Vida V1 Pro road test review: Might be the perfect scooter for you
- Easy to ride
- Removable batteries
- Build quality
Hero MotoCorp is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the world. So, when they announced that they would be building an electric two-wheeler, it naturaally got a lot of attention. The manufacturer decided to bring in a new sub-brand called Vida through which the first electric scooter was launched. It is called the Vida V1 and is being sold in two variants - Plus and Pro. We got to spend a few days with the V1 Pro electric scooter and here are our thoughts about it after riding it for
Vida V1 Pro: Design and build quality
The Vida V1 definitely stands out because of its colours and The headlamp has a very uniquely designed LED element that can also be seen in the tail lamp as well. The scooter is being offered in several matte colour schemes along with machined-finished alloy wheels. There is a split seat setup for the rider and the pillion. All the lighting elements on the scooter are LED units and the headlamp is quite good with a decent amount of throw and spread. Where the design looks nice, the build quality is where the Vida V1 Pro falls a bit short. There are a few plastic parts that do not feel up to the mark. For instance, the rear plastic panels, the way the seat fits and the switchgear. Having said that, the scooter does not rattle when going through bad patches of road and potholes.
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3.94 kWh
110 km
Vida V1 Pro: Comfort and handling
Hero has done a great job when it comes to tuning the suspension setup. Despite being a relatively simple setup of telescopic forks and a single shock absorber at the rear, the scooter stays composed while going through bad roads. Through the corners and while riding at 80 kmph, the scooter feels confident and stable. The handling is something that surprised us especially the way V1 Pro can hide its weight while riding through bumper-to-bumper traffic. This is despite the scooter using two battery packs that are placed vertically under the seat. Having said that, the seat is a bit on the stiffer side and narrow but there is ample amount of space on the floorboard. The riding triangle on the Vida V1 Pro is quite comfortable. The handlebar is well within reach and there is a decent amount of foot space.
Vida V1 Pro: Performance
Vida Electric uses a PMSM electric motor that can produce a continuous power output of 3.9 kW and a peak power output of 6 kWh. The torque output stands at 25 Nm. The throttle is very well-calibrated, there are no sudden jerks of power and even if the rider gives the slightest of inputs, the electric motor is able to register the throttle input. Speaking of throttle, we found that throttle action to be surprisingly heavy so the hand does start to get tired after a while. We suspect that this should be an easy fix. Moreover, the rider can also increase the amount of regeneration by twisting the throttle to the other side and it comes in gradually.
Another important thing to note is that Vida does not cut the power when the rider applies brakes. This might look like a small thing but there are several electric scooters in the Indian market that cut off the throttle as soon as the brakes are tapped. This makes riding in bumper-to-bumper traffic and taking U-turns a bit cumbersome.
There are three riding modes on offer Eco, Ride and Sport. All three have different throttle response and top speed. Eco has a top speed of 40 kmph, Ride has a top speed of 68 kmph and in the Sport mode, the scooter hits its top speed of 80 kmph. We mostly used the Ride mode as it is enough for normal city duties and the scooter is able to keep up with the traffic.
Vida V1 Pro: Brakes
Braking duties on the Vida V1 Pro are being done by a disc in the front and a drum at the rear. The scooter comes with CBS or Combi-Braking System as standard which means that when the rider applies one of the brakes, the second one is applied automatically. Now, what usually happens with CBS brakes is that the tyres lock up but that is not the case with the Vida V1 Pro. Even under hard braking, the tyres on the scooter did not lock up so the calibration of brakes and CBS has been done very well.
Vida V1 Pro: Battery and range
Vida is using two 1.97 kWh battery packs for the V1 Pro. The real-world range of the scooter is 110 km and the range calculation is quite accurate. Once the battery gets very low then the scooter will block the Sport mode. On a full charge, the scooter has a range of 113 km in Eco mode, 85 km in Ride mode and 75 km in Sport mode. The scooter comes with a charger that can be stored under the seat but then it keeps rattling. So, we would suggest to get a cloth bag for it.
What's special about the V1 Pro is that the battery packs are removable. They are not very heavy and the whole operation of removing and re-installing them is very simple. So, if you live in an apartment or do not have access to a charging socket near your parking spot then removable batteries will come in quite handy. Moreover, Vida Electric also supports fast charging using Ather Grid but we were not able to test it out.
Vida V1 Pro: Features
Vida is offering a TFT screen for the instrument cluster which shows all the vital information to the rider. It is not a touchscreen but does come with an ambient sensor so it can shift between day and night mode automatically. The scooter also comes with an application and Bluetooth connectivity which all the features are built into. So, we could not really test out any of the features that the scooter has to offer.
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Another feature that the Vida V1 Pro comes with is keyless entry. While the key fob does not feel of good quality, it works quite well. The key fob stays in your pocket, the only thing the rider needs to do is walk up to the scooter and push the button and the scooter turns on. If you want to turn off the scooter, the procedure is the same. To lock and unlock the handle, just push the handle to one of the sides and hold on to the button. To access the under-seat storage is also pretty simple, just hit a button and the storage unlocks. Yes, you will have to fiddle around a bit to open it and close it because of the way the seat locks into the place. There is also cruise control on offer which can counter the heavy throttle but for most of the time, it refused to work for us.
Vida V1 Pro: Verdict
Vida V1 Pro might be the perfect scooter for you if you do not have a proper charging solution. This is because of how well the removable batteries have been implemented. Yes, there are a few shortcomings such as the features and build quality. But the scooter is fairly easy to use, and nimble, the ride quality is also quite good and for usage in the city, the V1 Pro is definitely worth checking out.
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