new delhi tvs iqube made its debut 15 years ago a couple of covid waves have gone by and work from home life has become a norm the need for personal mobility is at an alltime high petrol has hit the rs 100mark and the government has revised the fameii policy thereby increasing subsidy on electric twowheelers by 50 per cent to rs 15000 per kwhin other words tvs iqube along with a handful of other escooters has seen it all and waded their way through the tough time the challenge ahead is steep from the ola electric and simple energy claims about range and specifications from the entrants are tall but an outright comparison can wait at the momenttvs iqube ride experience toi auto top speed charging time right time to buy escooterwith the context laid the question arises should you buy an iqube in the first place the iqube is yet to be available panindia and the price varies depending on the ev policy of the state you reside if it has one iqube is the most affordable in delhi at rs 1 lakh onroad and highest in kochi at rs 124 lakh available in 6 cities so choosing an iqube over a 125cc petrol scooter may not look appealing at the outset ntorq 125 for instance will set you back by up to rs 1 lakhliving with the iqube is far less harsh on the pocket than a conventional scooter over the period of 14 days i lived with the iqube a single recharge cost rs 1618 on average ridden in eco mode the iqube could up to 80 kilometres this effectively meant 025 paisekilometres additionally the hassles of monthly servicing and periodic oil charges of petrolpowered scooters arent hereeconomical parallels being drawn one has to live with 5255 kmph in eco mode which to me didnt feel slow at all in peak city traffic the 44 kw motor when switched to power mode can be switched on the fly allows you to hit 80 kmph this is at expense of range which drops to 60 kilometres for a single chargewhile the discussion is around the range what may annoy you in the charging time tvs iqube isnt compatible with a fast charger yet and the ip67rated nonreplaceable battery takes at least 6 hours to full charge once drained out the company will install a complimentary ac charging socket at your desired placeelectric scooters are altering the usual feel of peak torque max power and sweet spot of conventional ic engines twist the throttle and the rush of instantaneous torque pushes you back and by the time the torque hits the apex and flattens max power kicks in in other words evs in general when driven offer the rush throughout the revs band whats also common is the different levels of regenerative braking draw analogue of engine braking of an icpowered twowheeler regenerative braking helps in slowing down when throttle is released and