Mahindra’s born-electric duo, the BE 6 and XEV 9e, have generated significant excitement in recent months. Mahindra reports delivering 10,000 EVs since March. Amid the enthusiasm for these models, a BE 6 owner, PM Sreenivas, shares tips for maximising driving range through simple techniques on the Team-BHP forum. He emphasises understanding the BE 6’s characteristics and spending time familiarising oneself with its features to optimise performance.
How to break the 500 km benchmark?
The BE 6 is available in two battery packs, the 59 kWh and 79 kWh, and the ARAI claims that the bigger battery’s range is 682 km. The claims made by PM Sreenivas will shock everyone as he managed to get a range of 600 km in the city and over 480 km on the highway. Based on his experience, the EV can churn out numbers close to the claimed range by the company.
PM Sreenivas shared an image of the infotainment system reading a range of 601 km with the battery charged to 99%. He said that the numbers revealed are when the air conditioner is switched off, and one can expect over 550 km. He says one must avoid flooring the pedal as that just eats into the range. “I increase the speed of the car gradually to my desired levels instead of quickly pushing the car hard, as that consumes more energy,” said PM Sreenivas.
Once cruising at a speed between 80 to 120 kmph, he said, “I ease off the accelerator and then lightly press and hold it to maintain that speed. I’ve noticed this seems to use less energy, as shown by the energy meter on the dashboard.”
PM Sreenivas shared another tip about reducing speed without using the brakes, utilising the BE 6’s three regenerative braking settings— L1, L2, and L3 —which recover energy when you lift off the accelerator. For city driving, he recommends L1 or L2, depending on traffic conditions, and admits he’s still adapting to single-pedal driving. He also noted that on highways, the BE 6 achieves a range of 380-420 km at 120 kmph, over 450 km at 100 kmph, and 480-520 km at 80 kmph.
PM Sreenivas shared these insights based on his driving experience and promised to provide an update on how the EV performs in the ghats soon.
