Ola recently launched a more affordable version of their electric scooter, the S1 Pro, in the form of the S1. This scooter will have to contend with the Ather 450 Plus and the TVS iQube, which are, in turn, the more affordable versions from the respective manufacturers. For the sake of this comparison, we have chosen the base variant of the TVS iQube to ensure a level playing field for all.
Ola S1 vs Ather 450 Plus vs TVS iQube: electric motor, battery & charging
| Electric Motor, Battery & Charging | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ola S1 | Ather 450 Plus | TVS iQube | |
| Peak Motor Ouput | 8.5kW | 5.4kW | 4.4kW |
| Continuous Motor Output | 5.5kW | 3.3kW | 3kW |
| Rated Torque | 58Nm | 22Nm | 33Nm |
| Top Speed | 95kph | 80kph | 78kph |
| Battery Capacity | 3kWh | 3.7kWh | 3.04kWh |
| Claimed Range | 141km | 108km | 100km |
| Charging Time | 0-100% in 5 hours | 0-100% in 5 hrs 40 mins | 0-80% in 4.5 hrs |
The S1 has a comfortable leg up over its competition in terms of the size of its battery pack, and consequently, range and top speed. The battery pack of the Ola, despite being the largest here, is able to achieve a full charge much quicker than the Ather. TVS does not mention the charging times for a full charge, but we reckon it should be in the same ballpark as the other two scooters here.
However, in the dash to 40kph the Ola is only 0.1s quicker than the Ather 450 Plus, which takes 3.9s to do the same. The Ather is also rated for steeper gradeability and is able to climb inclines of up to 18 degrees, compared to 15 for the Ola and 10 for the TVS.
Ola S1 vs Ather 450 Plus vs TVS iQube: dimensions & underpinnings
| Dimensions & Underpinnings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ola S1 | Ather 450 Plus | TVS iQube | |
| Wheelbase | 1359mm | 1295mm | 1301mm |
| Seat Height | 792mm | 780mm | 770mm |
| Ground Clearance | 165mm | 153mm | 157mm |
| Weight | 121kg | 111.6kg | 117.2kg |
| Suspension (F/R) | Single Fork/Monoshock | Telescopic Fork/Monoshock | Telescopic fork/Hydraulic shocks |
| Brakes (F/R) | 220mm disc/180mm disc | 200mm disc/190mm disc | 220mm disc/130mm disc |
| Tyres (F/R) | 110/70-R12 | 90/90-12/100/80-12 | 90/90-12 |
| Storage | 36 litres | 22 litres | 17 litres |
The Ather 450 Plus is the lightest scooter here (by some margin) and has the shortest wheelbase of the trio compared here like its more premium sibling, the 450X Gen 3. While the TVS and Ather feature conventional telescopic forks up front, the Ola makes do with just one fork leg, which is something that you don’t see on a two-wheeler quite often. The TVS is also the only one here to use twin shocks at the rear while both the Ather and the Ola make use of a monoshock.
The Ola S1 is the only one here that uses radial tyres, and also features the fattest tyres of the lot. The updated Gen 3 Ather 450 line-up does get a fatter 100-section rear tyre, while TVS has the skinniest tyres with sizes akin to most conventional ICE scooters sold today.
Another area where Ola has a comfortable advantage is in underseat storage, which is more than twice the size of the TVS iQube and a whole 16 litres more than the Ather 450 Plus.
All scooters have accessible seat heights that make it easy to reach the ground for short riders, and feature more than adequate amounts of ground clearance to deal with the nastiest of imperfections our roads have to offer.
Ola S1 vs Ather 450 Plus vs TVS iQube: features
All scooters here have full colour touchscreen-compatible displays, which can be paired to your smartphone via Bluetooth and allow you to control parameters such as navigation, music and call alerts. Ola is also set to introduce a few OTA updates by Diwali 2022 that would bring in features such as key sharing and moods. The update would also bring in a safety feature that would alert the user on their phone if the scooter moves – either due to towing or theft.
Ola S1 vs Ather 450 Plus vs TVS iQube: price
| Price | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ola S1 | Ather 450 Plus | TVS iQube | |
| Price (ex-showroom, Delhi, including subsidies) | Rs. 99,999 | Rs. 1,17,495 | Rs. 98,564 |
The TVS iQube is the most affordable scooter in this company, but the price gap between it and the Ola S1 is under Rs 2,000, making it nearly inconsequential. The Ather 450 Plus is the priciest of the lot, with a price tag that's Rs 20,000 more than the others, making it quite a difficult sell to the value-conscious Indian buyer.
What would be your pick amongst this trio of two-wheeler electric scooters? Let us know in the comments section below.