A recent real-world drive in the Mahindra Harrier.EV provides fascinating insight into how good this electric SUV can be on one of India’s busiest coastal corridors. From Sawantwadi close to Goa to Mumbai on NH66, the car has recorded a phenomenal 470 kilometres on a stretch that few owners are likely to have seen before. It comes to us via a post by Tushar | BeBold EV @tushv24 who provides his experience driving this long highway route in the Mahindra Harrier.EV.
The drive started with a full tank of battery power sourced solely from home solar, and it featured four passengers in the Harrier.EV with the air conditioning running at full blast in Auto mode at a fixed 22 degrees. Despite the air-con use and the highway cruise that saw speeds mostly kept within the 85-100 km/h range with the occasional overtake at 120-135 km/h, the Harrier.EV achieved a range number to be proud of – and all with a reasonably conservative highway drive that should keep most owners from worrying about the battery depleting prematurely. Only one stop was needed along the way – at the Chargezone in Mahad – to refill the Harrier.EV’s battery from 13 percent to 73 percent.
That was more than enough to see the authors return home with 40 percent battery remaining in reserve, meaning the drive had no significant impact on the battery apart from removing some of the mystery that comes with a first long-distance journey in an electric vehicle. A pre-planned stop at Hotel Rajmudra to take a break along the way was thwarted when the Mahindra chargers were found to be offline due to a local power cut. However, it was a minor inconvenience that was soon forgotten thanks to the abundance of charging options spaced 10-15 km apart on the route along NH66. Apart from a range that is sure to delight owners who like to keep their battery use conservative, the drive also provided a sense of freedom as the Harrier.EV tackled the mix of highway cruising and overtaking without issue while keeping the four occupants in the car comfortable throughout the drive.
In many ways, the owner odd car believes his experience in the Mahindra Harrier.EV shows that the car has been driven conservatively and thoughtfully but still managed to achieve a range number that few electric owners would have a problem with on a long-distance journey between major cities. With 470 km between Sawantwadi and Mumbai, the drive is an excellent example of what the Mahindra Harrier.EV can achieve on a long-distance drive on one of the country’s west coast highways – and it provides a significant incentive for anyone interested in an electric SUV to consider making a similar journey.