2016 Tata Bolt BEV review, test drive

The Bolt BEV is not a car you can buy. It’s a sneak peek into Tata Motors’ EV future. Hormazd Sorabjee finds out how advanced it is.

Published on Dec 10, 2016 08:00:00 AM

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109hp motor fits comfortably in the engine bay and delivers a smooth drive.

Fuel filler replaced with charging socket.

Low-rolling resistance tyres help range.

Top-end performance isn’t an electric car’s strength – after the initial burst to around 100kph in under-12 seconds, the Bolt BEV struggles to gather pace. On switching to Eco mode from Sport, which cuts the power by a substantial 38 percent to 68hp, the Bolt feels proportionately slower, much slower. It’s not the mode you want to drive in but it may well be the mode that gets you home. The Bolt BEV’s declared range of 120km is achieved in Eco mode, but in real-world conditions, that drops to just 80km. It’s not a particularly great range by today’s EV standards, but it’s good enough for the average round trip from home to office.

Fuel filler replaced with charging socket.

The thorny issues of range, charging infrastructure and battery costs are still big hurdles for EVs. In fact, the cost of the lithium-ion battery pack alone for the Bolt BEV is upwards of Rs 12 lakh, which pushes the price of the car to over Rs 20 lakh! Not even the most zealous of eco-warriors will pay that much for what looks like a standard Bolt. This rules out any chance of the Bolt BEV making it into showrooms and, for now, it’s just a demonstration of Tata Motors’ EV technology.

The company wants to be future-ready for the ‘tipping point’, or when electric cars will outsell those with internal combustion. With the barrage of tech breakthroughs in the EV world, that day is not too far away.