TVS Orbiter First Ride Review - Impressive Range, Looks Great, But..

We test ride the latest electric scooter from TVS, does the Orbiter have the potential to be another success story for TVS in the EV space?

6,50,000 units and more, that's the amount of iQube TVS they have sold over the past few years and no wonder they are killing it in the Indian electric two-wheeler space. In fact, TVS is the king of the segment, but the company thinks there is more space in the segment, and for this reason, it has launched the new Orbiter. The new TVS electric scooter has been positioned below the iQube as a more youthful alternative to the family scooter, and it’s more affordable too. So, let's check out whether the Orbiter should be your next EV buy or not. 

Design

The TVS iQube works very well as a family scooter and, as I mentioned, is the highest-selling scooter for TVS, but it is your typical commuter scooter. So, it looks a bit too generic, boring and ‘thanda’. That's not the case with the Orbiter. As you can see, it is positioned as a youthful scooter and has modern styling. The face of the scooter is very modern. You get a nice LED headlight on the apron, and an LED DRL strip on the apron, which again looks very unique. So, the face of the scooter is very modern and distinctive, barring the windscreen, which is too big and looks very odd. 

The same theme continues in profile, and I think in profile, this scooter looks the most different and unique. The Orbiter has a mix of modern lines and traditional lines; there’s a nice blend of straight lines and curves to make it stand out. The same theme continues on to the tail of the scooter. Again, you get a wraparound LED taillight and LED indicators, which are very clean and very minimalistic. So if you want a scooter that is very modern, sporty and a bit quirky, I think the Orbiter makes good sense. 

Features

On the features front, the TVS Orbiter comes with a colour LCD console instead of a TFT unit as seen on the iQube. The layout is fine and you get all the necessary information required. The highlight of the scooter is cruise control, which is very easy to engage and performed without any issue during the first ride. The Orbiter also comes with a hill-hold function, which automatically holds the vehicle on an inclined surface once you engage the brakes. There’s Bluetooth connectivity for call and message alerts along with turn-by-turn navigation. 

On the utility end of things the 12-inch rear wheel means that the underseat storage is very spacious as it can accommodate 2 helmets. In addition to that there is also a small cubby hole to store your phone and a USB charger above it. 

Performance

So, while the TVS Orbiter looks very modern and exciting, that's not the case when it comes to performance. 0 to 60 kmph in 6.8 seconds. The Orbiter is more than 2.5 seconds slower than the base variant of the TVS iQube. With respect to performance, you don't feel that zing which you normally associate with an electric scooter. And I think this is where TVS has disappointed me the most because on an electric scooter which looks so modern and exciting, that initial punch has to be there. Even the top speed is capped at 68 kmph, which is fine for me because this is more of an urban scooter. 

On the positive end of things, the throttle calibration is precise and very on point. It just feels like an ICE scooter because on other electric scooters I have experienced that the throttle calibration isn’t smooth and when you go off the throttle and come back it feels very jerky and the scooter bogs down. However since the acceleration is so slow even while taking overtakes in the city traffic you'll have to calculate it. The Orbiter gets cruise control and the operation is  simple. There's a button on the left hand side, press it once it will come on the screen whether you can actuate it or not, tap it again and the cruise control actuates. But the cruise control is only active between 23 kmph to 60 kmph. I think it should have been available till 68 kph because even 68 kph is not a very high speed on the highway. Overall, the mediocre performance is the weak link of the Orbiter because it doesn't feel that sporty the way it looks. 

Range & Charging

So while the performance might not be very exciting and up to the mark, what is very impressive is the range of the Orbiter. TVS claims a range of 158 km, while that of the base TVS iQube is just 94 km (IDC). However, the charging time is very high at 4 hours and 10 minutes. The base iQube does the 0 to 80% charge in under 3 hours. So while the range is nice and I think the new scooter will be useful for gig workers because the range will help them cover more distance in city traffic but the charging time should have been better and TVS could have offered a more powerful charger. 

Ride, Handling & Braking

The Orbiter is made on a new platform and the most unique aspect is that it runs on a 14/12-inch alloy wheel combo. Despite the odd setup, the electric scooter felt very nimble and agile as direction changes were very easy. Based on my experience through the slalom section of the track, the Orbiter promises to be fun in city traffic. We couldn’t rest the high speed cornering of the scooter as its top speed itself is limited to 68 kmph and that’s not fast enough for fast cornering. 

The biggest disappointment is the braking hardware as it gets drum brakes on either ends, I can’t even remember the last TVS scooter to offer only drum brakes! The stopping power is adequate at best and under hard braking the rear stepped out a lot. I know a lot of people will argue the need for a disc brake on a scooter with limited top speed, but please understand that under sudden or panic braking, disc brakes have a huge advantage over drum units. We can’t comment on the ride quality as the ride was on the TVS track, but over the small speed bumps, the Orbiter felt planted. 

Verdict

So, first let's talk about pricing. As I mentioned before, the Orbiter is the most affordable electric scooter from TVS and undercuts the base TVs iQube as well (₹1 lakh for orbit and ₹1.08 lakh for the iQube). And the cost cutting is visible on the scooter as it doesn't get disc brakes or even a TFT screen. So, even though in terms of value, it does deliver, we expect the Orbiter to be priced more aggressively given its target segment. But the biggest problem for me is not the price, but it's the performance or should I say the lack of performance. The Orbiter looks so exciting, looks so youthful, but it doesn't deliver when it comes to performance because of the uninspiring acceleration and mellowed down motor. 

Also my other issue is the positioning of the new electric scooter. The iQube  is very clear in its purpose. It is a proper family scooter and it delivers on that end and no wonder it is so popular in our country. The Orbiter's positioning is a bit confusing because even though it is focused on the youth, it is not very exciting to ride and thereby confusing the buyers too. The other miss is the lack of disc brake. I know the performance is not very high but if you're doing 50-60 kmph and you want to stop suddenly a disc brake will always have that edge. So in terms of safety also maybe the lack of a disc brake is a big miss.

The TVS Orbiter makes sense for a customer looking for high range, quirky styling and affordable pricing without giving much precedence to performance. I also feel that Orbiter is a good option for gig workers who focus more on range. Having said that given how impressive the TVS iQube is, the Orbiter does fall in that comparison as it had the potential of being the NTorq of TVS’s EV portfolio.