Mahindra BE 6e review: A path-breaking EV

Mahindra has shocked and awed one and all with its first born-electric SUV, called the BE 6e, or ‘be sexy’ as the company likes to call it. Beyond the wordplay, this striking SUV has plenty to impress, including standout specifications, stellar performance, a comprehensive feature set and an enticing starting price of Rs 18.90 lakh (ex-showroom, India).

Built on Mahindra’s in-house developed INGLO platform, the BE 6e is packed with cutting-edge technology, such as multi-link rear suspension, adaptive dampers, a durable LFP (lithium ferrous phosphate) battery with BYD’s Blade cells, brake-by-wire functionality and variable gear ratio power steering. It comes with two battery options: a 59kWh unit and a larger 79kWh unit, both powering the rear wheels via an electric motor producing 380Nm of torque. The motor delivers 286hp with the 79kWh battery and 231hp with the 59kWh version.

The ARAI-rated range is equally impressive, with the 59kWh version offering 535km and the 79kWh version stretching up to 682km. We took the larger battery variant for a spin to dive deeper into what the BE 6e has to offer.

Mahindra BE 6e design

The BE 6e boasts a radical, futuristic design that demands attention with its bold aesthetics. Its aggressive front styling is highlighted by sharp, striking elements and oversized LED daytime running lights, giving it a commanding road presence. The illuminated new ‘BE’ logo takes centre stage on the forward-tilted bonnet, adding a distinctive touch. An intriguing feature is the large hood scoop, designed to enhance aerodynamics by efficiently channelling airflow.

The BE 6e features flared arches, smooth lines, and flush-fitting door handles along its side profile, creating a clean and sophisticated look. Its aero-inspired 19-inch wheels, thick gloss-black cladding and substantial ride height give it a concept-car-like presence. However, the gloss-black cladding may be prone to minor scratches. To counter this, the lower section beneath the doors has a rough finish with a unique lined pattern, offering added protection against scratches and stone chips.

The design incorporates a distinctive trapezoidal window line and a coupe-like sloping roof, further enhancing its futuristic appeal. The dual spoilers – one on the roof and a lip spoiler on the stubby boot – add a sporty touch. At the rear, the styling is minimalistic, free from unnecessary cuts and creases, featuring a matte-finished Mahindra logo and BE 6e badging. The slim, oversized C-shaped LED tail-lamps, with a smoked effect reminiscent of a Range Rover, add a touch of elegance.

The jury is still out on whether its radical design will have a universal appeal or just attract a niche, young audience. 

In terms of dimensions, the BE 6e is larger and wider than the Tata Curvv EV. In fact, it is even wider than the Mahindra XUV700 and boasts a longer wheelbase to accommodate the big battery pack. It offers a healthy 207mm of ground clearance (unladen), with the battery pack positioned 220mm above the ground for optimal protection.

Mahindra BE 6e interior

The BE 6e’s design combines bold aesthetics with unique functionality, though it introduces a few practical challenges. The SUV’s tall ride height, sharply raked A-pillars and low roofline make stepping inside it a bit cumbersome, even with doors that open up to 90 degrees. Once seated, you might instinctively use the fabric door straps (which replace conventional handles) to close the door instead of the dedicated recess above them – a habit that could reduce the straps’ lifespan over time.

The cabin mirrors the radical design of the exterior. A square-ish two-spoke steering wheel with illuminated touch controls and the brand’s logo immediately draws attention, although it feels a bit odd to hold. The 12.3-inch twin-screen setup is another highlight, positioned above an expansive dashboard that stretches to the sloping windscreen, reminiscent of the Honda Civic. However, this long dashboard offers no utility or storage space. An advantage of its low dashboard and its steeply raked windscreen is the fantastic frontal visibility, lending a sporty driving position.

A unique “halo loop” wraps around the driver, evoking a race-car-like feel while also serving as a partition between the driver and the front passenger. However, this design element divides opinions. It reduces utility by obstructing the front passenger’s access to the USB-C ports and eliminating space for a second cup holder. Adding practical features, like buttons or a volume knob on the halo, could have enhanced functionality.

Notable design touches include an aircraft-style drive selector, roof-mounted toggle switches and a magnetic holder on the centre console for the stylish key. Power window toggles are a quirky addition but function counter-intuitively: pushing the toggle up lowers the windows and vice versa, contrary to the arrow markings on the panel.

