A promising package on paper, can the Mihos find a place for itself among the sea of electric scooters?
India can be termed as a country of two-wheelers, us being the top manufacturer and consumers of two-wheelers globally. So it is a given that the Indian electric revolution should start with the two-wheeler industry. Over the past few years, multiple homegrown startups have launched electric two-wheelers, Joy e-bike being one of them. The Joy e-bike Mihos is its first indigenously developed product and is set to take on a sea of premium electric scooters. What sets it apart? Let's find out.
In terms of styling, the Mihos goes the retro way with a round LED headlamp, round tail lamp and round turn indicators. While the scooter does not break new ground in terms of design, it claims to be unbreakable, in a way. The Mihos uses Polydicyclopentadiene or PDCPD panels on its bodywork. Joy claims PDCPD to be unbreakable and allowed us to try hammering a naked panel with a literal hammer. The demonstration brought forth two things. One, the panel did not crack despite our vigorous attempts. Two, the paint though succumbed to beatings with scratches being clearly visible. That said the other benefit of this sturdy material is its lightweight nature and Joy claims that the Mihos electric scooter weighs just 110 kilos. At 16.8-litres, the underseat storage is not the largest out there but is deep enough to store most full-face helmets. The scooter also gets a shallow cubby hole up front.
Like other modern electric scooters, the Mihos is feature packed. It gets a 4.3-inch colour TFT display, keyless ignition, and connected tech courtesy of the Joy e-connect app that enables navigation, geofencing, and remote live tracking. The display is not the brightest and the overall layout looks simple but gets the information across. Also, most of its competitors sport a touchscreen and it would have been nice to have one here as well. There are three riding modes on offer- Eco, Sports and Hyper. Additionally, it gets a reverse assist, which automatically the moment you try to move the scooter back with your feet. The assist is quite subtle and intuitive and similar to those pedal-assist electric bicycles but in reverse.
The scooters we tested were pre-production units and therefore had varying levels of panel gaps and fit-finish issues. However, Joy assures us that these issues will be sorted out in the production scooters.
The Mihos gets a 1.5kW electric motor that delivers a claimed 250Nm of twist force. Joy claims the Mihos can accelerate from a standstill to 40kmph in 7.2 seconds and has a top speed of 63kmph. Given that the Mihos customer will spend most of his time riding in the city, the scooter’s performance has been tuned accordingly. While it offers good initial pick-up, the Mihos does take time and a lot of distance to reach its claimed top speed. Also, there is just a slight difference in performance between the three modes.
The Mihos packs in a 2.5kWh fixed battery pack that offers a claimed IDC range of 130km in Eco mode. You can even ride the scooter in Hyper mode till it runs out of charge, though you will be alerted once battery levels drop to 10 percent. Combine all this with a lightweight body, and the electric scooter should be able to offer a range of upto 100km in the real world. Claimed charging times from 0-100 percent is around five hours with the supplied home charger, and currently, there is no option for fast charging. The charging port is conveniently placed on the front apron, under the handlebar.
The seat is comfortable and despite being low, coupled with the flat floorboard and high-set handlebar, it is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate my six-foot frame. While we can not comment on the Mihos’ real-world ride quality given that we rode it on a go-kart track. That said, the larger 12-inch wheels should help offset road imperfections. The Mihos handled well for a scooter around the corners but the low set side stand scrapes easily around left-handed corners. It gets disc brakes at both ends and the scooter sheds speeds well.
The Joy e-bike Mihos comes across a good looking electric scooter with decent performance and range. Also, its size and dimensions make it viable for the family man looking for a no-frills but premium electric scooter. While the Mihos’ Rs 1.35 lakh, ex-showroom, price tag may feel a bit steep for the performance and overall experience, it is expected to benefit from the Fame II subsidy which could bring prices down to under Rs 1.00 lakh. Also, the bikemaker promises to sort out all its fit and finish niggles which once done, would make the Joy e-bike Mihos a good option as a premium electric scooter.
