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Ola Electric S1 Air Review - Almost There For The Masses
Ola Electric took the country by storm with its S1 series of electric scooters. Dominating the e-scooter sales charts, the S1 and S1 Pro are everywhere today.
A few months back, Ola revealed the S1 Air, the baby of the lineup, which took the firm's fight to eliminate what it calls the ICE age. With sales already starting, Ola Electric invited us to their 'Future Factory' facility to experience the new S1 Air.
Ola Electric S1 Air Review: What's Changed? - Little Changes Go A Big Way
At first glance, the Ola S1 Air looks almost identical to its siblings. Indeed, you have to look a bit deeper to spot the changes.
Design-wise, the changes include the dual-tone body, the much more appreciated flat floor and conventional grab handles. Oh, and there are six colours on offer - Coral Glam, Porcelain White, Stellar Blue, Midnight Blue, Liquid Silver, and Neon - instead of the ten or more for Ola's other scooters.
The reason for the flat floor is simple, S1 Air is underpinned by what Ola Electric claims is a brand-new platform (frame) for its latest e-scooter. The change other than the new frame that differentiates the S1 Air from its siblings is the conventional front fork setup (something the firm was loudly unwilling to talk about).
The powertrain also is new. The Ola Electric S1 Air ditches the mid-mounted motor setup of its siblings for a hub unit. This hub-mounted motor pushes out 3.62bhp under normal circumstances. The peak output rises to 6bhp and 150Nm, allowing for a 0-40km/h time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 90km/h (claimed).
The S1 Air's hub motor draws power from an NMC lithium-ion battery that offers 2.98kWh of charge. The S1 Air delivers a range of 125km as per ARAI testing. Like its siblings, the S1 Air has multiple riding modes - Eco, Normal & Sport. In Eco mode, the S1 Air delivers a claimed 125km of true range which drops to 100km in Normal and 87km in Sports mode.
The design remains the same as Ola Electric's other products. The robotic look with the curves up front and to the rear is still the same and the 7-inch display that controls almost every function is also the same as on the firm's other scooters and runs Move OS 3.0 out of the box (As buggy as that it is. More on that later.).
Ola Electric S1 Air Review: How Is It On The Move? - 3/4th The Fun With More Pratfalls
The S1 Air, like its siblings, is mad in a straight line, despite missing out on the mental Hyper mode that made the S1 Pro the king of the city street drags.
The S1 Air's we managed to ride during our limited time at the Ola Future Factory were running beta software, so we did face quite a few bugs. While one refused to engage in cruise control and Sport mode, another unit refused to go into Eco mode.
So between our time on the two scooters, we go to experience the ins and outs of the S1 Air to the fullest. Eco lived up to its name conserving battery by ditching speed, Normal was the perfect urban cruiser with just enough power for a bit of fun while Sport got you hitting 70km/h before the power levels dropped as the battery drain went up.
The braking was fine for the most part with the CBS system working well though the rear brake felt a bit too snappy at times. Throttle and brake application at the same time only resulted in the speed side getting cut if you even tweaked the brakes slightly. And post braking, the S1 Air did take a few moments before responding to the twisting of the throttle.
The new suspension system though worked like a charm, ironing out any imperfections (the ones we could find) in our test area at the Future Factory. The scooter felt well-balanced though we wish Ola had taken the time to make a conventional seat for the S1 Air.
Ola Electric S1 Air Review: Final Thoughts & Verdict: Getting There
The Ola Electric S1 Air is the firm's most affordable scooter yet and shows that it is willing to go to work to achieve its dream of an ICE-free future. The S1 Air is the first scooter on its new platform, which hints at some big things for the firm's future.
While the scooters we rode were running on beta software, the hardware changes were noticeable in our time with them for us to be hopeful of something that will be both VFM and fun on the straight roads if you know how to balance your enthusiasm for the throttle.
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