Bajaj Chetak Road Test Review: Too Little For Too Much Money

The premium e-scooter segment in India has witnessed a lot of action this year. Ola Electric introduced its affordable S1 variant while Ather Energy rolled out the 450X Gen 3. Even the TVS iQube received its fair share of updates. Meanwhile, Bajaj opted not to bring any major changes but instead heavily localise the Chetak. Is that enough to keep it relevant in today’s market? Let’s find out.

Range

Bajaj claims the Chetak has an IDC (Indian Driving Cycle) range of 90km, which sounds decent, but I managed to clock 113.89km on this electric scooter. Surprising, right? Well, that’s primarily because the Chetak has a very enthusiastic regenerative braking system. So, while riding through the city, I could just let go of the throttle to shed speed and give some juice back to the system rather than relying on just the brakes.

Performance

The Bajaj Chetak feels very mature in the way it delivers its power. Unlike the Ather 450X and the Ola S1 Pro, the Chetak doesn’t surge ahead, but gradually builds up momentum till 30kmph. That said, riding through the city isn’t a dull affair.

The Chetak flaunts dynamic riding modes, which means you don’t have to bother switching to Sports mode for quick overtakes or simply for some spirited riding. Just a generous amount of throttle input is all that is required to seamlessly move from Eco to Sport and once you let go of the throttle, the e-scooter switches back to Eco.

That said, the roll-on acceleration figures aren’t as impressive, and the Chetak is slowest amongst its rivals.

While it does impress in the city, highway riding feels out of its league. The Bajaj Chetak’s vBox recorded top-speed of 63kmph means highway stints are out of the question and if you do have to use it on the highway for commutes, it would be a bit hazardous .

Ride And Handling

The calm performance is complemented by predictable handling and equally mature ride quality. While the suspension works perfectly fine at city speeds, absorbing bumps and undulations with ease, if you are crawling through traffic or are riding above 50kmph, the cantilever front and monoshock aren’t the best at absorption.

The braking was a bit disappointing. Not just because the Chetak had a longer stopping distance, but also because of the brake fade that we faced in just 500km of testing and shooting. By the time we did our performance test, the brakes felt almost spongy and didn’t have the desired stopping power.

Features

Unlike most e-scooters in this segment, the Chetak doesn’t flatter you with a bunch of tech features like navigation or call/SMS alerts. What it gets is phone connectivity via the Chetak app and music control–just play and pause, though. However, there are some nifty features that the Chetak has and they work flawlessly.

Its key fob, for example, has a proximity sensor. So, you don’t have to press any buttons on the fob or even bother taking it out of your pocket to turn the scooter on. Then there’s the auto-cancelling indicators which are a great addition, especially considering that you’ll take some time getting used to having indicators on both sides of the handlebar. That said, we wish the switchgear was a bit ergonomic, something we faced issue with even with the previous-gen Chetak.

The circular LCD instrument console looks neat and very retro-y, until you use it under sunlight. The negative-lit console and the convex lens on it make it difficult to read and also becomes reflective. Because of the minimal space available, the information on the console feels cluttered, so a bigger or a cleaner user interface would have been better.

There's a nifty storage area in the front to store your charger, toolbox and first aid kit along with some space for your phone. That said, the underseat storage isn't great, and is just enough to fit some groceries. Thankfully, the floorboard space is decent and the cleverly placed luggage hook on the seat comes handy too.

Verdict

The Bajaj Chetak is good at what it does, which is being a great urban e-scooter. You can move past city traffic with ease, the ergonomics are comfortable for the urban jungle and most importantly, it has a decent range. But does it really justify the Rs 1.53 lakh price tag? 

Not really. You see, the TVS iQube S is available at a much lower price point, and gives similar performance, range and has better connectivity features. So, despite the heavy localisation, the Bajaj Chetak is still a rather expensive proposition, especially when the competition has upped their game.