Suzuki E Access

Suzuki has recently entered the electric scooter market with the E-Access. The brand is clearly trying to bank on the reputation of the very popular and their bread-and-butter model, the Access 125. But does the E-Access have what it takes to disrupt this segment?

When making an electric scooter, manufacturers tend to experiment with the design and go for something unconventional. Suzuki hasn’t done that here, and we are quite glad. The Japanese bikemaker has decided to stick with a fairly simple and conservative design.

There’s an undeniable sharpness to it, which makes it stand out from the rest. I really liked the sharp scooping apron, with the integrated turn-indicators. Moving up, the handlebar cowl with the headlight and dark finishing adds a nice visual contrast.

Overall, from the front, it looks like Suzuki has taken some inspiration from scooters of the 80s and 90s. The retro yet sporty appearance seems to be a big departure from what Suzuki has been doing with its ICE lineup. Although it is meant to be a family-oriented scooter, there isn’t that bulkiness that you’d expect from a Suzuki given its history with the Access 125.

Another thing I liked about the scooter is its premium nature, which is evident upon closer inspection. There are no uneven panel gaps or visible imperfections, and it's clear that the e-Access is well put together.

Astride the scooter, you are positioned in a comfortable and upright riding position, typical of a family-oriented scooter. But there’s one issue here, the small floorboard space.

However, Suzuki has taken a page out of its Burgman handbook with the scooped-up floorboard, allowing you to extend your feet for a more forward position.

The seat is very spacious with enough room for both a rider and a pillion. The padding has been done quite well, and while riding the scooter for almost 3 hours in the city, I didn’t feel any discomfort.

The first thing that is immediately noticeable on the go is the direct throttle response. There’s no lag, and the power delivery is linear until you hit 50kmph, after which the motor feels like it is struggling to pull through. With this performance, short city runs are doable, but highway runs aren’t the easiest. The lack of power becomes apparent when you’re trying to execute overtakes,

Unlike most electric scooters, the riding modes don’t alter the throttle calibration or power output. There are three modes: Ride A, Ride B and Eco. The Ride A and Ride B modes unleash the scooter’s full potential and top speed of 71kmph. The only difference is that there’s no regen in Ride B, whereas Ride A is set to the maximum.

The Eco mode restricts the top speed to 55kmph, and the regen is set to the maximum. During my time with the scooter, I found myself riding in Ride A most of the time, as the utility of the other two wasn’t really apparent in my daily commutes.

While commuting on the E-Access, the weight of 122kg didn’t feel like a hindrance. The scooter didn’t come off as a lazy handler by any means, and it felt quite agile, taking turns with very little steering effort needed. The scooter’s nimble handling character really made it fun to ride, even for my short commute of 6km to the office.

The good handling didn’t come at the expense of ride quality and the suspension tuning was well-balanced. My usual route takes me through a mix of different conditions, good roads, broken patches and the usual concrete sections.

The suspension handled these different sections well, despite its slightly sporty tuning. Most of the bumps and potholes on the broken patches of road and uneven surfaces on the concrete were handled well when riding at slower speeds. But when speeds rose, the suspension felt a bit stiff; having a pillion on board did help improve the ride quality.

As with the handling, the braking performance was also a strong point. The front disc brake offers good initial bite, and the stopping power is sufficient. During my city rides, I found myself using the front brake most of the time. However, there were a few emergencies where I found myself using both the front and rear together.

The scooter gets a 3.072kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate(LFP) battery pack with a claimed range of 95km. Suzuki claims that the battery pack has been engineered with longevity in mind. In our tests, the E-Access returned a range of 80.5km on a full charge.

The performance remained consistent throughout the test, and only once the battery level dipped under 10 per cent did the performance get capped. The scooter’s speed under 10 per cent battery is restricted to 55kmph, and below 5 per cent, it is restricted to 20kmph.

The 4.2-inch colour-TFT console is rather small, but the clean layout makes it easy to read. Even when you are riding in the city, and sunlight is particularly harsh, the brightness ensures good visibility. It also has two modes: Light and Dark. The console automatically switches between them depending on ambient lighting conditions.

But the feature I found most convenient was the keyless start system, which is usually dismissed as a gimmick. Before going on a ride, I tend to have my hands full, usually an office bag, helmet and gloves. Not having to take out a physical key from my bag or pants pocket to start the scooter really saved me some time and hassle.

Speaking of something that was not so convenient, the underseat storage. The E-Access only offers 17 litres, and it is really small. You can fit a half-face helmet or the scooter’s charger, but not both at the same time. The floorboard space is also a bit cramped, and when stowing luggage, you’ll have to place your feet forward.

To compensate for this lack of storage space, Suzuki has added two helmet strap hooks under the seat. This does help quite a bit and is useful if you’re stopping somewhere and need a safe place to keep your helmet. Overall, the E-Access isn’t the most practical, but it does get the basics right.

The Suzuki e-Access is a well-built product, with decent performance, features, and good handling. However, at the current pricing, at Rs xxxx, it is significantly more expensive than its rivals like the TVS iQube, while offering a lesser range, performance, and features. Even as a simple commuter scooter for your daily errands, the lack of storage space makes it less practical compared to its Indian rivals, which are much more affordable.

It only makes sense if you’re a die-hard Suzuki fan and are okay with paying the premium for a scooter that claims to offer better longevity compared to other electric scooters running Lithium Ion batteries.

Image Credit: Kaustubh Gandhi