Lords Zoom electric scooter first ride review: An affordable city commuter
- Practicality
- Utility features
- Poor material quality
- Lords Zoom is an affordable and frill-free electric scooter meant for regular city commuting.
With the advent of electric mobility, the Indian automobile market has become flooded with EV manufacturers. Electric two-wheelers, especially electric scooters have been selling like hotcakes across India. This massive growth in the electric two-wheeler segment has been fuelled by several factors including the high cost of petrol, the rising cost of fossil-fuel-powered two-wheelers, tightening emission norms, increasing awareness about vehicular emission and its impact on the environment etc.
Over the last few years, several EV startups have mushroomed across India and launched their electric two-wheelers, while various legacy players too have launched their respective products in the segment. While over the last few years, premium high-speed electric scooters have been gaining a lot of attention, low-speed electric scooters are still driving the growth of the segment. Keeping an eye on that fact, several Ev startups have launched their respective products in the segment. One such EV startup is the Lords Automotive, which sells two low-speed scooters: Zoom and Zoom Plus.
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1.8 kWh
120 Km
We got a chance to ride the Lords Zoom recently. Here are our thoughts and findings about the electric scooter.
Lords Zoom: Looks
Look-wise the Lords Zoom electric scooter doesn't look very much distinctive from the electric scooters plying on roads. The look is average and very basic. To be specific, with one quick glance, you won't find it visually very appealing. It gets a large inverted delta-shaped headlamp positioned at the centre of the front cowl, which spots an LED lamp. The handlebar features turn indicators.
The scooter gets a fully digital instrument cluster, showing some basic information about the EV. On both sides of the instrument cluster display, there are switches for various functions. While riding this scooter, I found the switch for the horn on the left side not very conveniently positioned. This could be a design error from the manufacturer. On the right side, the electric scooter gets three different riding modes. Also, there is a 'Reverse' mode switch that allows the scooter to be reversed without pushing hard.
The footboard area is quite spacious, while the scooter comes with a wide seat offering a generously comfortable riding position. There is a backrest for the pillion rider. However, the quality of the backrest material appeared feeble. So, someone leaning back to get full support from the backrest could be tricky. Moving to the back, the scooter gets sharp and large taillight, and a thick grab rail. The Lords Zoom is available in six different colour options.
Lords Zoom: Features
Lords Zoom gets a fully digital instrument cluster. It gets an LCD panel for the display showing various information about the scooter. However, despite being an electric scooter priced between ₹54,000 and ₹69,999 (ex-showroom), the instrument cluster doesn't come with any connectivity options, which are available in many other scooters.
Also, the lighting technology onboard the Lords Zoom electric scooter is mostly halogen, which certainly is one drawback compared to many other models available in the market that get LED lights. On the mechanical front, it gets a disc brake on the front wheel and a drum brake at the rear.
Lords Zoom: Ride and handling
Speaking of riding comfort, the scooter appeared a bit shaky even while running even at 24 kmph speed, which is a thumb down for the EV. Also, while riding the scooter at 24 kmph speed, especially with the roads with speed breakers, it felt a bit unstable. The suspension set up too was not very promising compared to various other electric scooters that we tested over the last several months. As it felt while riding through regular patchy roads, the scooter was throwing jerks despite it coming equipped with front telescopic forks.
Having a spacious footboard is something positive about the scooter as it offers ample space for the rider's legs and one can keep a small bag there as well. Having a backrest is a good effort from the manufacturer, but its strength is not reliable. The Lords Zoom electric scooter comes with a protective metal guard at the front and rear, offering minimal protection to the lights and the bodywork against crashes. The foot peg at both sides for the pillion rider is another design element, which is practical and convenience-enhancing.
Lords Zoom: Performance
The review scooter that we received from Lords Automotive was capable of running at a top speed of 24 kmph. However, during a conversation with a company representative, I was told that the speed could be increased to up to 40 kmph. The different riding modes that can be selected using the toggle switch can be used to limit the speeds. However, we couldn't test the scooter at higher speeds, as it was limited to running at 24 kmph only.
Lords Zoom: Battery and range
Lords Automotive claims that its 48V Li-Ion battery-equipped Zoom electric scooter can run up to 60 kilometres on a single charge, while the 60V Li-Ion variant can run up to 100 kilometres on a full charge. There is a lead acid battery variant of the scooter as well, but the manufacturer provided me with the lithium-ion battery-equipped variant for review. This replaceable battery pack claims to be capable of being charged fully in five hours using a regular charging socket.
Lords Zoom: Verdict
The Lords Zoom is an affordable and frill-free commuter electric scooter, which can be used for regular commuting purposes in and around the city. In city traffic conditions low-speed scooters are practical, but riding this scooter through rough patches even on the city roads could be a bit tricky, considering the low ground clearance.
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