Honda QC1

The Honda QC1 is the second electric scooter to have debuted in the company’s electric two-wheeler portfolio for India. Unlike the Honda Activa e:, the QC1 is positioned as a strict city runabout. The specifications, which I’ll get to in a bit, are a giveaway of what to expect in terms of performance and range. The question, however, is whether this QC1 is worth the high asking price.

The QC1 borrows most of its design from the Activa e: and that is not a bad thing at all. The front apron with the integrated LED headlight, futuristically shaped handlebar cowl, and the side panels with neatly executed crease lines sum up to make the QC1 a good-looking electric scooter.

The only odd bit, to my eyes, is the LED tail light that looks like an afterthought and seemingly plucked from the Honda CB 300F. Nevertheless, the QC1 looks close to a conventional scooter with a design that is not in your face. This will make it easier for people to shift from an ICE to an electric scooter, as the transition, in terms of the visuals, won’t be drastic.

When it comes to quality as well as fit and finish, it was par for the course. There are no odd panel gaps and the quality of the plastics used for the switchgear is decent.

The QC1 is propelled by a 1.8kW, BLDC hub motor, while the battery capacity stands at 1.5kWh. This is a fixed, IP67-rated battery that uses BP Cell chemistry. Honda also supplies a 330W off-board home charger that takes 4 hours and 30 minutes to charge from 0-80 percent. Honda claims it will cover 80km on a single charge, as per the IDC.

The scooter comes with two ride modes- Econ and Standard. The former restricts the speed to 30kmph while the latter will allow the scooter to get up to 50kmph.

As for the features, there are LED lights all around, 26-litre underseat storage, USB-C charger, and a 5-inch LCD display. While most of the information shown on the LCD is clear to read, it surprisingly doesn’t show any Distance to Empty or DTE information. All you are left with is a battery SOC or State of Charge indicator to make a guess about how much distance you can cover.

Lastly, the scooter has an underbone chassis with a telescopic fork at one end and twin, preload-adjustable shock absorbers at the other. The scooter rides on a 12-inch front and 10-inch rear wheel setup while braking is taken care of by a drum brake at both the front and rear.

The moment you hop onto the scooter, it feels quite familiar, almost as if you are sitting on a Honda Activa. The seat is wide and comfortable, the handlebar is within comfortable reach and there’s enough room on the floorboard to accommodate a shopping bag.

As I got going on the QC1, one thing became immediately apparent. The Econ mode is useless! At 30kmph, you are so slow that you’ll be a traffic hazard. It is downright dangerous and I will not recommend you stick to that mode under any circumstance. It goes without saying then that I immediately switched to Standard mode, to make my way through Bengaluru city and its notorious traffic.

In Standard mode, the QC1 feels rideable and you can keep pace with traffic for the most part. That said, the throttle action is not progressive and more like an on-and-off switch. Nevertheless, there’s enough poke to make that odd overtake on a rickshaw or pick your way through gaps in traffic.

It’s all manageable until you hit the top speed of 52kmph. From then on, you are just a sitting duck as everyone who is even marginally faster than you is overtaking you. It gets hairier when you hit an open road or even the highway. 52kmph is just way too slow in today’s day and age. The QC1’s performance, or lack thereof, reminds me of the Okinawa Ridge electric scooter that I tested a few years ago. Commuting in the city was a task on that scooter and the same holds true for the QC1. My wrists were aching within 10 minutes of holding the throttle all the way to the stop but I had no choice as city traffic was moving at a much faster speed than the QC1’s 52kmph top speed.

Honda states that the QC1 is not meant for highways and open roads and only for congested cities like Bengaluru where the average speed is six kmph in peak hours. What Honda fails to understand is that market research cannot dictate how a two-wheeler should perform in the real world. There are many cities in India where the average speed is much higher than that of Bengaluru. Not to mention that scooters in India are ridden during non-peak hours as well. Plus scooters are supposed to be versatile and that means they should be capable of sitting at reasonably quick and safe speeds on the highway. Is the Indian scooter buyer ready to splurge on a scooter that can only be ridden in the city? I don’t think so.

The QC1 redeems itself with the way it handles bumps and potholes, rounding them off very well. Even the handling is quite neutral while the brakes, despite being drums, are pretty effective.

The Honda QC1 is priced at Rs. 90,000, ex-showroom, which is a lot when you consider the specifications and performance on offer. The scooter’s single focus on being an urban runabout deprives it of the sheer versatility and practicality that scooters usually possess. Yes, it is a good-looking, comfortable, easy-to-ride scooter. However, neither the limited range nor the ridiculous 52kmph top speed helps its case.

For the same money, competitors like the Bajaj Chetak or the TVS iQube bring more to the table, especially with better rideability. Honda should consider cutting the price of the QC1 and increasing the top speed to at least 70kmph for it to become a compelling purchase option.

Images by Kaustubh Gandhi