed in auto and kept the SUV in its most efficient ‘Range’ drive mode. In the city, with the regenerative braking set to Level 3, the XEV 9e returned an efficiency of 5.38km/kWh, translating to a real-world range of 425km. Interestingly, it was less efficient in the city thanks to the constant stop-go movement, its heavy 2,201kg kerb weight and ambient temperatures touching 40degC.
On our highway loop, the 9e continued in Range mode, but regen was set to level 1 to allow it to coast at higher speeds. As a result, it managed an efficiency of 6.18km/kWh, which gives it a real-world highway range of 488km. Combined, the XEV 9e 79kWh version has an efficiency of 5.78km/kWh, giving it a real-world range of 456km. This is impressive and close enough to Mahindra’s claimed real-world range.
In terms of charging, the 9e is capable of DC fast charging at speeds of up to 175kW, which will top up the battery from 20 to 80 percent in just 20 minutes. However, finding a DC fast charger that can support this will be a challenge. Buyers also have the option of a 7.2kW AC and 11kW AC charger, though the cost of this and the installation is over and above the SUV’s cost. The 7.2kW charger costs Rs 50,000, while the 11kW unit is priced at Rs 75,000.
Mahindra XEV 9e ride comfort and handling – 9/10
Ride is plush, and it feels solid over broken roads. Has well-sorted dynamics.
| Mahindra XEV 9e chassis, tyres, suspension, steering, brakes | |
|---|---|
| Construction | 5-door monocoque |
| Tyres | 245/55 R19 |
| Spare tyre | 135/80 R18 |
| Front suspension | Independent, MacPherson strut, semi-active coil springs |
| Rear suspension | Independent, multi-link, semi-active coil springs |
| Steering type | Rack and pinion, electrically assisted |
| Turning circle | 5m |
| Front brakes | Disc |
| Rear brakes | Disc |
| Anti-lock braking system | Yes |
Ride and handling is an area where the XEV 9e excels, and it drives with a maturity you wouldn’t expect at this price point. Key to this are the semi-active dampers that can respond in just 15 milliseconds, according to the company. As such, the 9e manages to deliver a very comfortable and plush ride without having to sacrifice on dynamics. Over broken patches, the 9e drives with a sense of toughness and poise, as you’d expect from a Mahindra. Some vertical movements creep in at higher speeds, but they settle down fairly quickly.
The big surprise is how the XEV 9e is around the bends. The low position of the battery lends the otherwise tall XEV a favourable centre of gravity, while the rear-wheel-drive layout delivers a crisp feel at the wheel. The steering weighs up nicely as you pick up the pace, and body roll is also contained impressively. Do note that the 9e isn’t a tyre-smoking, drifting rear wheel-drive vehicle. The setup is safe and predictable, which makes it suited to drivers of all skill levels.
Also commendable is how easy the XEV 9e feels to drive in city confines despite being big and heavy. The steering is light and easy to twirl, and the turning circle is surprisingly tight, all of which helps in city traffic and while parking, too.
Mahindra XEV 9e price verdict – 8/10
An impressive SUV that delivers in terms of performance, range, features, and wow factor.
The XEV 9e is a well-rounded product from Mahindra. There are some irritants like the touch-based buttons on the steering and a clunky user interface, but these pale in light of all that the 9e gets right.
As a package, the Mahindra XEV 9e ticks so many of the important boxes. The coupé-SUV design is big on road presence, the cabin is premium and practical, and the feature set wouldn’t be out of place on a far pricier car. The 9e is also mechanically sorted with a strong and refined powertrain and a great ride and handling balance. A real-world 456km range from the 79kWh version we tested also means the all-electric 9e can be the only car in the family. On the whole, the XEV 9e successfully delivers a world-class experience.
It’s pricey, but factor in all that you get, and the price tag seems justifiable.
Also see:
Mahindra XEV 9e real world range tested, explained
Mahindra XEV 9e price, variants and features explained
