Conclusion
There’s something for everyone in this segment of electric scooters. If you want an easy, comfortable scooter with all the safety and security that an established manufacturer with a vast service network delivers, the Chetak is the one for you. It also charges fairly quickly and when it comes to build quality it comes out on top. Only things going against it are the lack of features and the high price tag.
If you want something that is both sporty and comfy, and don’t commute more than 60km per day, turn to the TVS iQube. Its styling might not be to everyone’s taste but its sub-`1 lakh on-road price sure is very appealing. One should note though that to get fully juiced up the iQube takes the longest time of the lot here, seven hours.
If outright sportiness is your cup of tea, there’s no better scooter here than the Ather 450X. It has a respectable range, looks great and does everything very nicely. Yes, it is an expensive proposition but that is also justified by its overall performance. If you plug it into your home socket, the 450X will take 5.5 hours to get fully charged; it, along with the S1 Pro, are the only scooters here which support fast charging. But unlike the latter, Ather is quickly expanding its fast-charging grid network throughout the country so you will rarely get stranded.
Finally, the Ola S1 Pro that has some serious potential up its sleeve. It can go the farthest, feels the quickest, has the highest top speed and also charges in about six hours. On pure product parameters it is the best e-scooter in the country right now ― but that comes with a caveat. Unless Ola addresses all the bugs, that are as well documented on Twitter as their founder’s bold statements, activates all the features they promised at the start, and deliver on all those mighty claims, we will have to reserve final judgment. The S1 Pro feels like a work in progress, something Aatish also highlights when he points out that Amol’s scooter is much better than the one he rode in Bengaluru on the media rides, suffering from none of the overheating issues but also not accelerating as sharply most probably to address that very same problem. But as a first attempt, from somebody with zero experience, it’s hard not to be very impressed.
ON PURE EV PARAMETERS THE OLA S1 PRO IS THE BEST E-SCOOTER IN THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW