With its twin 1.5 kWh removable battery packs, Honda Activa e has little to no under-seat storage space for practicality
Indian electric scooter market has been booming and has emerged as a tempting proposition for many OEMs to explore. There have been quite a few players ranging from mainstream manufacturers like Bajaj, TVS, Hero and to startups like Ola and Ather. There had never been a Japanese mainstream OEM in this space. Until now.
Honda has just unveiled their new electric scooters in India, the basic QC1 and the more premium and tech-loaded Activa e. Pricing for Honda’s scooters will be announced in January 2025. We compared these scooters with three of India’s top three best-selling family electric scooters, TVS iQube, Bajaj Chetak and Ather Rizta, and here’s how Honda’s offerings fare.
Honda Electric Scooters Vs Rivals
Soon, Honda’s Activa e and QC1 will rival the well-established family electric scooters on sale in India. Both Activa e and QC1 come with Underbone chassis like Rizta and Chetak. Only iQube has a tubular chassis. Except for the Chetak, all electric scooters in this comparison come equipped with telescopic front forks.
Only the iQube and QC1 have twin shock absorbers, while others get a rear mono-shock setup. QC1 is the only one to offer a drum brake setup at the front, while others, including Activa e, offer a disc brake. These family electric scooters are yet to offer rear disc brakes, something seen with sportier offerings.
Except for the QC1, all scooters on this comparison offer 12-inch alloy wheels at both ends. Tyres are usually 90-section at both ends in this category. But Ather offers 100-section rear tyre and Activa e has a fatter 110-section rear tyre. Because of its removable battery, Activa e has little to no under-seat storage space, while Rizta promises 34L, highest in this comparison.
Because of its budget nature, Honda QC1 misses out on TFT instrument cluster, even as an option and hence lacks any connectivity features as well. Honda and Bajaj are the only ones that come with smart keys for the keyless go function in this comparison.
Where pricing is concerned, Chetak has the upper edge as TecPac range between just Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. With larger battery, TVS is the most expensive, but Ather emerges as the least VFM as Pro Packs range between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 and the battery size and corresponding range are nothing to write home about, either.
Specs and Performance
Activa e gets the highest peak power of 6 kW and QC1 has lowest peak power of just 1.8 kW. Rizta offers 4.3 kW, iQube 4.4 kW and Chetak 4.2 kW of peak power. Because of its hub motor layout, QC1 quotes 77 Nm of peak torque and it is 140 Nm with iQube. Where rated torque is concerned, iQube steals the show at 33 Nm.
Claimed range is 102 km with Activa e and 80 km with QC1. Rizta’s and Chetak’s claimed numbers are higher. TVS only quotes real range, going till 150 km with the 5.1 kWh battery. Speaking of battery, nothing beats TVS as iQube’s top-spec 5.1 kWh is the largest in capacity. Activa e has two 1.5 kWh removable units, while QC1 just gets one 1.5 kWh unit.
Except for the QC1 with a lower top speed of just 50 km/h, others quote around 80 km/h. Activa e has a reverse mode with Honda RoadSync Duo, Chetak gets it with TecPac and Rizta gets it with Pro Pack. Because of its large battery, iQube is the heaviest, weighing up to 132 kg.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
