So in this post, I am going to tell you about the Mahindra Konnect First device, which was jointly developed with Wipro. This is a onboard diagnostics + safety / security device which keeps you updated about the car you own & you connect this device to. Firstly, it is available for INR 8,000, so it might sound to be expensive. But consider this as a necessary accessory for your car, especially, if your car is chauffeur driven. If you have a beater car in the house which is used to ferry everyone in the family and driven 90% of the time by the driver, you need this device.
Installation:
Now installing this is very, very simple. Order the device, unbox it, and simply plug it to your cars OBD connector. You will find this mostly in all cars under the steering wheel, or in this area. Once you plug it in, make sure that you see a LED illumination hinting that the device is getting power. Then, download the Konnect First app and setup your account. That’s it, you’re done.
What I Used It For:
TRACKING: As you can see below, I used this device for nearly 400 trips. So that’s quite some useful data. The primary reason for getting this device was to monitor the location of my car, as it moved within a radius of 25-30 km daily, ferrying my mom & dad. So I had to ensure it reaches my folks on time, I could monitor the cars movement, and also, stay connected without having to call the driver time and again. The positive side of this is, when the driver knows that the vehicle is being tracked, he / she never deviates from the course. If you are a parent, you can also install this in your childs car to ensure their safety, and so that they do not drift away ignoring your instructions. The kids going to hate this, but it is for their safety. Also, you can set up a geofence so when the car moves beyond a certain boundary, you will get a notification on your smartphone. So vehicle tracking is a very important, and useful tool. It was also used to ensure food was cooked on time on a regular work day, when the folks were reaching home. Useful, no?
DRIVING ANALYSIS: So the Konnect First device makes use of various algorithms to monitor how the car is being driven. It accounts for data such as acceleration, braking, emergency maneuvers and then gives the driver an overall score. While the driver score might sound like a long term rating, it also shows a per trip specific rating on how good or bad it was. I shared this with my driver, and after a period of time, he took calculated measures to ensure that when he is behind the wheel, he does the job well. And as you can see below, all trip ratings are over 75%. Give or take, this might sound like a decent driving style in a city like Mumbai where the variables (read Idiots behind the wheel) are many.
EMERGENCY: The Konnect First device gets you Roadside Assistance support and also a SOS function. So in times of emergency, you can call for the necessary help to get you out of a situation.
CAR HEALTH: This, in all honesty did not work very well. My cars battery actually died, and had to get it replaced. But the onboard diagnostics could not predict this and I got no notification that there was something wrong. Also, the wiring was messed up by rats, and the electricals were not working well, but still, no notification. So Mahindra & Wipro need to work on getting this right.
There are other useful features as well in the app, as you can see below. To name a few, store vehicle documents, share location, leaderboard amongst peers, etc.
