EeVe Xeniaa Long-Term Review (Final Report): An Eco-Friendly Urban Commuter!

Powertrain & Riding Impressions

Now, before we tell you how the electric scooter is to ride, let's first get the technical numbers out in the open. The EeVe Xeniaa comes powered by a 250 Watts hub-mounted electric motor, paired with a 60V 20Ah lithium-ion battery pack.

The electric powertrain on the Xeniaa gives the electric scooter a top speed of just 25km/h, while the claimed range is said to be between 60 - 70km per charge. During our real-world tests, the electric scooter did manage to offer an average range of 60 kilometres, which is as claimed, which was impressive.

The 25km/h top speed meant that the EeVe Xeniaa comes under the low-speed category for electric scooters in India.

This combined with the small 250-Watts electric motor translates to the fact that the Xeniaa is exempt of any registration plate and doesn't even require a driving licence to be legally ridden on the streets. Hence you can see that the electric scooter doesn't feature an official number plate.

Coming to the performance part, the EeVe Xeniaa does offer good initial response off the line. The power is transmitted almost immediately at the twist of the throttle. However, post the initial response there isn't much to boast about.

The electric scooter picks up speed, with the 25km/h top speed coming rather quickly. However, post this the Xeniaa does seem to become tame. The electric scooter chugs along, constantly maintaining the speed at all times.

What is impressive is that the EeVe Xeniaa manages to pull well even riding up an incline. At no point, did the electric scooter ever feel out of breath, either while riding on flat or inclined terrain. The scooter pulled itself and the rider's weight up any gradient with no hesitancy what-so-ever.

EeVe states that the Xeniaa is capable of handling a payload of 140kg. We put this to the test by riding the electric scooter over a gradient; this time with a pillion. The EeVe Xeniaa, however, continued to chug along, pulling itself along with the rider and pillion uphill with relative ease.

The instrument cluster on the electric scooter shows three riding modes which can be controlled via the switches on the right handlebar. However, during our entire time riding the Xeniaa, we did not notice any major or difference in either the performance or range from the three modes.

The scooter also features a ‘Park' mode, which acts as a safety feature and comes up every time the scooter is switched on. To further ensure safety, riders will have to hold the ‘p' switch for a period of 2 to 3 seconds, before the scooter is ready to ride.

We must mention here, that the EeVe Xeniaa is a compact electric scooter and is also light weight, tipping the scale at just a little over 80 kilograms. This makes it an extremely easy two-wheeler while navigating through thick traffic conditions in the city.

The Xeniaa can easily filter through almost any gap we dare to push it in. The electric scooter is also easily flickable, allowing for a quick change in directions. The Xeniaa comes shod with 10-inch tubeless tyres which offers good amount of grip, both in wet and dry conditions.

Ride Comfort

The EeVe Xeniaa electric scooter comes with a rather wide single-piece seat, offering good levels of comfort. The riding position is relaxed and comfortable for both the rider and pillion. The pillion even gets large grab rails at the back, for added comfort and grip.

Having said that, we felt the footboard is a bit on the higher side. While this did aid improving ground clearance and further allow the scooter to tackle uneven tarmac and unplanned road humps without scraping its bottom, it does slightly hinder the comfort for taller riders.

Being 6 foot myself, the relatively high footboard had me scraping my knee to the handlebar, more often than not. This was particularly noticeable when trying to take sharp turns in tight spaces.

Another concern on the electric scooter is the suspension setup. While the EeVe Xeniaa does use conventional telescopic forks at the front and a pair of shock absorbers at the rear, they seem to have been set up slightly on the firmer side.

While the setup does manage to soak up small bumps and irregularities with ease, larger potholes can be felt. This is especially noticeable when riding the electric scooter around town for long durations.

What did impress us is the braking on the scooter. The EeVe Xeniaa comes with disc brakes at either end. This makes braking almost instantaneous, with good levels of bite.

Both the front and rear disc brake has been set up well and brings the scooter to a stop rather comfortably. Having said that, without the presence of ABS, the electric scooter does tend to lock up its wheels under heavy or sudden braking.

Battery Charging & Practicality

As mentioned before, during our time testing the electric scooter, the Xeniaa returned an average range of 60 kilometres/charge. This comfortably allows the scooter to be used on a daily basis around town without any worries of range or charging.

EeVe provides customers a standard charging cable, along with the scooter. This charging cable can be plugged into any standard three-pin plug available everywhere. The electric scooter can be charged using two methods: first by plugging the cable directly to the charging socket positioned below the seat, while the second method is the removable battery pack.

The Xeniaa electric scooter features a battery pack positioned under the seat, which can be removed. The removable battery can then be charged separately either at home or office, using the same charging cable provided by the company.

However, as you would have already guessed, positioning the battery pack under the seat hampers the storage space available on the EeVe Xeniaa electric scooter. With half the space occupied by the battery pack, the under-seat storage was practically nil on the Xeniaa. The only usable storage space was behind the front apron, though this also was less, allowing for only essentials like phones and wallets to be kept.

Running Costs

Electric vehicles currently demand a high initial amount, however, with running costs close to nil, it is very easy to recover this additional expense rather quickly. The EeVe Xeniaa is no different, with a starting price of close to Rs 72,000, ex-showroom, the electric scooter is definitely an expensive purchase.

However, without the need to constantly fill petrol, the scooter immediately brings down the expenditure by half. This combined with the minimal maintenance to run an electric scooter ( at least for the first three-years), customers do end up recovering their additional purchase cost within the first year itself.

Availability & Target Audience

The EeVe Xeniaa is an electric two-wheeler startup From Odisha. The company since their establishment in 2018 has expanded to over 50+ cities across India, most of them along the East Coast in states like Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh; to name a few. However, the company is planning to rapidly expand its presence across the country soon as well.

The EeVe Xeniaa is the brand's first product and continues to be its flagship model. Being a low-speed category offering, the Xeniaa electric scooter is targeted towards a young college-going crowd.

The scooter perfectly matches their requirements for travelling around town, between college, homes and tuition, while not having to worry about vehicle registration or even a driving licence.

Verdict

The EeVe Xeniaa electric scooter does offer a stylish design, is environment-friendly, comes with many features and is extremely comfortable to ride around town. However, with a price tag of Rs 72,000, ex-showroom it isn't exactly the most affordable, especially considering who its target audience is.