Ola Electric recently launched the S1 and S1 Pro in the Indian market. The anticipation for these e-scooters was quite high, and the manufacturer has received over 1 lakh bookings already! It surely seems like Ola might be able to find massive success with its electric scooters in the Indian market, perhaps comparable to even Hero’s utterly popular Splendor series.
Here, we compare Ola S1 with the largest bike in the Splendor range – Super Splendor – to see if this electric scooter can hold a candle to regular commuter motorcycles.
The design of the Ola S1 is simple, classy, and elegant. Up front, the e-scooter gets an LED headlamp while the front apron houses the integrated turn signals. The tail section features sleek-looking taillights with turn indicators on the sides. The scooter also gets a single-piece seat and split grabrail for the pillion.
Hero Super Splendor also has a simple design, but it is more utilitarian than classy. At the front, we see a large halogen headlamp, seated within a simple cowl. The fuel tank is compact with a rounded design, and the bike gets a long single-piece seat. At the rear, we see a simple halogen taillight and a single-piece grabrail.
| Dimensions | Ola S1 | Hero Super Splendor |
| Length | 1,859 mm | 2,042 mm |
| Width | 712 mm | 740 mm |
| Height | 1,160 mm | 1,102 mm |
| Wheelbase | 1,359 mm | 1,273 mm |
| Kerb Weight | 121 kg (125 kg for S1 Pro) | 122 kg |
Ola S1 scooter is shorter and slimmer than the Hero Super Splendor motorbike. However, the wheelbase of the former is larger, while the kerb weight of the two is similar. Overall, the Ola electric scooter looks premium and futuristic, while the Hero looks like what it is – a simple commuter motorcycle.
There are plenty of premium features on offer on Ola S1, including a TFT instrument display (with navigation feature), disc brakes, 12-inch alloy wheels, keyless access, etc. There’s a reverse drive mode on offer, which makes it easy to back the scooter out of tight spots, and one can also enable driving sounds. The S1 Pro gets a few additional features, like all-LED lighting, hill hold assist, cruise control, and voice assistant.
The suspension system consists of a single telescopic fork at the front and a rear monoshock. The battery can be fully charged in around 4.5 hours (around 6.5 hours for S1 Pro) via a regular charger. Ola is also planning to set up a hypercharger network across India, which will help charge up the e-scooter much faster (claimed to add 75 km range to the battery in just 18 minutes).
As for Hero Super Splendor, there isn’t a lot on offer here. It gets drum brakes as standard on both ends, with a front disc brake available as an option. The instrument cluster is a fully analogue unit, and the bike gets both a kick-start system and a self-start system.
For improving the fuel economy, the motorcycle gets Hero’s i3S tech, which is an idle start/stop system. This system shuts the engine off when standing in traffic, and it automatically turns it on when the clutch lever is pulled in.
The S1 is powered by an 8.5 kW (11.56 PS) electric motor, which comes paired with a 2.98 kWh battery. This powertrain is good for a range of around 121 km, and the scooter can achieve a top speed of 90 kmph. The more expensive S1 Pro offers even better range and performance.
| Ola S1 | |
| Battery size | 2.98 kWh (3.97 kWh for S1 Pro) |
| Range | 121 km (181 for S1 Pro) |
| Max. power | 8.5 kW or 11.56 PS |
| Max. torque | 58 Nm |
| Transmission | Single-speed |
The Super Splendor is conventional IC-engine powered motorcycle; it gets a 124.7cc single-cylinder powerplant, with 10.8 PS and 10.6 Nm of peak power and torque on offer. Transmission duties are handled by a slick-shifting 5-speed gearbox.
| Hero Super Splendor | |
| Engine size | 124.7cc |
| Engine type | Four stroke, air-cooled, single cylinder, petrol |
| Max. power | 10.8 PS |
| Max. torque | 10.6 Nm |
| Transmission | 5-speed |
Ola S1 is priced at Rs. 85,099, while the S1 Pro is priced at Rs. 1.10 lakh. The price of Hero Super Splendor starts at Rs. 72,600 for the drum brake version, going up to Rs. 75,900 for the front disc brake version. Although the Splendor is the more affordable offering, the additional equipment available on the Ola scooter more than justifies the higher price. Also, EVs are inexpensive to run and have zero tailpipe emissions, which make them a lot more practical than regular petrol motorcycles.
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