Best Electric SUV for Highway Driving With Long Range

For long highway drives, the electric SUV with the most certified range for the money in India is the Mahindra BE 6: its 79 kWh FE variant is certified at 708 km for Rs 24,45,000 ex-showroom, more than the Rs 55.71 lakh Hyundai Ioniq 5 (690 km), and every BE 6 battery quotes a 20 to 80 percent DC charge in 20 minutes. Under Rs 20 lakh the choice is between the BE 6 One 59 kWh (573 km, Rs 19,45,000) and the Maruti Suzuki e Vitara, whose 61 kWh Zeta is the cheapest way past 540 km at Rs 17,94,000 and whose Alpha (Rs 19,99,000) adds adaptive cruise control. The e Vitara's weak point on a long trip is its 45 minute fast-charge stop. All prices are ex-showroom, checked October 2026.

This guide answers one narrow question: if range is what you are buying, what is the cheapest variant that gets you to each step of certified range? We already publish lists that rank highway EVs on adaptive cruise and the kilometres each charging stop buys and on tested real-world range. This one walks up the price ladder instead.

The cheapest variant at each range step

Each row is the least expensive variant in India, from any maker, that reaches that certified range. Ranges are the manufacturers' certified MIDC Part 1 plus Part 2 figures, not real-world numbers.

Certified range step	Cheapest variant that gets there	Battery	Certified range	Ex-showroom price	DC charge quoted by the maker
450 km or more	Tata Punch EV Adventure 40	40 kWh	468 km	Rs 11.94 lakh	20 to 80% in about 26 min (65 kW charger or above)
480 km or more	Tata Nexon EV Creative 45	45 kWh	489 km	Rs 14,34,000	10 to 80% in 40 min (60 kW)
500 km or more	Tata Curvv EV Accomplished X 55	55 kWh	502 km	Rs 17,19,000	10 to 80% in 40 min (70 kW or above)
540 km or more	Maruti Suzuki e Vitara Zeta	61 kWh	543 km	Rs 17,94,000	10 to 80% in 45 min (70 kW minimum)
570 km or more	Mahindra BE 6 One 59 kWh	59 kWh	573 km	Rs 19,45,000	20 to 80% in 20 min (140 kW)
650 km or more	Mahindra BE 6 Three 70 kWh	70 kWh	652 km	Rs 22,95,000	20 to 80% in 20 min (160 kW)
700 km or more	Mahindra BE 6 FE 79 kWh	79 kWh	708 km	Rs 24,45,000	20 to 80% in 20 min (180 kW)

Mahindra's BE 6 prices above are without a wall charger; its site lists each BE 6 variant again at Rs 75,000 more with the 11.2 kW charger included. Tata's Curvv EV brochure lists a 7.2 kW wall box as the included charger, and the e Vitara brochure lists a 3 kW portable cable, so the sticker prices are not perfectly like for like.

Two things stand out. Every step above 570 km belongs to one car, the BE 6. And the jump from 543 km to 573 km costs Rs 1,51,000 on paper, which also buys a much faster charging stop.

Read the charging column carefully

The makers do not quote the same window. Maruti, Tata (Curvv, Nexon) and Hyundai give 10 to 80 percent; Mahindra, MG and Tata's Harrier and Punch give 20 to 80 percent. A 10 to 80 window puts 70 percent of the pack back in, a 20 to 80 window 60 percent, so the e Vitara's 45 minutes and the BE 6's 20 minutes are not a straight comparison. Even so, the gap is wide. The BE 6 also needs a 140 to 180 kW charger to hit its figure, and many highway stations in India are 60 kW units, where it will charge more slowly than the brochure suggests.

Bigger bodies and the premium benchmark

Some buyers want a larger SUV for a family road trip and will pay for it. These are the longest-range variants of the bigger and pricier rivals, again on certified figures.

Model and variant	Battery	Certified range	Ex-showroom price	DC charge quoted by the maker
Tata Harrier EV Adventure 65	65 kWh	538 km	Rs 21,79,000	20 to 80% in about 25 min (100 kW)
Tata Harrier EV Fearless+ 75	75 kWh	627 km	Rs 25,29,000	20 to 80% in about 25 min (120 kW)
Mahindra XEV 9e One 59 kWh	59 kWh	522 km	Rs 21,90,000	20 to 80% in 20 min (140 kW)
Mahindra XEV 9e Two 79 kWh	79 kWh	656 km	Rs 26,50,000	20 to 80% in 20 min (180 kW)
Hyundai Creta Electric Long Range	51.4 kWh	510 km	Not published per variant	10 to 80% in 39 min (over 100 kW)
MG Windsor EV Exclusive Pro	52.9 kWh	449 km	Rs 18,04,800	20 to 80% in about 50 min (60 kW)
Hyundai Ioniq 5	84 kWh	690 km	Rs 55,70,600	10 to 80% in 18 min (350 kW)

The Harrier EV is 4,607 mm long with a 502 litre boot and offers an AWD version certified at 622 km; that is the one to look at if your highway trips end on bad roads. Hyundai's website shows only the Creta Electric's starting price (Rs 18,02,800, which buys the 42 kWh pack certified at 420 km), so we could not confirm what its long-range variant costs. The Ioniq 5 charges fastest of anything here, but at more than twice the BE 6's price it is hard to argue for on range alone.

The picks

Mahindra BE 6: most range for the money

The BE 6 is the car this list keeps returning to. The 59 kWh pack is certified at 573 km, the 70 kWh at 652 km and the 79 kWh at 708 km, all with a 20 to 80 percent charge quoted at 20 minutes on a fast enough charger. The FE variant at Rs 24,45,000 is currently the cheapest way into the 79 kWh pack, Rs 50,000 below the Three+ 79 kWh.

