Ola S1 Pro Review: Real World Range Is Fantastic. Is It A Perfect e-Scooter Now?

With the multiple quality-regarding issues popping up, is the Ola S1 Pro even worth considering? We check out. 

• The S1 Pro’s 8.5kW motor makes a solid 58Nm of peak torque. 
• Its claimed real-world range stands at a massive 170km. 
• You get a fancy single fork at the front, something that’s also caused build quality issues. 

Over a lakh of you have put your money down for the Ola Electric, which has been surrounded by sky-high hype and enthusiasm from Leh to Gangtok and across 1000 Indian towns. Understandably so, given that the S1 and S1 Pro boast industry-leading features while simultaneously guaranteeing excellent value. Will the Ola Electric scooters deliver on their promise? Only saddle time will tell, and that time is here.

Ola S1 Pro: Design & Features

The Ola S1 Pro has a 36-litre trunk area, which is spacious enough to fit a full-face helmet and more. Dual LED headlights, a flowing design with monochrome panels, and alloy wheels are standard. A grab rail, side steps, and sculpted seating are also included for the comfort of the pillion.

The Ola S1 Pro comes with all-LED illumination and a touch-enabled 7-inch TFT display that enables Smartphone, WiFi/LTE, Bluetooth, and GPS connectivity. Side-stand down and anti-theft warning, geo-fencing, reverse mode, Get Home mode, Take Me Home lights, and a Limp Home mode are among the other features. 

MoveOS 3.0 now includes three ride moods (Bolt, Vintage, and Eclipse), vacation mode (to conserve battery over extended periods of inactivity), proximity unlock, faux motor sounds, hill hold, three levels of regenerative braking, Hypercharging (which allows the user to top up the battery to up to 50km of range in just 15 minutes), Bluetooth calling, and key sharing.

Ola S1 Pro: Motor Specs

Ola has rebalanced all of its riding settings to provide a more spirited ride. It seems brisk in Hyper mode and not at all sluggish in Sport or Normal mode. In fact, the e-scooter is nearly a second faster to 60kmph in the final two riding modes than it was with MoveOS 2 software.

There is a more even distribution of torque throughout the board until the top speed of each mode is reached. The throttle response is slightly quicker than previously, but there is still some work to be done in this area. 

There is still a slight lag between twisting the throttle and the scooter moving forward or overtaking. While slowing down quickly, you will notice the scooter accelerate somewhat even after you cut off the throttle. This delay becomes more noticeable in Hyper and Sport modes, where more juice is flowing to the motor.

Thankfully, when you press the brakes, the scooter no longer completely shuts down power. The current provided to the motor has dropped significantly, yet the scooter can still move forward. When doing tight U-turns, the S1 becomes more manageable than before.

Ola S1 Pro: Chassis

The sophisticated front suspension and offset horizontally-mounted monoshock on the Ola is rather fascinating, yet it works quite well for the most part. While the suspension absorbs undulations and tiny potholes, the crashiness over larger obstacles was disappointing. If you hit a huge one, your wrists and back take the majority of the punishment. When you hit the corners with the Ola S1 Pro, the suspension, tubular chassis, and big 12-inch tyres inspire confidence.

Ola S1 Pro: Dimensions

Where the Ola’s hefty weight is felt the most is in the city. That’s where you feel the scooter’s longer wheelbase as well as it feels slightly less agile on its feet than something like the Ather 450X or even the TVS iQube. While it’s nothing that’s off-putting, you do feel the scooter’s weight when moving the bike around in tight parking spaces. 

Ola S1 Pro: Price

The Ola S1 Pro is available in a single configuration and costs Rs 1,29,999 (ex-showroom Delhi, including FAME II subsidy). Gerua, Marshmallow, Porcelain White, Liquid Silver, Khaki, Millennial Pink, Neo Mint, Coral Glam, Jet Black, matte Anthracite Grey, matte Midnight Blue, and Matte Black are the only colours available.

Verdict

There's no denying that the MoveOS 3 improvements have made the S1 Pro a much better scooter. It is not only faster in all riding modes, but also more manageable and customizable. However, if the engineers could resolve the remaining throttle calibration difficulties and make the Eco mode workable, it would be an even better combination. 

As it stands, it is certainly worthy of your time, especially in the Party mode, where things can be quite a lot of fun, given that you practice it in a way that it doesn’t hamper other people.