TVS GOES ELECTRIC AGAIN
TVS HAS LAUNCHED THE NEW iQUBE ELECTRIC SCOOTER WHICH PROMISES TO REPLACE YOUR EVERYDAY RUNABOUT. RAHUL GHOSH WENT TO THE COMPANY’S TEST FACILITY TO TRY IT OUT
The iQube has been designed and developed entirely in India at TVS’ facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. The scooter looks practical. The front end boasts of a unique looking slab-like light unit which houses LED headlights and winkers and the LED day time light sits atop the handlebar shroud. The front suspension comprises of a telescopic set up and the iQube rides on 12-inch chunky tyres shod with alloy wheels. The instrument panel, a work of art, is an all-colour screen developed in conjunction with Pricol.
The iQube gets a large floor board within which sits a set of lithium-ion battery packs. The other unit resides below the large under seat stowage area. The seat itself is a large twoseater unit and there is ample space on the floorboard too. At the back sits a rectangular all-LED tail light cluster.
Overall, the iQube looks simple yet futuristic. We especially love its iPark feature—at the press of a button, the scooter can be made to go both forward and reverse. Verty handy when parking.
It uses a hub mounted BLDC motor provided by Bosch. The batteries are manufactured in-house, although the cells are provided by LG. The motor develops 4.4 kW of peak power and TVS claims that it can provide the iQube with a top speed of 78 kmph and a zero to 40 kmph time of 4.2 seconds. The triple lithium-ion battery packs have a combined capacity of 2,250 Wh. Start up the iQube and you’ll be met with silence. Twist the throttle, or the power regulator, and the scooter takes off brisk. It gets off to a limited speed in ‘eco’ mode, but one can shift to the ‘power’ mode on the go for prominently noticeable acceleration. However, if you do the opposite, the scooter slows down rapidly as regenerative gimmicks come into play. Getting up to the claimed top speed (70 kmph) is quick, but the scooter slows down after that. Interestingly, even when riding on top speed, you can barely tell since there is no sensation or noise.
At the TVS’ test track, we could corner rather fast and enjoyed the scooter’s rather balanced handling characteristics; the occasional bumps on the side roads we encountered were dismissed with ease. This gives us the confidence to say that the iQube will surely keep both the rider and the one riding pillion happy. The chunky tyres grip well too. The iQube also comes with a combined braking system instead of an ABS function. The rear tends to lock up easily when braking from top speeds and ABS is all the more important as one does not realise the speeds they are going at until the speedometer is consulted. Something to keep in mind while zipping down the road. ■