Reva - set for big time

The GoinGreen ad says, "Its going to be the next big thing". That is just about one of the biggest compliments for an Indian-designed and -manufactured product anywhere in the world. And going by reviews from the blogosphere, it is just the prescription Dr. Green suggested for congested and environmentally conscious European cities.

We talking about the Reva G-Wiz of course. Here the site lists the reasons why they are so upbeat about it. Apart from the green thing, it runs at just 1p per mile (or 212 km/litre in Britain). That coupled with very low maintenance (you dont need most of those components you would in a petrol/diesel car) makes for amazingly low total cost of ownership. Plus Britain offers a slew of tax benefits and rebates. I also do not know of any other car that offers you 2000 colors. Moreover Reva users swear that you just cannot beat the Reva for sheer ease of maneouvring.

Some of the other reviewers of the Reva G-Wiz from the British (correct me if required) blogosphere are here, here and here. All links are from this post by Jamais Cascio on WorldChanging.

Green Car Congress reports in some detail on the next generation Reva - the Reva NXG. The NXG sees a doubling of both the range (to 200 km) on a single charge, and the top speed (to 120 km/h). Importantly, since "Regenerative braking recharges the sodium nickel chloride batteries during operation", we should see an improvement in mileage too.

The only major disadvantage as of now seems to be the recharge time of 6 hours. That is slightly misleading because 80% recharge is achieved in only 2.5 hours. The remaining 20% needs 4 more hours. That problem seems set to fade away as Toshiba has launched a battery that charges up to 80% in just one minute. This nano-technology based solution will be targeted at the automotive sector, when it is commercially available in 2006.