Tata Nexon EV vs Mahindra XUV400: Which Electric SUV Charges Quicker?

If you don’t mind paying the initial premium, buying an electric vehicle is rather tempting, isn’t it? Their refined drivetrain, effortless performance, and low running costs make a compelling case, not to mention, you get to brag about doing your bit in saving the environment. But there’s a big ever-looming achilles heel in their package known as charging times. 

How quickly will your EV charge matters a lot, especially if you don’t have a provision of home charging, or like to roadtrip often with your EV. So if you’re an owner, or even a prospective buyer of either the Tata Nexon EV or Mahindra XUV400, this story is for you as we take a look and compare their real-world charging times using a DC fast charger. A quick spec check first:

Specifications

Both the Nexon EV and XUV400 have very similar battery capacities. They both get the option of either a 3.3kW charger or a 7.2kW charger, to take care of their respective home charging duties. 

But both the electric SUVs also boast DC fast charging capabilities of up to 50kW for quick charging times. So with a DC fast charger, the XUV400 claims to do 0-80% charge in 50 minutes, while the Nexon EV takes 56 minutes to recharge its battery from 10-80%. 

Let’s find out exactly how quick they are in the real-world:

Charge times

Before we get into the nitty gritties of the charge time, both vehicles were charged at the same Shell charging station simultaneously. That station has a charging capacity of up to 120kW. Let’s come to the charging times itself now:

The XUV400 was charging at a faster rate in the beginning. To reach 60% of indicated charge, the XUV400 took 10 minutes less, compared to the Nexon EV. However, the Nexon EV started to make up time as we went up to 70%, with the time difference coming down to just 3 mins.

It continues to make up time on the XUV400 up until the 95% charge mark, with the difference coming down to a mere 1 minute. However, the two indigenous electric SUVs are inseparable when charged up to 100%, as both of them took 1 hour 52 mins to do the deet. So the two are inseparable if you charge them to 100%, and the difference below that will only be a matter of single-digit minutes, literally. 

Price

Tata retails the Nexon EV between Rs 14.49 lakh and Rs 19.49 lakh, while Mahindra sells the XUV400 from Rs 15.48 lakh to Rs 19.39 lakh (ex-showroom). Apart from rivaling each other, they pose as an affordable alternative to the MG ZS EV.