[TokyoDrifter]

I have cancelled my booking. Long way to go for Electric scooters to become a thing in our country.

While the Sport and Hype mode were fun, there’s something missing — that’s the feeling I’ve been left with after a through test ride.

Having spoken to someone at Ather, their upgrade in mid-2022 might be an interesting one. Till then, will wait and watch. Cheers!

[lsjey]

While it is very heartening that OLA is doing EV on scale, from people who have test driven and seen the physical scooter, the verdict seems to be universal: This is an unfinished product.

The craze in EV is fuelled by the petrol/diesel prices as well. Given that a hybrid can give a much better mileage, why are the OEMs not putting out any products in this space? Will it be more costly than EVs? I'm no expert in EV or ICE technologies, but a hybrid two-wheeler does make a lot of sense if it is practical.

Regards,
lsjey

[Blackbolt]

After all the chaos of test ride booking; went for a test drive yesterday after receiving a call from the Ola team. The place was staffed well and they were helpful ; providing all information about the bike without one having to seek them.

The reviews posted here covers most aspects which I noticed too. Fit and finish needs some improvement, paint finish was top notch though. Riding position is just fine for me and bike is easy to flick around; doesn’t feel heavy (car guy getting a bike so I have no prior bias or preference). My dad and me could sit comfortably on the bike together. Many guys at the facility were asking for saree guard and center stand. The staff suggested that accessories are under test and they will be available once the bikes starts shipping.

For us it’s not a major mode of transport. It’s actually being bought just for fun; going to the gym; beach and running errands in and around to avoid parking hassles. One charge will take us through a month or even more. Even if it takes time for Ola team to fix an issue we won’t feel the pinch ; hence we aren’t so critical about niggles which others have pointed out.

It’s a fun bike to ride, we are excited to add a bike to our garage.

Cheers!

[brownkaiser]

For members in Hyderabad, Ola has taken up a space at WeWork office at Kondapur (Krishe Emerald) on 19 Nov. They have kept many scooters for display with a lot more for test drives. However, I saw the scooters only in black color.

[RaghuVis]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Ola pushes delivery window for the first lot of customers by 3-5 weeks.

Ola has extended the delivery window of the first lot of scooters from Nov 25 to Dec 15-31 blaming the shortage of chipsets and other electronic components including lithium ion cells for the delay. The schedule of the second purchase window could also be revised.

Ola is playing a dangerous game. Of course whole automotive world is facing chip shortage so no one can deny that. But Ola never spoke a word about chip shortage till now, even when they were making tall claims of millions of production capacity and how they are going to bring in a revolution. Is Ola trying to say that they do not have chips to honor at least the first 1000/2000/3000 bookings?

They DO NOT DESERVE to be in the business if they cannot deliver even 1% of their capacity due to parts shortage.

Reality is, test drives started 10 days back and that has brought to light so many problems and Ola needs time to fix those. Blaming on chips shortage might not work in the long term!

I think Ola is ruining it for the whole industry and eventually us customers. Mr Bajaj will now jump up and down saying how he was sure Ola was going to be not ready with a good working scooter (Cannot blame him). This would push back people's confidence in investing at electric scooter. Hope and pray Ola turns it around ASAP.

[fuzzydealhunter]

Went for the test drive today. My experience has been that they had a lot of staff in Kochi but when it comes down to knowing the product it was not so much the case. The product has certainly changed since the reviews. I had the person doing the demo, pair his phone to play music, which it was able to do without any issues. The scooter felt quite solid when riding. The seat is wide, I was surprised that it was this wide.

The charging brick is huge and I don't understand the logic of selling you a charger the size of a house construction brick without an option to mount it. Do they seriously think people will be leaving it on the floor for everyone to trip over. The demo person claimed there are accessories in the works which includes the likes of scooter guard, center stand and wind guard.

My only gripe that I dont think can be fixed is the fact that the indicators felt too far for me to click(maybe my hands are small). I wish they stuck to the old switches we are used to in scooters such as activas. Dont think this needed to be reinvented.

But after all this I do think I liked the ride experience more than what it was like riding an Ather.

[Mafia]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Ola pushes delivery window for the first lot of customers by 3-5 weeks.

Ola has extended the delivery window of the first lot of scooters from Nov 25 to Dec 15-31 blaming the shortage of chipsets and other electronic components including lithium ion cells for the delay. The schedule of the second purchase window could also be revised.

This was always expected. In fact, I expected Ola to even push the test rides.

This is a blessing in disguise for those who want to buy in the first lot as Ola may have time to fix some of the product issues before delivery.

There is only that much push you can do to meet unrealistic deadlines. I am sure blaming the chip shortage was always on the cards.

[Abhikumar629]

While OLA has been conveniently blaming the chip shortage to push the deliveries, the issue real issue are much more than what we are made to believe. A lot of their new part development is behind schedule because of multiple failures in getting the design right or improper evaluation during DFM study.

This is exactly what happens when OEMs are in a rush. To save 1 day, they end up sacrificing multiple days to delays.

[amol4184]

If they don't want their IPO to tank, this thing needs to go out and reach customers at the earliest.
Even better, launch a major firmware update if not a whole new scooter just before IPO. Let's see what are they willing to risk.
At this point nothing surprises me regarding Ola scooter deliveries.

[saikishor]

Originally Posted by brownkaiser

For members in Hyderabad, Ola has taken up a space at WeWork office at Kondapur (Krishe Emerald) on 19 Nov. They have kept many scooters for display with a lot more for test drives. However, I saw the scooters only in black color.

Have they started giving vehicles for test ride or is it just for display purpose? I haven't received any email regarding test rides as of now.

[brownkaiser]

Originally Posted by saikishor

Have they started giving vehicles for test ride or is it just for display purpose? I haven't received any email regarding test rides as of now.

Test rides are available. Even today I saw couple of people takinf it out for a drive. I haven't spoken to the Ola team there and won't be going there for some time, else would have confirmed.

[Gansan]

I received an sms invite yesterday and booked a test ride for tomorrow at 2 p.m. I did not receive any confirmation email but my BIL did, so I sent a message to their customer care whether I can go there tomorrow or not. An employee called me and informed I can go as planned, that many customers have not received a confirmatory email.

Venue is Lemontree Hotel, Manapakkam.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by TokyoDrifter

Having spoken to someone at Ather, their upgrade in mid-2022 might be an interesting one.

What kind of upgrade is this please - any indication?

[TokyoDrifter]

Originally Posted by Axe77

What kind of upgrade is this please - any indication?

the most prominent one being "Larger battery pack, and therefore even higher range".

[pathik]

As far as I know the only "new" model that Ather is working on currently is a low-budget one to compete with Ola and other's pricing. I don't think it is going to have a range better than their current flagship 450x. Also, it is not expected to come before 2023.