The trade-offs are real. The entry One has cruise control and six airbags but no ADAS; Mahindra's brochure brings Level 2 ADAS in at the Three+ and Level 2+ with five radars at the Four. It is a coupe-roofed five-seater, 4,371 mm long with a 455 litre boot plus a 45 litre frunk, so it is not the roomiest tourer. On safety, the Bharat NCAP five-star result (31.97 of 32 for adults, 45 of 49 for children) lists the One, Two and Three 59 kWh and the Three 79 kWh in its applicability grid, assessed January 2025. The newer 70 kWh, Three+ and FE variants are not on that grid.

Maruti Suzuki e Vitara: the long-range pick under Rs 18 lakh, with a slow stop

The e Vitara is the cheapest SUV in India certified past 540 km. Its Zeta and Alpha both carry the 61 kWh LFP pack and a 543 km certified range, at Rs 17,94,000 and Rs 19,99,000. The 49 kWh Delta (Rs 16,19,000) is certified at 440 km, which is short for the purpose of this list.

For highway use, the Alpha is the variant that matters. Maruti's brochure lists adaptive cruise control with stop keeping and curve speed reduction, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and a 360 view camera on the Alpha only. Every trim has seven airbags including a driver knee airbag, ESP, all-wheel disc brakes and a 2,700 mm wheelbase, and the e Vitara holds a five-star Bharat NCAP rating (31.49 of 32 adult, 43 of 49 child) covering all three trims.

Now the weakness. Maruti quotes 45 minutes for 10 to 80 percent and says that needs a charger of at least 70 kW. On a day with two stops, that adds up against the BE 6's 20 minutes, though the windows differ as explained above. Its 128 kW motor is also the least powerful of the 540 km-plus cars here. Note that the Alpha price we quote is the single-tone one; the dual-tone Alpha is Rs 20,21,000.

Tata Curvv EV and Nexon EV: long range on a smaller budget

If Rs 17 lakh is the limit, Tata owns the range ladder. The Nexon EV Creative 45 is certified at 489 km for Rs 14,34,000, and the Curvv EV Accomplished X 55 at 502 km for Rs 17,19,000 with a 500 litre boot. Tata also prints its own C75 estimate, the range it says 75 percent of owners can expect: 350 to 375 km for the Nexon 45 and 400 to 425 km for the Curvv. Few makers publish anything like it. If you need adaptive cruise on a Tata, it comes on the Curvv EV Empowered X 55 at Rs 19,39,000; no Nexon EV variant has it.

Tata Harrier EV: the big-body highway SUV

At Rs 25,29,000 the Fearless+ 75 is certified at 627 km, 81 km short of the cheaper BE 6 FE, but it is the larger car by some margin and Tata quotes a C75 estimate of 480 to 505 km for it. It scored 32 of 32 for adult occupants at Bharat NCAP.

How we built this list and what we did not verify

We read each certified range, battery size and charging claim from the manufacturer's own brochure: Maruti's September 2026 e Vitara brochure, Mahindra's BE 6 and XEV 9e brochures, Tata's October 2026 Nexon EV, Curvv EV and Harrier EV brochures and its June 2026 Punch EV brochure, and Hyundai's Creta Electric brochure. Prices come from the makers' own price pages as they rendered in October 2026: NEXA's e Vitara price page, Mahindra's variant listings, Tata's price pages and Hyundai's Ioniq 5 price page. The Punch EV figure is the starting price Tata shows for its Adventure family, the first 40 kWh trim. Bharat NCAP scores were read from bncap.in.

Things we could not verify:

• Range at highway speed. The MIDC cycle has little sustained fast driving, and no maker or agency in India certifies a figure at 100 to 120 km/h. Expect less than the certified number on an expressway with the air conditioning on.
• The Creta Electric's long-range price, because Hyundai shows only a starting price.
• Charging times in practice, which depend on the charger's real output, battery temperature and state of charge.
• Battery-as-a-service rates for the e Vitara. Maruti's brochure says BaaS is offered through select financiers but gives no rate, so this guide quotes full ex-showroom prices only. Mahindra does publish BaaS figures (Rs 11,45,000 plus Rs 3.75 per km for the BE 6 One), but we compare purchase prices throughout.

Frequently asked questions

Which electric SUV has the longest certified range in India for the money?

The Mahindra BE 6 79 kWh, certified at 708 km. The FE variant at Rs 24,45,000 is the cheapest way to get that pack, and it beats the Hyundai Ioniq 5's 690 km at well under half the price.

What is the longest-range electric SUV under Rs 20 lakh?

The Mahindra BE 6 One 59 kWh at 573 km certified and Rs 19,45,000 without a wall charger. The Maruti Suzuki e Vitara Zeta and Alpha follow at 543 km, from Rs 17,94,000, and the Alpha adds adaptive cruise control, which the BE 6 One lacks.

Is the Maruti e Vitara good for long highway drives?

Within its range, yes. The 61 kWh version is certified at 543 km, every trim has seven airbags and a five-star Bharat NCAP rating, and the Alpha has adaptive cruise and blind spot monitoring. The catch is charging: Maruti quotes 45 minutes for 10 to 80 percent on a 70 kW or faster charger, much slower than the Mahindra BE 6 or Tata Harrier EV.

How much range will I actually get on the highway?

Less than the certified figure, and nobody certifies the highway number. Tata's own C75 estimates run roughly 20 percent below its certified figures (480 to 505 km for the 627 km Harrier EV 75, for example), which gives a sense of the gap. For tested numbers, see our real-world range comparison and long-trip guide.