Ola S1 Air First Ride Experience Review - Affordable, But Better?

Ola has been leading the charge with respect to sales of electric scooters with the S1 Pro. However, with Fame 2 subsidy being reduced, cost for its products have increased and this has affected sales not only for Ola but all other EV brands as well. To make the Ola brand more accessible it has launched the new S1 Air. The new S1 Air isn't just a scooter with a smaller battery pack and motor, but it's an all-new ground up effort. We got to sample the S1 Air around the Ola factory and here’s what we think. 

Ola S1 Air: Performance 

Powering the S1 Air is a smaller motor and a unique aspect is that the S1 Air is the first scooter from Ola to feature a hub motor. This new hub motor is designed by Ola but manufactured by a third party vendor but there are plans to manufacture it in the factory itself. As expected the power out output is lower than the S1 Pro. 

There are two ride modes. Normal is perfect for riding around the city as the throttle input is softer and more manageable. Sport as the name suggests is sporty and I could clock a speedo indicated top speed of 90 kmph. While it isn't as peppy as the S1 Pro, compared to a 110-125cc scooter, the S1 Air feels properly fast. However the throttle calibration could have been better and the scooter feels very jerky off the line. 

Ola S1 Air: Range & Charging Time

The downgrade in the battery pack (2.98 kWh) has understandably affected range. The claimed real world range for the Ola S1 Air in Sports mode is 100 km, which honestly isn’t bad, but not as impressive as the S1 Pro. But if your daily running is around 20 km, then you can actually ride the scooter without charging for almost a week. The range increases to 125 km in Normal mode.

Charging time is also impressive as 0-80% charge is done in 3.84 hours and a full charge takes 5 hours. For a home charger these times are quite impressive. Ola currently has 1000+ charging points across the nation which will be expanded in the near future

Ola S1 Air: Ride, Handling & Braking 

The other big news is that the Ola S1 Air debuts a new Gen 2 platform. The all-new frame is lighter, stiffer and has better load carrying capacity. Even the footboard is now flatter and this was done so based on customer feedback. 

The other big change is the shift from a trailing link to a telescopic fork. While this switch could be justified in the name of cost management, one shouldn’t forget that the brand had issued a recall to replace the S1 Pro’s front suspension as a lot of them had collapsed. Even the rear has twin shock absorbers as opposed to the monoshock unit seen on the S1 Pro. The ride quality of the scooter is good as it felt very settled when we rode over some rough roads and tall speed breakers.

The cost-cutting saga continues in the braking department too as it gets drum brakes. Brakes are drum units, rear locks easily, disc brake option should have been offered. With drum brakes, the braking performance is average, the front lacks bite and the rear has a tendency to lock and slide while hard braking. I think disc brakes should have been offered as a variant given the performance. Handling of the Ola S1 Air can be best described as neutral, it isn’t overly sporty nor does it feel lazy while taking corners fast.

Ola S1 Air: Styling & Features

The Ola S1 Air looks visually similar to the S1 Pro and you have the familiar LED headlight. However, there are some visual changes as it misses out on alloy wheels and gets a telescopic fork. At the back, the tail light design is the same, but the hub motor, dual shock absorbers and twin swingarm makes it look a bit basic. The Ola S1 Pro has a more clean design in comparison. But the main pain point for Ola has been quality and we will have to wait and watch whether Ola has made any improvements in this department.

An impressive aspect of the Ola S1 Air is that it doesn’t miss out on many features in the name of cost cutting. You get a nice big TFT touch screen and get connected features for call and music control along with navigation.

There are also various screen themes and reverse mode as well. The S1 Air also gets cruise control and the speakers are different compared to the S1 Pro. Another revision is the storage area on the apron which is larger and there’s also a USB charger. 

Ola S1 Air: Verdict

With the S1 Air, Ola wanted to deliver that makes their brand approachable and in this regard they have done a fantastic job. The S1 Air is priced at Rs 1.10 lakh introductory, which will rise to Rs 1.20 lakh post August 15 (ex-showroom pricing). The other impressive aspect is its performance and long list of features. While the motor is smaller, the performance is exciting in comparison to many 110-125cc ICE scooters. More importantly, Ola didn’t opt to downgrade the instrument console and cut many features that have made the S1 so popular among its buyers. 

But the steel wheels, twin swingarm and shock absorbers does make the scooter look a bit underwhelming. The real test of any scooter, especially an EV, is in the real world as we have seen in the past that they perform well initially before issues creep up in the longer run. With this in mind, we will have to ride the S1 Air in various riding conditions and for a longer duration to give an affirmative verdict.