TVS has expanded its electric scooter portfolio with the launch of the Orbiter, priced at Rs 1 lakh (ex-showroom, Bengaluru, including PM E-Drive subsidy). This is the second offering from TVS in the affordable electric scooter segment after the widely popular iQube, but the Orbiter adopts a different, more utility-focused approach in terms of its packaging. At this time, it appears the Orbiter is available in a single variant only, unlike the iQube, which is available with multiple battery options and tops out at a much higher price.
Also Read: TVS Orbiter Launch Highlights
The Orbiter appears to be a taller and narrower scooter compared to the iQube. The LED headlight sits on top of the apron, with an LED light strip spanning the width of the scooter's face. The Orbiter also employs bolder, brighter colours (six in total), and has multi-tone body panels – like we'd seen on the Gogoro Crossover – for a more futuristic look. The tail section is reminiscent of the Ather Rizta.
Orbiter has a narrower, boxier appearance than the iQube.
Central to the Orbiter is its 14-inch front alloy wheel, two sizes bigger than the iQube's. However, it continues with a 12-inch wheel at the rear, which also incorporates the scooter's hub-mounted motor. The Orbiter has 169 mm of ground clearance. At 112 kg, it is roughly 5 kg lighter than the iQube 3.1 kWh.
Tail-section is reminiscent of the Ather Rizta.
TVS claims the Orbiter has a seat that's 845 mm long, as well as a spacious 290 mm ‘straight-line’ flat footboard. Seat height is rated at a friendly 763 mm.
‘Flatform’ seat is 845 mm long.
There's a storage compartment built into the back of the apron, and the Orbiter also has 34 litres of underseat storage space, which TVS says is sufficient to accommodate two helmets.
Underseat storage is rated at 34 litres.
With a 3.1 kWh battery, the TVS Orbiter will have a range of up to 158 kilometres on the Indian Driving Cycle (IDC), but we expect the real-world range to be closer to 100 km. Peak power output from the hub-mounted BLDC motor is a mere 2.5 kW (3.3 bhp), but peak torque has not been disclosed.
Hill-hold assist comes standard on the Orbiter.
The Orbiter will have two ride modes – Eco and City – a 0-40 kmph acceleration time of 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 68 kmph. Gradeability is rated at seven degrees, and the Orbiter also comes with cruise control.
TVS will bundle a 650-watt charger with the Orbiter, which will take over four hours to charge the scooter from 0 to 80 per cent, with a full charge likely to take well over six hours. Warranty on the charger, battery as well as the scooter is three years or 50,000 kilometres, whichever comes earlier.
Given the scooter's budget positioning, it is unsurprising to see some of the choices TVS has made. The Orbiter only comes with a 5.5-inch colour LCD dash, but it incorporates connected features enabled via a smartphone app. Crash, fall, anti-theft, geo-fencing, and time-fencing alerts are included, as are incoming call alerts, turn-by-turn navigation and over-the-air (OTA) updates.
Orbiter comes with a 5.5-inch colour LCD dashboard.
However, TVS has completely omitted disc brakes from the Orbiter, so it only comes with drum brakes at both ends, and is available only with a combi-braking system (CBS), and not anti-lock braking (ABS). However, the Orbiter does come with hill hold assist and motor cut-off when the scooter falls.
The Orbiter is priced on par with the iQube 3.1 kWh, which is much more powerful and quicker, and also has a front disc brake, but is cheaper than other, better-equipped variants of the iQube.
It also matches the Bajaj Chetak 3001, Vida VX2 Plus and the Ather Rizta S on price.
