[GautamJ]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

OlaElectric has launched its S1 and S1 Pro electric scooters at Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.3 lakh.

Spot-on pricing!
It even undercuts few gasoline powered scooter. Specs seems good and features are abundant for my taste.
A respectable replacement for my 7-year old Activa 125, which is turning expensive thanks to low FE and fuel prices.

[SKC-auto]

Really liked the presentation, clear voice, to the point information even though everything was recorded, instead of talking about company philosophies, dozen people coming up on the stage repeating the same boring stuff. Liked the pricing and scooter, probably will book S1 in January.

S1 has 3kwh battery but gives only 120km range, S1 pro has 4kwh but gives 180km range, 50% more range than S1 with extra 33% more battery. The top and bottom buffers could be the reason, expect the buffers to be 15% + 15% for S1, or 0.9 kWh of buffers, making 2.1kwh usable battery for S1, 3.1kwh usable battery for S1 pro.

[LiCoO2]

A word of caution about range.
They are quoting IDC aka Indian driving cycle range which is a very garbage test. Subtract 30-40 km from IDC range to get a real world range.

Also for higher energy capacity and density, fixed battery is much better than a swappable battery as it makes thermal management much easier. For smaller battery capacity, its fine to do swappable design but it becomes a big issue with bigger and denser batteries like ola is using.

[sri_tesla]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

S1 has 3kwh battery but gives only 120km range, S1 pro has 4kwh but gives 180km range, 50% more range than S1 with extra 33% more battery. The top and bottom buffers could be the reason, expect the buffers to be 15% + 15% for S1, or 0.9 kWh of buffers, making 2.1kwh usable battery for S1, 3.1kwh usable battery for S1 pro.

~30% buffer? That will be a waste. It's going to be similar to Ather 450x. Usable capacity is going to be 2.6 or 2.7 kWh for S1 and 3.5 kWh for S1 Pro means ~10% buffer.

Most important thing is, they started installing the assembly machinery in the factory based on the videos and images shared. Once the trial production completes, scaling can be much faster for 2 wheelers. I honestly expected deliveries to take another 4-5 months. Good that they will start deliveries in October itself. I think by the middle of next year, production is going to be increased drastically.

[CarNerd]

Looking at the thickness of the seat, I feel this is going to be uncomfortable for the pillion over long distances. Even the rider might have a problem. This is better suited for youngsters who ride solo for short distances rather than two adults.

[Mohitkumaar]

Music on 2 wheeler, is it even legal?

I am pretty sure it would only work when the scooter is parked.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

My guesstimate is that prices will start from ₹99,999

Bang on! Wonderful pricing to begin with. It means the ex showroom price is 1,60,000 for the S1 and 1,90,000 for the S1 pro. FAME benefit will be 60,000 with 15,000 per kwh for a 4kwh battery. I just hope they don't increase the prices (which is imminent) at least for the people who booked it without knowing anything.

Cruise control, hill hold, voice activation, proximity lock/unlock, geo fencing, customisable screens,wifi...that's everything that one needs and more.

Range of S1 is almost same as Ather 450x. S1Pro's range will reduce range anxiety by a great extent to city users.

Everything on paper is wonderful so far. Now, if the test drive is also good, Ola has a winner. The only people sad would be those who expected removable batteries, but otherwise, all others will be happy with this. Wonderful days ahead for EVs.

[Tourer]

Any idea if these electric scooters are good at carrying loads? I have seen SMEs using Activas to carry loads in the range of 50-60kgs. They do decently well, though it hits bad on the fuel efficiency as expected. Seeing the specs of S1 pro, I am wondering if they would switch to this alternative now.

[Godzilla]

Firstly! A standing applause for OLA.

I am just delighted by what they have done with the S1 and S1 Pro. The commendable thing is they have brought so many new features into sub 2 lakh 2-wheeler space.

• Touch screen display
• On board Telemetrics with Navigation
• Reverse function
• Hill hold
• Cruise Control
• Walk away lock function
• Larger storage (2 helmets)
• Voice controls
• In-built speaker
• Ability to attend phone calls
• Front mono-shock
• Drive modes
  

Look at the beauty. It has nice curves which is reminiscent of my classic Vespa and yet looks futuristic and cool. I love the head lights.They nailed the price IMO, with subsidies and better mileage (low cost per km) and assumed low maintainance.

I hope they have done a good job with real-life range, ride quality and ergonomics. Awaiting the TBHP review to cover that. But I am simply excited by what OLA did, and the presentation was terrific too.

