Eeve Ahava
We spend some time with the Eeve Ahava, an affordable electric scooter launched in December last year
The Eeve is definitely easy on the pocket but is it a proper everyday e-scooter?
Let us quickly take a look at What this electric scooter is all about. Beginning with the styling, the ahava speaks a simple design language like that of a conventional scooter, sports a projector headlamp at the chunky front end along with LeD daytime running lights (DRL) at the front as well as the rear. overall, what we see is a decent quality of fit and finish. this electric scooter is available in two dual-tone colour schemes (Red with Black and Blue with Black). With this, it also gets “ahava”, “09”, and “power” branding in different places around the bodywork for a more sporty appeal. attached to they key is a remote control with three options to lock, unlock or start the scooter. apart from this feature, the scooter also gets a USB charger just above the storage space at the front.
in terms of ergonomics, the ahava is a comfortable scooter to be astride and, given its light weight of just 94 kilograms, is a very nimble machine to handle. the digital display is simple and gives out the basic information: speed, battery level indicator, and the mode that has been engaged. there are three ride modes that can be switched on the go with the red “M” switch which is placed right below the accelerator.
Moving on to the powertrain, the ahava is fitted with a very simple 250-W motor powered by a 60v 27ah lead acid battery. the battery pack is not detachable and is fitted into the rear, behind the under-seat storage space. that means you will need to have a facility for charging the scooter in your parking lot. there is only one way to charge the scooter and, going by our test, the battery took over nine hours to get fully charged. When the scooter is not in use, the battery can be switched off so that it does not get drained.
i was honestly not too impressed by the performance after a few days of riding around town. this was owing to the fact that the ahava is a very slow electric scooter and will be more suited to cover short distances in the vicinity of one’s home, maybe to run a few errands. on my first ride from office to home, a distance of about seven kilometres, it took me 35 to 40 minutes to reach — a distance that usually takes me less than 15 minutes on a daily basis. of the three modes, Mode 3 unlocks the full potential of the motor and can do a top speed of around 50 km/h but takes a fair bit of time to get there. Mode 1 gets it up to around 38 km/h and Mode 2 has a top speed of around 43 km/h. i mostly spent my time riding in Mode 3 as the other two made it feel as if the scooter were crawling.
there is also a major difference in power while negotiating even a minor incline in the road surface and how the bike performs once the battery falls below 50 per cent charge. to put things into perspective, while i tackled one of the steepest slopes on my daily route, the ahava was struggling to climb and, at full acceleration in Mode 3, was crawling at a speed of seven km/h. this did become frustrating, after which i decided to use the scooter to cover only very short distances. it delivered a range of 41 km on a full charge and this was after it was used only in Mode 3. the company claims a mileage of around 60 km, which would probably be achieved only if the scooter is used in Mode 1. i also wish that the way information is displayed on the digital dash is improved, for there were times when the battery indicator would randomly indicate different levels. on an electric vehicle it is important to accurately know when you will run out of juice and when it needs to be fully charged.
however, i did like the suspension set-up as it managed to soak up most of the uneven sections of the road and also tackle speed-breakers without causing any discomfort.
This scooter is priced at Rs 55,900, which does make it a very affordable proposition considering the prices of other electric scooters
Braking hardware consists of a disc brake with aBS at the front and a drum brake at the rear. as you would expect considering the low 50 km/h top-speed, this set-up works well to bring the scooter to a halt in any situation.
this scooter is priced at Rs 55,900, which does make it a very affordable proposition considering the prices of other electric scooters that are more well established in the indian market. however, what you will be compromising on is a decent amount of power which would get you from point a to B much quicker. as i said earlier, this would only be ideal for running errands and travelling short distances close to home.