[Venky03]

Prelude:

I already own an electric bike for leisure rides, but there was a definite need for a reliable electric scooter to handle family errands. Ather and Ola were immediately ruled out because it wasn't me but my family deciding on the model. The iQube S was shortlisted and we pre-booked it on 8th November 2022.

Booking Experience:

The booking experience was quite straightforward, as it was entirely online and divided into simple steps. The booking amount was ₹5000 and we had booked the Mint Blue color.

Delivery Experience:

For a reputed brand like TVS we did not expect such pathetic pre-delivery experience. I've explained the experience in detail here : link (2022 TVS iQube Electric Scooter launched at Rs 98,564). Summarizing in short : Received a call from Supreme Motors on December 31st to pay the full amount due to FAME-II subsidy. Expected scooter delivery by January 20, 2023. No scooter for weeks, internal blame-shifting between branches and iQube support response was: "Wait for 120 days, we can't help." without generating any support ticket. After the regional manager's intervention, my delivery was redirected to the Nerul branch, about 20 km away from my place. I eventually took the delivery of the scooter on April 11th, nearly 3 months past the initial promised date.

I was utterly disappointed with how both TVS Supreme Motors' Thane and Ulhasnagar branches handled the issue and would not recommend them for TVS purchases. Additionally, it's baffling that iQube's customer support lacks a basic ticket number generation system in place. On a positive note, Litra TVS managed the registration process seamlessly without pressuring me to purchase any additional accessories.

TVS iQube S

Pros:

• Solid build quality
• Comfortable seat with enough space for pillion
• Reliable DTE predictions
• Suspension perfectly tuned for city conditions
• Excellent headlight setup
• Braking doesn't cutoff motor
• Minimal idle battery drain

Cons:

• Overly aggressive regen
• Delayed throttle response
• No fast-charge
• Hub motor overheats during long rides
• Black glossy plastics prone to scratches
• No free services
• Buggy application
• Rear drum brake

Exteriors:

The TVS iQube S is essentially the electric variant of the TVS Jupiter, sharing a familiar design that blends in well with the conventional ICE scooters. It stands out with its unique DRL setup, and while the black glossy plastics offer an appealing contrast upfront, they are susceptible to scratches. There are visible panel gaps here and there but the overall riding experience feels solid, and I have not encountered any creaking or rattling sounds so far. There are two hooks(plastic) to secure bags kept on the footboard.

The charging port is also placed on the front and is protected by a very flimsy cover without any rubber seals. Also the warranty explicitly states that :

9. The flap has been designed to prevent water entry inside the charging port and is not replaceable. No warranty for charger is applicable in case of flap damage.

Which is very confusing and concerning at the same time. Why is the flimsy flap(which will most certainly break at some point) not replaceable?

Moving on to the instrument cluster, it's clear and easily visible during the day. It doesn't offer a lot of information, you can navigate through settings menu with a single HMI switch. They missed out on including the Wh/km stat, and the display flickers during mode switches(ride > regen > ride). The turn-by-turn navigation and phone notification feature hasn't worked for me with two different phones and the app requests numerous intrusive permissions(microphone, camera, location, storage) and won't connect to the scooter.

Switch quality is decent, and they've held up well even with the scooter being parked in the open during the monsoons, time will tell how they perform in the long run. The rearview mirrors are fantastic – they're big, rectangular, and practical. Small vents are placed near the footboard and on both sides of the scooter to assist in passive cooling of the battery packs and MCU. Rear brake light setup is led and looks sleek, on the top of rear brake light there's big unnecessary Q-Park Assist badging. Overall the iQube's design is practical and well-integrated, with no elements looking out of place.

Note : The body guard, ladies foot-rest and main stand are optional accessories and are not included with the scooter.

Boot:

The 32 litre boot can be accessed by the traditional key twist method. It can easily accommodate most half-sized helmets and some smaller full-sized helmets. The seat also has the standard elastic strings underneath that secure the med-kit and mini tool-kit. Won't recommend storing the charger in boot, as it will take up most of the available space :



The USB port's placement is quite awkward. Will recommend to use an L-shaped USB cable to avoid damaging it if you need to plug it in often.

