Getting into EVs – Mahindra e2o Plus<\/h2>\n
In January 2018, I was in the organic retail business. I was naturally attracted to minimalism and environmental issues, following e-mobility in the US and Europe, Tesla’s progress, renewables, sustainability, etc. I was on a road trip from Tirupur to Kolhapur to visit many organic farmers in various parts of North Karnataka and South Maharashtra. On that trip, while returning via Bangalore, I decided to buy a used Mahindra e2o for my local use. That was the only EV available at that time. But once we visited the used car dealer, he insisted that I buy a new car instead. I had taken the test-drive, was fully satisfied, and booked two new cars in Bangalore for myself and my friend Karthic.<\/p>\n
Bangalore to my home was 310 km and the new e2o had a range of only around 110 km. Instead of taking delivery by truck, I decided to drive it all the way. It wouldn’t support fast charging. My first charge was after Hosur, at a fuel station. I charged it with a 15A socket for around 5 hours. The second stop was at Alps Hotel, Krishnagiri, where the manager charged me Rs. 2,000 for charging alone and extra for accommodation. I charged it for 7-8 hours. The third charging was near Omalur, in a local workshop where there was no proper earthing and the charger was busted and fried. It was a total flop, but I was happy nothing happened to the car. I arranged a truck and brought the car home safely. I still remember, while I was coming in the truck, I was dreaming that these places where I had tried to charge my EV would be ideal locations for fast chargers in the future for future cars. This experience changed my destiny and it is a different journey altogether as a CPO at present.<\/p>\n
Likes<\/span><\/p>\n Dislikes<\/span><\/p>\n Likes<\/span><\/p>\n Dislikes<\/span><\/p>\n Likes<\/span><\/p>\n Dislikes<\/span><\/p>\n I bought it in February 2022 and it has totally satisfied me so far with no issues. It’s mostly used by my father. It’s a simple model from a trusted brand. There is no need to research too much for me. I’ve ridden it for 16,000+ km.<\/p>\n My first long journey was in November 2020.<\/p>\n That’s around 1,700 km and there were hardly any fast chargers at that time.<\/p>\n In the last 3 years, I have driven to almost all parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and South Karnataka. I’ve done a Tirupur – Bangalore – Hubli – Goa – Udupi – Coorg – Tirupur trip with my family and many more long drives. There are plenty of fast chargers available now compared to 2020.<\/p>\n Once EV, always EV<\/p>\n Here’s what BHPian vivek_lo<\/strong> had to say on the matter:<\/p>\n You are an EV Legend adopting EVs from the time of conception. I am currently looking to replace my 10-year-old Ecosport. Test drove many cars, Taigun, Hyryder, GV, New Seltos, and Elevate but not fully satisfied with any of them. One day out of curiosity, I took a ZS test drive and the driving experience was overwhelming. My only concern was planning the charging, not on the long trip but at home! I have Ather scooter for two years. Since I don’t use it every day, I don’t charge it routinely. When I want to use it, many times I find the available charge is not adequate for the return trip but too early to charge. This is the problem of the 65km range. But made up my mind to go ahead, since the 300km range is good for my weekly city drives. But suddenly my Ather showed a strange problem. The electricals including the engine stopped when I was riding! I took to the side and stopped. When I restarted, it worked flawlessly. This incident scared me and made me rethink ZS. Wondering if I should go with Seltos? The EVs seem like gadgets and could throw such problems. Have you ever faced similar issues in cars?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Here’s what BHPian Shreyans_Jain<\/strong> had to say on the matter:<\/p>\n As a new entrant to the EV club, I find your long-term experience to be positively reinforcing. I agree, once you get used to the smoothness, the silence, and the instant pick-up, it is very hard to go back. I switched to my Jeep Compass after a week of driving my Nexon LR. The Jeep felt positively crude and lazy! Never thought I would say that about Compass.<\/p>\n You are absolutely right, EVs should be driven in sport mode, and we should enjoy the drive and not worry about range. My Nexon is closing in on 1000km, and I have driven most of it in Sport mode. The effortless torque is damn addictive.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Here’s what BHPian shyampsunder<\/strong> had to say on the matter:<\/p>\n Loved the write-up.<\/p>\n I bought an EV only due to the work put in by you folks at Zeon Charging by building reliable charging infra in South India.<\/p>\n A lot of people in my friends and family circle look to me as a pioneer in driving EVs over long distances but I tell them about how you guys did such long trips without any fast charging infra!<\/p>\n You should definitely write more about running a fast-charging CPO for the wider knowledge of the community here.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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<\/h2>\nMG ZS EV 2020<\/h2>\n
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Nexon EV 2021<\/h2>\n
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TVS iQube 2022<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nLong journeys<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nLong journey tips<\/h2>\n
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Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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