THIS IS the closest you'll get to a grills-free drive. Being in the driver's seat in India's first electric car can be the automotive equivalent of zen. The REVA has no steering wheel, no clutch, and no tricky gears to distract the senses.

But frills-free doesn't mean the REVA is no joy ride. For a start, it's noiseless off the blocks, which can disorient those who are used to revving up their car engines. That's because, there is no engine; the car runs on a battery pack. But the USP that could sell the car do serious business is its operating cost.

The REVA can run 80 km on a single charge of nine units of electricity. For cities covered in a nebula of smoke and dust, the REVA is just what the doctor ordered - emissions are zero.

The car has a driving range of 80 km per charge and a top speed of 65 kmph. But of course, when the time comes to "fill her up" it takes a while - a full tank takes six hours. Of course, being battery powered, it has be compact. The car can take two adults, and two small children - or two midgets - in the backseat.

The car - named after managing director Chetan Maini's mother REVA - is a joint venture of the REVA Electric Car (REC) company of the Bangalore-based Maini Group, and Amerigon Inc of the US. REC has been given a national award, carrying a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, for successfully commercialising indigenous technology.

The technology Development Board has given a Rs 4.6 crore soft loan for further development work on the REVA.

- Satyen Mohapatra