[Venky03]

Powertrain & Ride Quality :

The iQube S features a 4.4kW passively cooled BLDC hub motor capable of accelerating from 0 to 40 km/h in 4.2 seconds and reaching a top speed of 78 km/h. There are two modes to choose from :

• Eco : Max Speed - 45 km/h and True Range - 100 kms
• Power : Max Speed - 78 km/h and True Range - 70 kms

Throttle response, acceleration curve and regen are similar in both ride modes, just the top speed for Eco is capped. The iQube lets you ride in power mode even when the battery is low, unlike other electric scooters that switch to eco mode automatically. It uses two 52V battery packs, each with a usable capacity of 1.5kWh(total 3kWh), that are connected in parallel. One of the battery packs is located under the footboard, while the other is under the seat. One potential drawback of this powertrain is the BLDC hub motor, although it performs well for short city rides(~5-10kms), the motor will heat up and reduce performance by 10-15% during longer rides, even when riding in eco mode and bring up a warning sign on the instrument cluster. I have faced this issue multiple times during long rides, both during the day and at night:







Although this issue does not render the scooter completely powerless and it can still easily climb gradients, it does mean that if you were cruising at 45 km/h in eco mode and you get this warning, then you will have to switch to power mode to maintain the speed. However, this will result in reduced range. I have not faced this issue since the monsoons arrived. Nonetheless, keep this in mind if you’re planning to buy the scooter for daily long rides of more than 20kms. Other aspects that may require some adjustment are the lag in throttle response(reference for gamers : feels like playing fps at 200ms ping) and the excessively aggressive regenerative braking. The regen kicks in as soon as you release the throttle, and will slow you down aggressively. But on the positive side this also means that applying brakes will not cut-off the motor. Reverse mode will work as intended on flat surfaces but won't be as effective on inclines where you would actually want to use it.

Once you get used to the regen and throttle response, it is an absolute joy to ride it. The positioning of the batteries in a lower location gives the scooter a very low center of gravity, which makes maneuvering the vehicle in city conditions very easy. Also, riding in rains is not an issue since both the battery and motor are IP67 rated.

In terms of the braking, it features a CBS setup. The rear drum brake is soft and mushy, and the regenerative braking feels more effective at slowing you down than applying the rear brakes. The front disc brakes provide a decent amount of bite, and you will likely rely on either the regenerative braking or the front brakes for most of your stopping needs, as the rear brakes are essentially useless.

The ride quality is absolutely amazing, with twin telescopic suspension on the front and two hydraulic shock absorbers on the rear. This setup is perfectly tuned for city conditions and performs well even with a pillion. The seat is spacious and cushioned with the right amount of foam.(Jupiter genes) The seating position is comfortable, even for tall riders, with ample space available on the footboard. The headlights work well for night riding, with a strong high-beam and effective low-beam but they've messed up the horn. The newly labeled "pleasant-horn" is highly ineffective in alerting both vehicles and pedestrians.

Charging :

The charger provided is rated at 650W and has an IP65 rating, featuring active cooling. It is mostly sealed, with a small fan and a temperature sensor located on the top. The charging time from 10-100% is approximately 5 hours, and the charger automatically cuts-off once the scooter is fully charged. They recommended to frequently charge the scooter to 100% for cell balancing. Also, the electric logo blinks while charging. The idle battery drain is negligible, left it at 25% and two-three days later it was at 24%.

Application & Issues :

The TVS iQube application still feels like a work in progress, it does offers several useful features such as displaying the current battery state of charge, trip history, charging history, and a map of charging stations. The application also sends notifications every time the ignition is turned on or off, along with location information. While the application requests many permissions, its advertised star feature, turn-by-turn navigation, does not function properly due to connectivity issues with the scooter. After the first year of free usage, an annual fee of ₹999 is required to continue using the application.

A minor problem I had with the scooter is that the side stand sensor sometimes falsely indicates that the stand is engaged. This resulted in the scooter stalling twice when it came to halt, had to engage and disengage the side stand again to get rid of the issue. The motor overheating warning wasn't a significant problem since I could still ride the scooter for an additional 10-15 kilometers in power mode after the warning appeared.

Warranty & Servicing :

The TVS iQube S comes with a standard 3 Year OR 50,000kms warranty applicable on the vehicle and bundled charger. There are no free services, on the schedule they've mentioned to get it serviced every year or 4,000kms. I took my iQube to the free service camp organized on account of World Environment Day by Litra TVS. The service included routine maintenance, applying WD-40 to switches, and also resolved the side-stand sensor issue. It took approximately an hour, and there was no charge for the service.

Pricing & FAME-II Refund :

The total on-road cost of the scooter was : ₹1,35,735
The refund process was fairly simple, they did refund ₹6,218 which brings the final on-road cost to ₹1,29,517.

