[shortbread]

Test rides now pushed to November 10th, as per media sources.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by shortbread

@ Hemanth,

What's the seating like in your opinion?

Is it cramped for two adults?

Would it suit the traditional sideways seated rear passenger configuration that's popular in India?

I did sit on it for a few seconds. Height wise, the seat is not too tall. The seat is quite wide enough and even long enough to seat two adults (From the pictures I had imagined it to be short). However I think female pillion riders sitting sideways may find it scary/uncomfortable because after the seat, there is nothing else like a grab rail or something. No doubt there is a grabrail below to hold on to, but a grab rail behind the seat gives a sense of protection it seems is what I had heard from ladies in my household when they occasionally used to ride pillion in our Vespa S125 with a short grabrail.

However I felt the seating position for rider is not too good. The knees bend too much because the floor is too high. If you're riding alone or with a kid, you can sit backwards to avoid this (as in the picture above showing an adult and a kid). but when two adults are riding the rider has to sit forward with knees bent.

I only got a few minutes so I could be wrong. A detailed test ride whenever it happens will give more clarity

Originally Posted by shortbread

Test rides now pushed to November 10th, as per media sources.

A notification on the Ola app also said the same


The website still says Oct 25th though. The delivery date for my booking is Nov 1st to Nov 30th 2021 and the test rides begin from Nov 10th!!! I expect delivery dates also to be pushed ahead.

[shortbread]

Anyone within the Indian automotive media circles here?

Any intimation for OLA regarding media drives?

[fordday]

Originally Posted by sole_rider

Thank you for the explanation. Designing front fork/steering assembly with only a single telescopic fork leg must be quite difficult to engineer i believe. Hope it proves its strength and become a success.

Didn't the Bajaj scooters used to have the similar setup from earlier era?

[sole_rider]

Originally Posted by fordday

Didn't the Bajaj scooters used to have the similar setup from earlier era?

Those scooters had a side mounted trailing arm suspension. Here we have a single telescopic fork leg. So all the forces comes from the front tyre must be borne by it alone.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by shortbread

Any intimation for OLA regarding media drives?

See image below from the Powerdrift Upcoming EVs video. Not a response but maybe you can ask them in this comment thread.

.
.

[Mafia]

Originally Posted by shortbread

Test rides now pushed to November 10th, as per media sources.

This is kind of expected now. We have to expect some technical snags and some embarrassment to Ola and its customers also.

I don't get it. They set the dates and they miss their own deadlines.

This is not a revolution so far, it is just 'revolt'ing!

[mazda4life]

I read that 2 head honchos who have resigned...things are pretty hot at Ola I suppose.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/87137137.cms

[aargee]

Originally Posted by Mafia

This is not a revolution so far, it is just 'revolt'ing!

I'm too old to take part in such revolutions, that's why I had to cancel; may be I'm a EV riot, not patriot

Originally Posted by mazda4life

I read that 2 head honchos who have resigned...things are pretty hot at Ola I suppose

I can only empathize with Mr. Bhavish for all the tough situation he's undergoing; same goes with every entrepreneur, be it Elon or Jack or Jeff or even creative writer Rowling. Let's hope tough times make tough people & they emerge even stronger

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by aargee

I can only empathize with Mr. Bhavish for all the tough situation he's undergoing

I also echo the same sentiment, hope they sail through these tough times as we need people who can dream big and make things happen.

[udaikalra01]

Bhavish Aggarwal invites everyone to check out the scooter at ARAKU Coffee, Indiranagar, Bangalore RIGHT NOW!

[Mohitkumaar]

I was planning to book revolt bike this time but have decided to wait for Ola scooter.

At the same time, considering the recurring delays I am getting a feeling of the scooter being vaporware. I saw a video of guards chasing away a moto blogger from the plant and smell a fish...

[sri_tesla]

One thing I learned from endless waiting for decent EVs is, we need to be very very patient about the timelines. In fact, the best way to deal with these delays is just to forget and stop looking for daily updates. Delays are the most painful and common experience in the EV market. It’s happening with each and every EV model.

• It took Ather 2 years to reach outside Bangalore and Chennai and when they finally launched in other cities, its price increased by ~50% for minor improvements. The less we talk about the charging grid expansion and never working so-called smart features, the better.

• Chetak was also available in just 2 cities for almost 2 years. When they started finally expanding, the price went up by 40 to 50% that too despite the subsidy increase.

• TVS also took 1.5 years to expand availability outside Bangalore. At least they did not increase the price like others but we have to buy the charger separately.

• Ola announced that they will complete the first phase in just 3-4 months and start deliveries after summer. Anyone with simple knowledge can easily tell that it was never possible to hit those timelines. But by this time, I became an expert at this waiting game and started ignoring them altogether.

I mean what can I do if they delay the test rides by a week or deliveries by a month? If I have decent options at similar prices, I would go and buy one of those instead of waiting. Also, they are the only ones that are delivering an EV all over India.

It's not just the EVs that have these long waiting periods currently. Creta has 8 months waiting period for some of its variants. Mahindra recently announced that Thar bookings crossed 75,000 but they are only delivering 3,000 per month on average. How long it will take them to ramp up production? What about XUV700?

What I don't like about Ola is they are taking a substantial amount (Rs 20,000) well before the deliveries are started. It would have been OK if they delivered a few thousand vehicles or if it's their second or third product.

[Sebring]

What about apartments? Are they ready? They're still not allowing charging stations, citing multiple wiring concerns, fire dangers and unknowns. Government musty make it mandatory that apartments allow such infrastructure to come in, and a fine be imposed if they resist

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

One thing I learned from endless waiting for decent EVs is, we need to be very very patient about the timelines.

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by udaikalra01

Bhavish Aggarwal invites everyone to check out the scooter at ARAKU Coffee, Indiranagar, Bangalore RIGHT NOW!

Did anyone from here go there and check it out?

Originally Posted by Sebring

What about apartments? Are they ready? They're still not allowing charging stations, citing multiple wiring concerns, fire dangers and unknowns. Government musty make it mandatory that apartments allow such infrastructure to come in, and a fine be imposed if they resist

Government has made it mandatory, at least in Karnataka, that apartments should have charging points in individual parking lots. Additionally there are provisions for common charging points if the RWA decided to take that option. There is a separate tariff plan in BESCOM too for common charging points (costs less than the normal domestic connection).

While common charging points may get this cost benefit, It is a temporary solution IMO. In the next 3-5 years, when the EV cars will be majority, getting a free timeslot will be next to impossible. Individual charging is the best solution.

In new apartments, builders make provision for individual charging from the beginning itself and hence there are no issues. It's the old apartments that has more problems. Many people managing the RWA don't have open mindsets and just resist any change. Eventually they have to change but till then it is a struggle for those residents who want to own an EV in these apartments.