Mahindra BE range stands for Born Electric and slightly differs in terms of design language from XUV range
Indian auto giant, Mahindra has pulled off quite a feat by showing 5 electric SUVs. I’ll rephrase. 5 different “Global” SUVs. We stress the word global because that’s what Mahindra is trying to achieve. Where most manufacturers launch sub-par products in the Indian market when compared to global counterparts, here is Mahindra, trying to break that stereotype.
Out of all five electric SUVs, XUV.e8, XUV.e9, BE.05, BE.07 and BE.09, the one that locked on to us, is BE.05. Personally, I think it is the best looking of the bunch and is probably the most important for Mahindra too. How? Let’s break it down.
Mahindra BE.05 – Design
One glance at BE.05 is enough to draw you in. In profile, it resembles Range Rover Evoque a little, and Lamborghini Urus a lot. Also, M&M Chairman Anand Mahindra promises that what we see is what we get. Lead designer Pratap Bose says that around 90% of the design will make it to production. We likey.
Front fascia looks to be inspired by Fenyr SuperSport from W Motors. It gets Mahindra’s ‘Scorpion Sting’ LED DRLs that complement the closed-off grille. We can see a lot of aerodynamic cuts and scoops along with air channels including a neatly done diffuser. Mahindra’s new Heartcore design philosophy is really working in their favour.
Also aiding aerodynamics are sleek rear-view cameras instead of mirrors, flush door handles and the large aerodynamic wheel. Production model might get ORVMs or Mahindra might retain the cameras and the wheel size will definitely go 3 or 4 inches smaller. Body cladding is gloss black rather than being unpainted.
Features & Interiors
It has a sloping roofline eating into the rear passenger’s head space. But who gives a toss when it makes BE.05 look so good. I wouldn’t. Mahindra calls it SEV (Sports Electric Vehicle) and not an SUV. Coming to its rear, it has a sporty twin profile spoiler which reminds us of a Lamborghini Aventador or a Nissan Magnite. It also gets a massive LED taillight and an attractive rear.
The main highlight of this concept is its interiors. It has a cockpit-like layout cocooning the driver. BE.05 gets a fabric dashboard that won’t make it to production model because of the dust in India. It also gets metallic trims finished in Copper shade, a Skoda-like steering wheel with a backlit BE logo and a moonroof which is more practical than sunroof owing to the dust in India. It also gets aircraft-style gear-selector and a large knob and 4 buttons around it to control the infotainment. Yay! Buttons and knobs.
It gets the same twin horizontal screens under a single pane of glass unlike in XUV.e8 which gets three horizontal screens. The twin-screen unit is the same as XUV700 but is free-standing in BE.05. If Mahindra keeps most of the design intact on production-spec model, they have an absolute winner.
Why It Is Important?
We said it will be the most important EV for Mahindra for a reason. It is the smallest of the five SUVs at 4,370mm length, 1,900mm width, 1,635mm height and 2,775mm wheelbase. It is almost comparable to Creta and MG ZS EV in terms of size. Being the smallest, it is likely to be the most affordable too. Report from the UK states that Mahindra has tested BE.05’s INGLO platform in Indian testing cycles which yielded around 675 km of range, while in WLTP cycle, it is just around 430 km. Impressive!
BE.05 might not be the first to launch with INGLO platform, that credit might go to XUV.e8 which is an electric XUV700 slated for 2024. But BE.05 which is slated for 2025, might be least expensive and also the most accessible of the bunch. Also, INGLO platform starts with 60 kWh and goes to 80 kWh with 170 kW (228 bhp) in RWD and 250 KW (335 bhp) in AWD layout.
If BE.05 only got a 60 kWh battery and 228 bhp RWD, it is still a very compelling product if priced around Rs. 30-35 lakh mark. It sits right between MG ZS EV with 50 kWh battery at lower end and Volvo XC40 Recharge, Kia EV6 and the likes with around 80 kWh battery at the upper end. It will also compete with all the EVs launched in this space till 2025 too. Not bad, eh?