The interior is accented with a matte olive green finish on the dashboard, door panels and seats, which pairs well with the black and grey tones. While the cabin looks modern, the gloss-black elements are prone to scratches, and the overall quality and fit-finish could be more premium. The touchpoints and switchgear lack the tactile feel we’ve experienced in global brands. Also, this Mahindra has an array of buttons scattered throughout (some are even on the roof); however, the allocation of functions to these isn’t well thought out. For example, there are five buttons to change regenerative braking levels, but there’s no dedicated button to toggle through the drive modes.

The seats combine leatherette with recycled fabric and are supportive, though the cushioning leans firm. The driver’s seat is electrically adjustable, with three memory settings and a dedicated ventilation button, while the passenger seat’s ventilation function must be accessed through the touchscreen. Rear-seat ingress and egress are hampered by the low roofline. While the kneeroom is ample, the headroom is limited for taller passengers, and the thick door pads reduce seat width, making it less comfortable for three adults. The rear seat also lacks sufficient thigh support, and the lumbar support may feel excessive. Adjustable backrest recline adds a degree of customisation for rear-seat comfort, although it could do with a bit more recline.

The quirky rear air vents can be opened or closed but don’t allow directional adjustments. Their intricate design may also trap dust, making cleaning a challenge.

The BE 6e’s tall ride height and rear-mounted motor result in a high boot floor, complicating the loading of heavy items. The deep boot, rated at 455 litres, has limited height, making stacking luggage difficult. A space-saver spare tyre is neatly stored beneath the boot floor.

A front trunk (frunk) adds 45 litres of storage with a maximum capacity of 35 kilograms, ideal for smaller items like charging cables or a car cover. While practical, it’s not particularly spacious.

The BE 6e’s innovative design is packed with standout features, but a few compromises in usability and practicality could impact the overall ownership experience. For those drawn to its striking looks and cutting-edge tech, these trade-offs may be worth it.

Mahindra BE 6e features

On the topic of storage and practicality, the BE 6e gets large door pockets, a bulky central console with two levels – the lower level can accommodate items such as small handbags, whereas the top one has two wireless charging pads, a cup holder, shortcut buttons for the infotainment screen and a deep, cooled armrest console. The glove box is huge, too, and there’s also a USB port in there, through which one can transfer the video recorder footage to one’s mobile device or hard drive. Speaking of which, the vehicle’s 360-degree camera, as well as its in-cabin camera, can double up as a video recorder and be used like a dash-cam, should one so desire.

And while on that topic, the BE 6e is stuffed to the gills with very useful and unique features. It gets an advanced head-up display, which uses augmented reality and displays navigation data in real-time, in addition to the speed, ADAS warnings and other details, all of which are configurable. The 12.3-inch touchscreen is full of apps, but only a few are useful. Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are part of the package and work seamlessly. However, the user interface for the rest of the system is rather complicated.

Accessing simple functions, such as air-con controls or volume, is a two-step process, and even the process of changing the drive mode is rather complicated: one needs to press the physical button, which is placed too far behind on the central console, and then stretch and reach out to the screen’s leftmost section to click on the drive mode of choice (Range, Everyday or Race). Then, to go back to the Android/Apple screen, one needs to press the touchscreen a few times.

There’s also a Driver and Occupant Monitoring System (DOMS), which includes a wide-angle camera that one can use for video calls, recreational purposes, taking selfies, or even adding some AI-generated filters. An extremely useful safety function is that it monitors the driver’s eyes at all times, and when it detects that the driver is distracted or looking at a phone screen, it will throw up a prompt on the instrument cluster, asking the driver to focus on the road.

Further, the BE 6e gets a crystal-clear 360-degree camera view, and the vehicle’s 3D display also sports the car’s exact body colour. Now, that’s neat attention to detail! Additionally, a fully autonomous self-parking function makes the BE 6e find, steer and park itself in a spot whether the driver is inside it or not.

The BE 6e also packs ambient lighting, which is highly customisable. What’s more, the panoramic glass roof (fixed) also features patterned, customisable ambient lighting.

A standout feature – undeniably – is the BE 6e’s 16-speaker Harman Kardon system with Dolby Atmos. The sound quality is simply mind-blowing and easily among the best out there, not just in its class but also from a couple of segments above.

A noteworthy optional feature is the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) system, which allows passengers to dock their mobile phone or tablet on the back seat and sync it with the front screens. This enables users to watch videos on their devices while they are simultaneously played on the central touchscreen. Additionally, the system supports device mirroring to the front screen, offers control over air-conditioning settings, and provides access to various other functions, all from the comfort of the rear seat.

