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Delhi

I want to change/upgrade to an automatic petrol car that is easy to drive. I will be using it mostly for local shopping, etc. My budget is between 8-9 lakhs, and I am open to EVs.

Asked by: RAJWINDER SINGH GILL
Since you are open to an EV, we would suggest you look at the Tata Punch EV. It is a little above your budget, but you will get a car that is easy to drive for your local shopping trips and being an electric car will be the smoothest automatics you can find.
The trouble is, below Rs 10 lakh most automatics are automated manuals (AMT) which are not smooth shifters, and you can feel the shifts as they happen. If you must stick with your 9 lakh budget, have a look at the new Maruti Suzuki Swift, its light controls make it easy to drive, especially in the city and the car rides well too.  
Tata Punch EV

Tata Punch EV

Answered by
AI
Autocar India team25 Nov' 25

Latest questions

Asked by: Subra

I am planning to buy the XEV 9e Pack 3 with the 79kWh battery. I am a heavy-footed driver and tend to drive aggressively. Performance is the main reason I am considering this car. However, I saw a review where the XEV 9e was driven at around 170kph for about eight minutes, after which the power dropped by 14% from the initial. If performance is my priority and I am not concerned about range, should I still go for it? I am scared that it may underperform a lot after driving at excessive speeds for a long time.

Don’t be alarmed by the video you saw. All electric cars discharge very fast when driven at speed. And a fast discharge also heats up the battery and motor, so to protect the hardware, the battery management system (BMS) cuts the power, which explains the 14% drop you noticed.Because of aerodynamic drag, speed is the biggest enemy of range, and there is an exponential drop the faster you go. For example, if you drive at 160-170kph, the batteries will discharge 2.5 to 3 times faster than if you were driving at 90-100kph.Even EVs with large batteries can lose charge at the rate of 1-2% per minute with hard and sustained high-speed driving.So if all you want is performance and don’t care about range, the Mahindra XEV 9e in Race mode is very quick for short bursts of acceleration to overtake and fast highway runs. But no EV will give you full peak power indefinitely at extreme speeds.It all depends on how the BMS is calibrated, but after sustained high-speed driving, expect a drop in power, which is normal for an EV and not a flaw of the 9e specifically.
AI
Autocar India team
12 Jan' 26
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