My journey into the world of electric vehicles wasn’t something I had planned.
For almost three years, my Renault Kiger was my go-to car. I put over 63,000 km on it, taking it everywhere, from long highway runs and road trips to countless automotive shoots. It was a car that rarely gave me a reason to complain. In fact, I had become so comfortable with it that replacing it wasn’t really on my mind.
There was, however, one recurring issue. Being a 3-cylinder petrol engine, the Kiger would occasionally struggle with its air-conditioning. Especially during long drives in peak summer, more so when the car was fully loaded. On extended highway journeys with the AC running continuously, it would sometimes trip off. It wasn’t something that happened every day, but considering the amount of travelling I do for work, it eventually became a concern.
My work involves spending a lot of time on the road. Road trips, shoots, launches and highway drives are all part of the job, which meant I started looking for something that could make these journeys more economical without compromising on comfort or practicality. That’s when I started seriously considering an EV.
The MG Windsor was one of the cars that caught my attention. Its spacious cabin, premium interiors, practicality and overall value made a lot of sense to me. I eventually bought one, and within a year, I had already covered nearly 24,000 km.
That ownership experience completely changed the way I looked at electric cars.
The low running costs were obviously a big advantage, but what surprised me more was how easy an EV was to live with. The refinement, instant torque and sheer convenience of daily driving made me a firm believer in the technology. More importantly, I realised that an EV didn’t necessarily have to be restricted to city commutes.
So when a KTM 390 Adventure shoot in Goa came up and, coincidentally, MotorBeam received the Mahindra XEV 9E as our long-term test car, I saw an opportunity. I had already experienced what an EV could do in everyday life with my Windsor. Now I wanted to find out what a modern electric SUV could do when you took it much further.
And what better way to find out than by putting a massive 79 kWh battery and a large electric SUV through a multi-state road trip? Our journey started in Mumbai, with the XEV 9E playing the role of our support vehicle for the KTM shoot. With cameras, equipment and everything else we needed for the shoot loaded into the SUV, we pointed south towards Goa.
The first few kilometres were fairly familiar territory, but as the city disappeared behind us and the highways opened up, the XEV 9E began to settle into its role as a long-distance cruiser. We travelled through fast highways, coastal roads, busy cities and eventually the twisty sections that make a road trip through the Western Ghats so enjoyable.
Mahindra claims a range of around 600 km, but for me, the more important number was what the car could actually deliver in the real world. Over the course of the trip, with a mix of highway cruising, city traffic, elevation changes, ghats and the occasional enthusiastic run through the corners, the XEV 9E consistently returned around 450-470 km on a full charge.
For a vehicle of this size, with this level of performance, that was genuinely impressive. The biggest surprise was that range anxiety simply never became part of the trip. Once the KTM shoot in Goa was wrapped up, we could have headed back towards Mumbai. Instead, we decided to keep going south.
The next destination was Coorg.
The Goa-to-Coorg leg was one of the most enjoyable parts of the journey. The roads gradually changed as we moved south, and so did the scenery. Highways gave way to more winding roads, the temperature dropped and the landscape became increasingly green.
We made just one charging stop in Mangaluru before heading towards the hills. That single stop was enough to give us the confidence to tackle the climb into Coorg. Without constantly thinking about where the next charger was.
And then the roads started getting interesting. The climb towards Coorg is filled with steep gradients, sweeping corners and tighter hairpins. This is where the XEV 9E started to feel less like a large luxury EV and more like a genuinely capable touring machine.
The suspension does a fantastic job of balancing comfort with control. It absorbs the rougher sections without making the car feel floaty, while the steering and rear-wheel-drive layout make it surprisingly engaging when the road starts twisting.
For something this large, it genuinely doesn’t feel like a cumbersome SUV.
We eventually rolled into Coorg after a long day on the road. The misty hills, endless coffee plantations and cooler weather made it the perfect place to stop, switch off and just take a break from the highway. But there was still plenty more to explore.
By the time we reached Coorg, the climb from Mangaluru had consumed almost 50% of the battery. So before heading out on Day 2, I wanted to start the day with around 80% charge. Finding a charger was surprisingly easy.
There was a 60 kW Statiq fast charger around 5-6 km from our hotel, so we drove over, plugged in and topped the battery up to 80%. The charging experience itself was one of the highlights of the trip. I’ve driven several EVs before, and charging isn’t always as seamless as you would expect. With the XEV 9E, however, it was genuinely plug-and-play. We connected the car and it started charging instantly, without any glitches or interruptions.
I particularly liked the amount of information the car provides while charging. The charging analytics display the real-time charging speed, battery statistics, estimated charging time and other information about the charging process. It sounds like a small thing, but on a road trip, seeing exactly what’s happening with your battery gives you a sense of reassurance.
With the battery back at 80%, it was time to explore Coorg properly. And that’s when the XEV 9E had to deal with something very different from the highways we’d spent the previous day on.
We drove through some incredibly tight roads, steep uphill sections and narrow village lanes. Eventually, we found ourselves inside dense coffee plantations, where the definition of a ‘road’ became somewhat questionable. This was probably where I expected the XEV 9E to feel its size the most. It didn’t. Despite its imposing dimensions, the car was remarkably easy to manoeuvre. The turning radius is one of the biggest reasons for this. For an SUV of this size and length, it turns surprisingly tightly, making narrow roads and tight parking situations much easier than you’d expect.
There were several occasions when I looked at the road ahead and thought, “How are we getting through this?”
The XEV 9E simply turned in and went through. By this point, I was completely sold on the way this SUV drives. The rear-wheel-drive setup and 380 Nm of instant torque make it incredibly effortless to drive uphill. There’s no waiting for the engine to build revs or downshifting before an overtaking manoeuvre. You simply press the accelerator and the power is there. And because the delivery is so smooth, it never feels dramatic. It just gets the job done.
Some of the plantation tracks we explored barely qualified as proper roads, yet the XEV 9E remained composed and comfortable. The suspension continued to absorb the rough surfaces while the instant torque made climbing the steeper sections effortless. The rest of the day was spent doing exactly what you should do in Coorg, exploring coffee plantations, visiting monasteries, chasing waterfalls, stopping at viewpoints and, of course, trying the local food. The XEV 9E was simply along for the ride.
What stayed with me most from this trip wasn’t a particular feature or specification. It was how naturally the XEV 9E fitted into the way I travel. My experience with the Renault Kiger taught me what I needed from a practical road-trip car. My MG Windsor showed me that living with an EV could be remarkably easy and economical. And this trip with the XEV 9E showed me that the technology has evolved to a point where you don’t have to think of an electric car as a city-only machine.
We covered multiple states, fast highways, busy cities, coastal roads, steep ghats, winding mountain sections and even roads that barely existed. We carried camera equipment, drove long distances, climbed mountains, explored plantations and spent entire days behind the wheel. And through all of it, the biggest thing I noticed was how little I had to think about the fact that it was an EV.
The 79 kWh battery gave us the confidence to cover long distances. The real-world range of around 450-470 km was impressive. Charging was seamless and the combination of comfort, suspension and instant torque made it an extremely capable road-trip companion. I’ve now experienced EV ownership at two very different levels, first with my MG Windsor and then with the Mahindra XEV 9E.
And if there is one thing this journey from Mumbai to Goa and then into the hills of Coorg taught me, it is that the question is no longer whether an EV can handle a road trip. The more interesting question is: How far do you actually want to go?
Pictures & Text by Frankline Francis
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