Mahindra BE 6e performance

The BE impresses with its exceptional refinement, keeping road and tyre noise well-muted while isolating the cabin from external sounds. Even the electric motor operates quietly, with its characteristic whine barely noticeable.

As expected from an EV, acceleration is smooth and effortless. The BE offers three driving modes. Even in the economy-focused Range mode, power delivery is strong enough, allowing the car to accelerate swiftly and maintain pace with fast-moving highway traffic. While Range mode limits the top speed to 130kph, Everyday and Race modes remove this restriction. Race mode fully unlocks the motor’s potential, enabling rapid acceleration to triple-digit speeds. Mahindra claims a 0-100kph sprint in just 6.7 seconds, making the BE 6e the fastest accelerating production car from an Indian manufacturer. Using onboard telemetry, we recorded a time just 0.1 seconds shy of the claimed figure.

An exciting feature is the ‘Boost’ function (accessible via a button on the steering), which temporarily unleashes the motor’s full power even in Range or Everyday modes. This added thrust is particularly handy for quick overtaking, especially on two-lane roads.

The BE 6e also excels in regenerative braking, offering four levels of intensity. At level 0, the car coasts freely, while the deceleration becomes progressively stronger up to level 3, all feeling seamless and intuitive. A dedicated one-pedal mode provides even more aggressive regeneration, bringing the car to a complete stop without needing the brake pedal.

Its braking system uses a sophisticated brake-by-wire setup with an integrated electronic booster. This system seamlessly switches between regenerative braking and conventional friction brakes (front and rear discs) within milliseconds, based on pedal input. Impressively, the brake pedal offers a natural feel, and the braking performance is both consistent and reassuring.

Mahindra BE 6e ride and handling

The BE 6e achieves a near-perfect balance of ride and handling. Its battery pack, positioned beneath the floor, enhances torsional rigidity and lowers the centre of gravity, giving the car remarkable stability. This strategic weight distribution allows Mahindra’s engineers to implement a soft suspension setup, further complemented by semi-adaptive dampers that adjust stiffness based on the selected drive mode. In the ‘Range’ mode, the dampers are softer and more absorbent, while in the aggressive ‘Race’ mode, they stiffen up to deliver a sportier driving experience.

True to Mahindra’s SUV heritage, the BE 6e tackles potholes and broken roads with ease, maintaining excellent composure and rounding off imperfections akin to a luxury car. Body movements are superbly controlled, while its generous 207mm ground clearance and robust 245mm-wide tyres inspire confidence over speed breakers and rumble strips without the need to slow down.

At just 2.66 turns lock-to-lock, the BE has a really quick steering. A part of its INGLO platform is its variable gear ratio steering system. Still, the steering has some slack at the dead-centre position (to prevent the handling from feeling twitchy) before it gains weight. As far as effort goes, the steering is light yet very direct. The front-end response is sharp, allowing the BE 6e to change direction with the agility of a smaller, lighter car. The SUV feels confident and composed when cornering, with minimal body roll, and its impressive 5-metre turning radius is remarkable for a vehicle of its size.

Being a rear-wheel-drive EV, the BE 6e is very easy to put its power down on the road without excessive wheelspin. This drive layout also ensures a degree of fun and playfulness, especially in corners. The SUV’s ability to mask speed is genuinely very impressive. It excels equally on winding roads and open highways, delivering a driving experience comparable to European luxury SUVs costing two to three times more. 

Mahindra BE 6e verdict

The Mahindra BE 6e is unlike anything else on the road – whether you love its design or not, it’s impossible to ignore. If you’re in the market for a car brimming with character and undeniable road presence, the BE 6e has you covered. Packed with a host of features and modern conveniences, it offers exceptional value for money with a starting price of Rs 18.90 lakh (ex-showroom).

With a claimed real-world range of over 500 km, impressive charging times and the distinction of being the fastest production car from an Indian manufacturer to date, the BE 6e solidifies its position as a standout in its segment.

That said, its interior could have been more spacious, and the user interface (UI) and overall user experience (UX) leave room for improvement, but as we’re told by Mahindra, these are still in their Beta testing phase and are likely to be more refined before deliveries begin early next year. At its core, the BE 6e is so well-engineered that it delivers a truly world-class driving experience.