If there's one surefire way to reduce automobile pollution, it is the Reva. But is it a practical alternative to the real thing? We find out in our first ever electric car test.

Price (ex-showroom, Bangalore) Rs 2.49-Rs 2.74 lakh
Top speed 50kph
0-50kph 18.3 sec
Range 80km
For Unbeatable running costs, easy to drive, eco-friendly
Against Impractical, price

It's been exactly two years since we first previewed the Maini Reva (May 2000 issue). Since then, the Reva has been a long time coming and has just been officially launched outside of Bangalore. Two years is a long time in the development and road testing phase of a car but then the Reva is no ordinary car. As India's first electric car, the Reva was entering uncharted territory and the company had to make doubly sure that there would be no failures in a new world where volts, amps and watts replace bhp, rpm and exhaust fumes.

The production Reva is substantially different from the one we drove two years ago. Extensive testing and market feedback have resulted in an all-new suspension, a longer wheelbase and improved interiors.

W alk up to the Reva and the first thing that strikes you are its dinky dimensions. This is a small car by any standards with an overall footprint comparable to an auto rickshaw. Why couldn't it have been bigger?

Chetan Maini, the young brain behind the Reva, says he did consider a four-door model but that would have meant more weight, required more power and a larger battery. Though Maini has the technology, it would have pushed the costs up disproportionately. Besides, the focus has been to position the Reva as a city car, designed with city mobility in mind. It had to have the smallest turning radius of any car in India and it had to be the easiest car to drive and park. Making the Reva any bigger would have meant a huge compromise in a lot of areas.

The Reva's styling has a certain appeal to it in a comical and cute sort of way. The proportions are all awry, the tall stance accentuated by the flat windscreen and large wheels straddling a small wheelbase. The styling was done by a young enthusiastic team of graduates from the Pasadena Design Center in the US. The matt grey bumper, which neatly integrates into the nose, stands out. However, body-coloured bumpers are on the cards as well. The body is made from Acrylo-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) panels that are bolted onto a stout space-frame.

Whilst the doors are huge and open wide, the insides are incredibly cramped. The driving position is nicely elevated but your head disappears into the roof. Everything around you feels like it has been shrunk one size smaller. The narrow footwell makes it difficult to find the pedals and two large-sized adults may find themselves sitting cheek-to cheek.

Space at the rear is even more limited but at a pinch, and an uncomfortable one at that - four medium- sized adults could travel a short distance before circulation to their legs slows down. The rear is best used for kids or small pieces of luggage, which the flip-down seats can accommodate. The good thing about the interiors is the friendly design. The swoopy dashboard, brilliantly styled steering wheel and chunky 'power' switch look great and goes to show that good design can even be found in an econo-car.

Turn the ignition and rotate the nice-to-grip switch to 'F' and . . . nothing. You only realise that the car is alive when you prod the accelerator. It responds instantaneously and smartly gathers velocity. The high torque motor gives the Reva a certain spring in its step but the truth is that the Reva is woefully underpowered when compared to a regular car.

Zero to 50kph comes up in a yawning 18.3 seconds and the top speed is electronically limited to 65kph. While this does feel pedestrian on any half-decent open stretch, the Reva revels in bumper-to-bumper traffic and in constant stop-start conditions. Don't go above 30kph and you won't complain. In the 'E' or Economy mode, which gives you an additional 20km range, the Reva is even slower with the dash from 0-50kph taking a painful 26.72 seconds.

The Reva's engine, like all electric vehicles, is dependent on driving style and while we didn't get the opportunity to properly check out the Reva's range, our flat-out acceleration tests had the 'fuel-gauge' or charge gauge drop to around half in 30 kilometres.

Drive normally and a range of 80km on a full charge is possible, going up to 100km if you've switched to E-mode. The best part is the running cost, which is virtually free. Plug the charge cable into an ordinary 15 amp socket and the Reva sucks in only 9 units of electricity and is fully 'tanked-up' What does that cost? Take the average charge of Rs 3 per unit and that works out to 33 paise per km. The only thing cheaper is walking!

On the road, the Reva's sharp and quick steering takes some getting used to but the responsive steering can be used to good effect to dart between traffic. So nimble is the Reva that it can make a U-turn just about anywhere.

This is a great car to learn driving on - no gears, no clutch and you just can't stall. At speed, the Reva tends to feel a bit tail-happy and you can feel all that mass concentrated around the rear axle. Also, the ride quality is pretty choppy and is not helped by the fact that the special low-rolling resistance Michelins it comes with have to be pumped up to 35-40psi. Lowering the pressure would improve ride comfort but that would lower the range as well.

The Reva has bags of character and is bound to appeal to those looking for a second or even third car. In the city centre it is genuinely useful, more so if you have to drive and park yourself. For even mildly long commutes, the absence of performance and feeling of vulnerability will have you reaching for your Maruti's keys. Also, charging the Reva is not as easy as going to a pump and filling up.

The truth is that the Reva lacks the practicality and convenience of an everyday car.

Priced at Rs 2.49-Rs 2.74 lakh, the Reva seems completely overpriced, especially as a Maruti 800 with air- conditioning is cheaper. But as far as electric vehicles go, the Reva is possibly the cheapest in the world! Cars like the Ford Think, which are just a bit larger and have similar range, cost three to four times the Reva's price in Europe.

The truth is that the Reva lacks the practicality of a regular car. It lacks basics like comfort and space. And air-conditioning is not yet an option. The running costs may be temptingly low but the only compelling reason to buy one today is a strong desire to save our blue planet.