This is his account.

Mumbai to Alibaug and Back: Approx 290 km.

Total Journey: 300+ km in a Mahindra XEV 9e with a family of four who, frankly, were completely averse to EVs.

IMAGE: The XEV 9e in Ruby Velvet colour can easily be mistaken for black the way it shines in the light. All Photographs: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff

The burning question before we left the city limits was simple: Could we make it to Alibaug and back on a single charge, or would we be forced to hunt down a charging station along the way?

Now, since everyone in the automotive media has already beaten the technical specifications of not just the XEV 9e but all EVs to death, I wanted to focus entirely on the human side of this machine.

This is the story of four real opinions, navigating the notoriously tight, undulating coastal roads toward Alibaug with a family experiencing an electric vehicle for the very first time.

First Impressions: The "Dead Body" Boot Test

Our first challenge was loading up for a three-day weekend. As the powered tailgate swung open, Namita, my wife, stared into the massive void and was instantly shocked by the sheer volume. "You could easily hide a couple of dead bodies in here!" she joked.

Morbid humour aside, packing our luggage was an absolute breeze. The XEV 9e swallowed everything effortlessly into its massive 663 litre boot space, and that's without folding a single seat of the second row down.

In fact, the 150 litre frunk (storage under the bonnet) up front remained empty the entire weekend.

Stepping inside the cabin is incredibly easy, thanks to doors that open to a full 90 degrees. For elderly family members, it’s not so much a matter of climbing in as it is just walking in.

Once everyone was settled, the massive triple-screen dashboard layout welcomed us with a Netflix like thump followed by a fluid introductory animation in all three screens of MAIA (Mahindra Artificial Intelligence Architecture), which is easily the fastest computing brain in the automotive/mobile world today.

IMAGE: Enter the XEV 9e and the luxury starts from the door panel itself, where the electric seat adjustment buttons are placed. Something you would only find in Mercs.

The Silently Sophisticated Departure

The start of the trip was almost comical. The entire family sat in anticipation, waiting for some kind of familiar mechanical rumble or vibration.

Instead, what followed was a buttery-smooth, seamless liftoff. The only audible sound inside the cabin was the gentle hum of the air conditioning blower, which was working overtime against the intense Mumbai heat outside!

Then came a brilliant display of intuitive engineering. I received a phone call from other family members who were joining us in their own internal combustion cars. The moment the call connected, the interior suddenly went dead quiet as the climate control fan automatically dropped its speed to ensure my conversation wasn't drowned out by blower noise. It’s a beautifully thought-out touch.

We officially kicked off the journey with the MID displaying a comforting 513 km of range. Even though I knew we only had about 150 km of driving ahead of us for the day, including two out-of-the-way stops, our deep-seated EV aversion meant we still proactively mapped out every single public charger along the route, just in case.

As we cruised, the 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system with Dolby Atmos enveloped the cabin in music. However, to my ears, the 12-speaker Sony Premium 3D setup in my own Mahindra Scorpio N still delivers a punchier, warmer acoustic experience.

Where the XEV 9e truly shines, though, is the second row. All the occupants were incredibly comfortable, helped immensely by the entirely flat floor that allows for natural leg placement.

Pulling back the shade of the Infinity Roof treated the rear passengers to a fantastic panoramic view. More importantly, even under the blazing afternoon sun, the cabin didn't heat up. The combination of the UV-filtration glass on the panoramic roof and the best-in-class air conditioning kept the cabin perfectly chilled.

The only thing the rear passengers complained of was "why do we not have ventilated seats? Unfair that only the front passengers get all the goodies" :)

After a prolonged, highly relaxed nap in the back, heavily induced by the super-silent nature of the electric drivetrain, we arrived at our destination full of energy and ready for some family time.

IMAGE: The luggage space in the XEV 9e is huge, yes. But fold the 2nd row, and you get a double bed, as Hitesh here finds some respite from the hot sun at the Akshi beach parking area.

The Return Leg: Confronting Mumbai’s Infrastructure

Two days later, it was time to head home. In the midst of all the weekend fun and frolicking, we had completely forgotten our original plan to top up the battery to avoid range anxiety.

Keep in mind, we hadn't just stayed parked; we had taken the SUV out twice around Alibaug and Akshi in search of good restaurants, alongside a morning run right beside the beach. (No, we did not take the car on to the beach sands. It is not safe and not good for the car too!)

We were relieved to find that the built-in navigation map showed a DC fast charger just 3 km away from our villa. However, in our rush to beat the Monday morning rush-hour traffic back into Mumbai, we decided to skip it. Instead, we made just one quick breakfast stop at Joshi Wadewale in Alibaug for a round of Vada Pavs, Misal Pav, bread-butter, and hot chai.

Back on the road toward the city, the battery charge dropped to 56%, with the MID indicating 240 km of remaining range. We were exactly 130 km away from Mumbai, but I still had to drop my daughter and cousin off at their respective offices right at the morning peak hours.

I decided to gamble. I ignored the range display entirely and just drove.

We cracked South Mumbai within three hours, getting everyone to their desks perfectly on time. Crucially, the car still had well over 100 km of range to spare.

Then came the real test: the final leg from South Mumbai back to the northern suburbs.

This is where the grim reality of Mumbai’s current charging infrastructure hit home. All the way from South Mumbai to the bustling hubs of Andheri, there were a grand total of only three fast chargers available, with absolutely no guarantee that any of them would actually be operational when we arrived! Looked to me like Alibaug and the road there had many more chargers available!

And this is precisely where the XEV 9e proved its dependability over the city's infrastructure.

IMAGE: Namita here is 5'10", and the XEV 9e stands tall above her shoulders on the large 19-inch wheels.

Final Verdict: Outperforming the City

Dialling the Regenerative Braking up to Level 3, I navigated the stop-and-go gridlock of the Western Express Highway, dropped my cousin off, and finally pulled into my home parking spot.

I honestly could not believe my eyes: 24% battery remaining with 110 km of usable range left on the clock.

We were driving the Pack Three variant equipped with the flagship 79 kWh battery pack, which claims a theoretical MIDC range of 656 km.

In the real world, we all know those certified testing numbers are total nonsense. I went into this trip realistically expecting around a 500 km true range, and the car delivered exactly that.

If you install a fast charger at home, you are thoroughly sorted for 500 km of stress-free driving. The XEV 9e didn't just eliminate our family's EV scepticism; it proved to be significantly more reliable than the public charging network itself.

At the end of this road trip of ours, apart from the complaints about the charging infrastructure in Mumbai, all of us had only praise for the Mahindra XEV 9e, which has proven that homegrown ingenuity CAN deliver a luxury grand touring experience that feels just as sophisticated on the streets of Mumbai as it would on any international highway.