Automobile Review | Chetak, the legend lives on… in an electric avatar

HYDERABAD: The iconic Bajaj Chetak, as we all know, is a legend in every right in India. As a middle class family’s dream scooter, the college-goers’ fancy ride and the rural folks' trusted aide, the Chetak has donned many hats over decades until it gradually faded out and lost to newer, smoother and advanced scooters.

Though some enthusiasts adore and still maintain the two-stroke and the early four-stroke Chetaks, the sun finally set on the scooter in the 2000s even as the Kinetic Zooms and the Honda Activas started taking over the market.

Years after the last Chetak came out in 2006, Chetak Technology Ltd., the EV wing of Bajaj Auto set out on a bid to revive the legend, but this time in an electric avatar.

As we march ahead into the future generation of automobiles, Bajaj comes up with the promising Chetak, which is one of the very few e-Scooters in the country that come metal body which according Bajaj is a leaf taken out of the old Chetak’s book to be able to go anywhere and to last.

Now let’s look into other aspects of the electric Chetak see how it fares overall…

Styling and features

Bajaj is known for making good looking two-wheelers and electric Chetak is no different. The vintage-looking round LED headlight with DRL makes the scooter stand out among the rest. The sleekness of the vehicle and the plush-looking paint schemes ensure a premium feel to the scooter.

The digital meter on the Chetak is packed with information like side stand notification (which also kills the motor as the side stand is brought into use), time, battery indications and range information along with the speedometer and the odometer. Though trendily integrated on the scooter, the digital meter goes dull under the sun making it a tad bit difficult to read information off it.

The Bluetooth key feature is unique as the locking, unlocking of the scooter, starting and killing of the motor will only be enabled if the key is in close proximity. It comes with Geo Fencing, a USB Charging port and a mobile app, which will have all the details of the scooter.

Chetak being an EV has impressive under-seat storage of 18L, which can accommodate two helmets. It also gets an under-seat hook which will hold up to 3-kilos. The reverse assist feature is also helpful.

Motor, range, charging and performance

The Chetak comes with a 4080W BLDC motor paired with a 550.4 V/60.4 Ah Lithium Ion battery which takes about 5 hours for one full charge.

Chetak Technology Ltd. claims a 90-km range on a full charge. However, in start-stop city traffic where one is forced to accelerate at signals and when fellow motorists get impatient, the range slightly dips as the scooter automatically switches to “sport mode” once the 40kmph mark is crossed on the speedometer.

The Combine Braking System used on the scooter with a disk brake on the front and a drum on the rear are just about efficient, like on any other moped and the suspension set up, with leading-link suspension on the front and the monoshock on the rear, does not disappoint.

Price

At Rs. 1,51,217 (Ex-showroom Hyderabad) the Chetak stands among tough competitors in Ather, Ola and TVS among others.