Buy an electric or petrol scooter for daily commute of 80km?

I am in the market to buy a new scooter and I don’t know if a petrol scooter is better or if I should buy an EV for my 80km commute. Please advise.

Yatinder Singh, via email

That’s a very good question and the answer really boils down to whether you can practically introduce an EV into your life. The first and most important point is that you must have the ability to charge it at home. Planning to rely on public charging infrastructure on a regular basis is not wise and being able to conveniently charge your scooter makes all the difference. 

The second point is to make sure that it can comfortably handle your usual running requirement. If you have a regular running of over 80km per day, it wouldn’t be wise to buy an EV scooter that has a range of 100km. You’d want to factor in a good buffer amount so that the scooter can be used on those one-off days when you need to travel a little longer than normal. A good buffer will also take care of any range anxiety which is definitely worth it in the long run. In our experience, the best five scooters these days (Ather, Chetak, iQube, Ola and Vida) all offer a realistic range of about 100km or a little more, so if your daily running is 60km or below, they will comfortably meet your needs.

If you can manage the above two criteria, then an EV makes great sense. The low running costs are a joy and their silent, torquey nature makes them a genuine pleasure to ride in the city. There are numerous options available today and most are crude, cheaply built Chinese-origin products that we would not recommend. But if you restrict your search to the top five mentioned above, you will be happy with the experience. Check out our comprehensive comparison review to help you understand which is right for you.