I am wondering what the top execs at TVS and Honda be thinking now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3-1_OyqdDs

[guru_max]

Originally Posted by Tourer

Any idea if these electric scooters are good at carrying loads? I have seen SMEs using Activas to carry loads in the range of 50-60kgs. They do decently well, though it hits bad on the fuel efficiency as expected. Seeing the specs of S1 pro, I am wondering if they would switch to this alternative now.

Electric motors provide high torque from zero RPM. So the powertrain is capable of that. But you'll lose charge very quickly and i guess the body itself is not conducive for load bearing even compared to current IC engine scooters.

[RT13]

Beautiful looking design and tons of gizmos. Most importantly, apparently decent range to take care of that anxiety.

HOWEVER, one look at that front fork design is enough to make me pause and wonder. I’m very very skeptical about both it’s lateral stiffness and it’s ability to take the hits of a city like Bangalore. Suspension is anyway compromised by the very nature of a scooter’s design but this looks like it could turn out to be a real noodle. I’d be interested in the reviews.

On a related note, Simple Energy has also just announced its new scooter and it looks pretty good on paper with a whopping claimed range of 236 - https://www.firstpost.com/tech/auto/...9-9888631.html

[aim120]

I don't know why would any one want a removable battery. It will make it easier for thieves to steal, like just breaking the latch and stealing the battery.
Where as a rigid mounted battery will take a lot of effort.

Beside a removable battery will weigh 14kg just for the cells and with additional casing wiring, BMS etc which will add another 2kg.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by aim120

I don't know why would any one want a removable battery. It will make it easier for thieves to steal, like just breaking the latch and stealing the battery.
Where as a rigid mounted battery will take a lot of effort.

Beside a removable battery will weigh 14kg just for the cells and with additional casing wiring, BMS etc which will add another 2kg.

Its because not everyone has the infrastructure, facility and/or permission from the apartment association/house owner to recharge the electric vehicle in their available parking area. Hence that flexibility is important for those who need it.

For customers who travel point-to-point, for e.g. home to office and back or for school drops, or short errands, where the risk of stealing is low/not much, it works better.

So, for a mixed type of customers and for a country like india which is yet to grow more on EV charging infrastructure (unlike petrol bunks in every few kms), removable battery helps. Also, once a significant customers are having EV, and the time it takes to recharge a battery, the waiting time and charging time will be more. So, a removable battery helps for overnight charging.

Also, if you see Simple one e-scooter which launched today, the removable high capacity battery is about 7 kgs. I hope over time as the EV industry matures, things will be even more better.

My 2 cents.

-Ravi

[Maverick_4662]

Very interesting scooter. This may be an unpopular opinion but is a sub 100kg electric scooter going 115kph safe? My Honda aviator is very unstable at anything over 70kph. Oh god imagining the 'squids' zooming around on this speed machine is scary. Scooter seems solid otherwise.

[Sran]

*On board Telemetrics with Navigation*
People need navigation in scooty? Its not like they will take these cuties to inter state travels or to obscure locations. Do common people not know their way in their own city? Even if one shifts to a new city, within a month they get to know about directions of major centers. Or what about asking for routes from locals? You don't even have to move your head unlike in a car.

*Reverse function*
In a scooty? I will be damned. Is it satire?

*Hill hold*
What happened to good old legs and brakes?

*Cruise Control*
I don't know any major city in India where it can be used.

*Voice controls*
Even a person with best in class loud voice can not use it. With so much noise around, can it be used?

*In-built speaker*
Yeah, now I understand all the money the ola owners have earned, they have used it to roam in alps, nile basin or andes mountains, where they have listened to the quite. Do they want us to listen to songs because this is mental bankruptcy at its best? Do they want us to listen to navigation because it wouldn't work under helmet and in traffic noise.

*Ability to attend phone calls*
So that everyone can hear it except the rider because they are wearing helmet?

What exactly is the use of these gizmos in a scooty? Just give people a scooty to go from point A to point B in a safe manner. Good tyres, comfortable seats, proper shockers and headlights. Removable battery is a must for people who live in apartments.

Remove the gizmos, drop the price and bring some sanity to driving. I haven't owned a 2 wheeler since 2008 so I may be out of touch. I was thinking about buying ola scooty because I don't have a 2 wheeler in my garage but this is pricey imo. Ola should probably introduce a neo or lite version, a plain basic scooty which does its primary job.