AUTO THIS!

We take the Mahindra Treo electric for a spin and can’t stop having fun with it

- Janak Sorap

Three-wheelers are a strange set of vehicles. The closest I have got to experiencing anything three-wheeled was a Bajaj Chetak with a sidecar that I rode earlier this year for the ‘Car Vs Bike’ issue. I must say, it was quite an experience to constantly use my left arm as a steering damper to keep the steering running off in any direction. And if that wasn’t enough, you should know, the sidecar tends to lift off on taking left-turns, as opposed to leaning in when taking a righthander. It’s more like a constant seesaw of weight transfer happening to keep the thing straight. So when Mahindra called us to check if we were interested in trying out their Treo electric three-wheeler, I was genuinely excited to give it a go.

I happen to live on the side of the city where rickshaws aren’t permitted to ply. But, I have always been fascinated by them. Always thinking how they’re ridden, zipping through lanes and wiggling through the smallest of gaps in traffic. So whenever I am in the suburbs, and have the chance, I prefer to hail a rickshaw over cabs. In my opinion, three-wheeled vehicles like the humble yet notorious rickshaw are the quickest mode of transportation to get to places in a city like Mumbai, but also the scariest, yet full of fun. Fun because there’s an undeniable motorcycling element (which also explains my suited attire) on weight transfer or avoiding that pothole in the mix, which makes the whole experience an engaging one. From the rear seat passenger experience in rickshaws and from riding a scooter with a sidecar, the time had finally arrived to get into the driver seat and experience the three-wheeled Mahindra Treo first hand.

WHAT IS THIS?