Solid battery life on the Moto E. With light/moderate usage, I just leave it running as a mobile hotspot for the entire day.
I don't know how the 1st gen Moto X performs, but I actually find the 2nd gen Moto E to be slower than the 1st gen Moto G (4.5", Snapdragon 400). The Moto G was on KitKat, though.