Closing Thoughts :

TVS has nailed the essentials of an ideal family scooter with the iQube S: a dependable headlight setup, comfortable ride quality, large & flat footboard, practical mirrors, and a functional boot. What sets it apart is its approach to technology—it doesn't impose new, potentially complex features, but rather blends traditional elements with a reliable electric powertrain. This makes the iQube S an excellent choice for those seeking a seamless transition to electric scooters without sacrificing the core qualities of a reliable and practical ride.

Certainly, there is room for improvement, particularly in the application's functionality. The regen intensity can also be adjusted by setting regen levels specific to different ride modes.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[sri_tesla]

Congratulations and wish you many happy miles on the iQube S. I also own the iQube S in exact same color for over a year and it has been a great experience so far.

Originally Posted by Venky03

Throttle response, acceleration curve and regen are similar in both ride modes, just the top speed for Eco is capped

Are you sure the throttle response is the same between ECO and Power modes? There is definitely a substantial difference in throttle response between the two modes in my experience. I don't like the throttle response in ECO mode. It may not be as bad as other Ev's (e.g. Ola, Ather) eco mode but still power mode is much better and I have been riding exclusively in power mode since I bought it. I wish there was an option to change the default mode to Power so that we don't need to change it manually every time we start the vehicle.

Also, the ECO mode does not automatically give a better range. The range mainly depends on the throttle input and speed of the vehicle. In many cases, especially in city traffic, the power mode might give a better range as we don't need to use higher throttle input often. This is common across all EVs.

Originally Posted by Venky03

The iQube lets you ride in power mode even when the battery is low, unlike other electric scooters that switch to eco mode automatically. It uses two 52V battery packs, each with a usable capacity of 1.5kWh(total 3kWh), that are connected in parallel. One of the battery packs is located under the footboard, while the other is under the seat.

In the newer models (iQube and iQube S) which were launched in April 2022, both the battery packs are under the seat only. Total capacity is 3.4 kWh with each pack having a capacity of 1.7 kWh. The usable capacity is 3.04 kWh.

Originally Posted by Venky03

One potential drawback of this powertrain is the BLDC hub motor, although it performs well for short city rides(~5-10kms), the motor will heat up and reduce performance by 10-15% during longer rides, even when riding in eco mode and bring up a warning sign on the instrument cluster. I have faced this issue multiple times during long rides, both during the day and at night:
Attachment 2497699

The warning sign is not for motor overheating. It's just a malfunction indicator. I have got this indicator once or twice in the last 1 year of usage but it's definitely not due to overheating because both times I got it when I just started the vehicle. Each time, it went away after 1 or 2 restarts. Here is the screenshot from the official manual showing the reason for the indicator.

[Venky03]

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

Are you sure the throttle response is the same between ECO and Power modes?

I did not notice any substantial difference in eco vs power, on my Tork Kratos the difference between Eco and City is very noticeable. This could also be a contributing factor since I regularly switch between both of them. I mostly use it in Eco unless I'm on highways.

Originally Posted by sri_tesla

The warning sign is not for motor overheating. It's just a malfunction indicator. I have got this indicator once or twice in the last 1 year of usage but it's definitely not due to overheating because both times I got it when I just started the vehicle. Each time, it went away after 1 or 2 restarts.

Luckily, the warning appeared while I was en-route to the service center for the service camp, and it persisted even after they attempted to restart it several times. When they checked on the OBD the error was : MD04E - MCU High Temp Sensor Fault and went away on it's own once the scooter cooled down.

[SID7115]

Nice review
Even we have an iQube S in the same colour. It's a Feb 2023 model. So far 3500 km done....great scooter for the city and extremely comfy as well.

[Aditya]

Exceptional, unbiased & detailed ownership reviews of bikes have started going to our homepage reviews box. It's the ultimate stamp of trust from Team-BHP (as a platform) because lakhs of visitors every month check out reviews from there & make purchase decisions.

Your review has also been included here. Thank you so much for sharing .

[helios9406]

Congrats on your new arrival.

Recently I chanced upon my cousins icube. And man it's a thrilling experience. It looks and drives like a normal ice two wheeler, the silence is so endearing, there's a magic carpet feel to it. There's no vibration of engine as an a ice scooter. I fell in love with icube.

And your buying experience is a nightmare. Don't know if TVS is even remotely bothered to address such issues at all. And for them huge surge in demand seems to be a headache than a welcome boon.

I wish more electric two wheelers come up with CCS2 fast charging gun support so that even if stranded or out of charge, a 10 minutes plugin should help us reach home, or take us to a slightly longer destination.

Hope that such change in charging ports and having a better purchasing experience comes up