By Raphae Halim
We got an opportunity to ride the Ampere Zeal Electric Scooter, which is the latest scooter launched by 10+ year old EV company Ampere Vehicles.
The dealer in Cinchwad, Pune invited us to take a look at it. In this blog, we highlight our observations in real time as we rode the Zeal.
The dealer in Cinchwad, Pune invited us to take a look at it. In this blog, we highlight our observations in real time as we rode the Zeal.
The Zeal is FAME 2 compliant electric scooter, which means that the scooter has achieved the necessary localization to qualify to get a subsidy of Rs 16,900.
The on road price in Pune is around Rs 75,000 which compares to a normal ICE scooter. So it does not make any sense to go for a petrol scooter as you start saving money from day 1.
The on road price in Pune is around Rs 75,000 which compares to a normal ICE scooter. So it does not make any sense to go for a petrol scooter as you start saving money from day 1.
Design & Color
Basic Specs
As you can see from our video, we could easily achieve 50 kmph speeds and we loved the instant torque the 60V system offers. 60V scooters are better than 48V based scooters you get that extra zip, also high voltage means lower current is flowing through the system which is better for heat, wiring etc.
- We loved the purple and white color scheme used in the model we got.
- Also use of gradient effect in the purple color adds an element of style.
- The dual tone red and black model also stands out.
- All in all a good looking design by the Ampere team.
Basic Specs
- 70-75 km range
- 50-55 km top speed
- 1.8 kWh Lithium Ion battery pack
- 1.2 kW peak power delivered by the BLDC hub motor
- 5-6 hours for a full charge using a 5 Amp socket
As you can see from our video, we could easily achieve 50 kmph speeds and we loved the instant torque the 60V system offers. 60V scooters are better than 48V based scooters you get that extra zip, also high voltage means lower current is flowing through the system which is better for heat, wiring etc.
The video above showed my ride with the Ampere Zeal scooter.
The Battery
Our dealer told us that Ampere makes their own Lithium batteries by importing cells from Phylion, which is a large Chinese maker.
Earlier models of Ampere used to import the entire battery pack from Phylion in China. But it's good to see that they make the battery pack themselves.
Other scooter manufacturers like Okinawa, Hero get their batteries from 3rd party battery companies which results in them not having full control
over battery cell issues or other battery related diagnostics.
Our dealer told us that Ampere makes their own Lithium batteries by importing cells from Phylion, which is a large Chinese maker.
Earlier models of Ampere used to import the entire battery pack from Phylion in China. But it's good to see that they make the battery pack themselves.
Other scooter manufacturers like Okinawa, Hero get their batteries from 3rd party battery companies which results in them not having full control
over battery cell issues or other battery related diagnostics.
- 1.8 kWh battery pack compared to 2.9 kWh pack used in the Ather scooter
- Battery is removable which is a big plus if you don't want to install charge point at your parking lot.
- They did not disclose the chemistry being used at the time we rode this. The dealer has been told that it is a standard NMC (Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide - LiNiMnCoO2) battery pack. This should give around 1000 cycles, which we assume will last for 4-5 years.
- 2 years warranty on the battery. We hope it would have been 3 years for more peace of mind.
- Also we don't have information on the following
- Quality or make of BMS
- If the battery pack has remote cell monitoring
- Data logging offline for analysis of cell voltages
- What is buffer used at 100%
- Thermal protection if any
- Essentially the quality of the battery is something we hardly get information on from these manufacturers but it would be good to know and hopefully if we get this information, we will add it here.
- Charging time of 5-6 hours is a good, as the company offers 5 amp charger which is a slow charge but better for battery health.
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Performance
The Zeal accelerates smoothly with no hassles, the awesome initial torque enables 0 to 30 kmph pretty fast makes it for fun rides in cities where there is lots of traffic signals. I never felt that i was lagging behind or had issues over taking slow moving traffic as you can see from the video.
The scooter tops up at 52 kmph in our tests and even at 25% state of charge, we could achieve such speeds.
The handling, stability and braking also seemed satisfactory.
Final Thoughts
All in all its a decent scooter to own for local errands in city and the occasional use on highways and we would recommend it.
Also we like the fact that Ampere mentions realistic range instead of hyping up unrealistic numbers like some other companies.
Do try the scooter and give us your thoughts on the model.
The Zeal accelerates smoothly with no hassles, the awesome initial torque enables 0 to 30 kmph pretty fast makes it for fun rides in cities where there is lots of traffic signals. I never felt that i was lagging behind or had issues over taking slow moving traffic as you can see from the video.
The scooter tops up at 52 kmph in our tests and even at 25% state of charge, we could achieve such speeds.
The handling, stability and braking also seemed satisfactory.
Final Thoughts
All in all its a decent scooter to own for local errands in city and the occasional use on highways and we would recommend it.
Also we like the fact that Ampere mentions realistic range instead of hyping up unrealistic numbers like some other companies.
Do try the scooter and give us your thoughts on the model.
Further Reading
Compare Ampere Zeal vs other Electric Scooters in India
Compare Ampere Zeal vs other Electric Scooters in India