Hero Vida VX2 Plus first ride review: Everything that the V1 and V2 wasn’t?

Only 10 per cent of the entire population that buys scooters are confident enough to put their money on an electric scooter. Why, you ask? It’s not for the obvious reasons that you might think of – range anxiety, high buying cost, or unknown resale cost. The actual reason, according to the folks at Hero MotoCorp, is the lack of the availability of charging at their parking at home or at the office. To address this problem and to improve EV adoption, Hero has launched the Hero Vida VX2 – a fresh offering from the company’s electric vehicle division, claimed to have the appeal and practicality of an ICE scooter along with the versatility of an electric one. Has Hero managed to solve the problem and is the Vida VX2 worth your attention?

Hero Vida VX2 Plus design

The VX2 is a properly stylish looking machine with all the right proportions that you would expect from a modern electric scooter, the kind that will appeal to everyone. The VX2 bears a resemblance to the Vida V1 and V2 thanks to the headlamp and tail lights with the distinct DRLs. But that’s about where the resemblance ends. The bodywork on the VX2 is different and a lot more traditional in nature than the V1 or V2. This looks like a proper family scooter and it feels like one the second you sit on it. Speaking of seating, the seat is now longer at 851mm and more importantly, it is a single-piece unit that is more spacious, comfortable and practical than the split-folding design present on the first-gen electric scooters from the brand. The VX2 will be available in seven colours and we were riding the top-end VX2 Plus variant in the dual-tone grey colour, which is complimented very well with orange accents around the instrument cluster, floor board and pillion footrest.

Speaking of the cluster, you get a new 4.3-inch screen, and its housing looks similar to that on the Xpulse 210, but with a bespoke UI of course. The Plus variant with the dual-battery gets a 27-litre boot while the Go variant with a single-battery gets 33 litres of boot space. Both get a 5-litre cubby pocket on the front apron with segments that allow you to place your wallet, phone, water bottle and other knick-knacks that you would want to be easily accessible. While the overall look of the scooter is great, the fit and finish levels need to improve a fair bit, with uneven panel gaps and some of the tactile parts just not feeling up to the mark of the quality we’ve come to expect from a legacy brand like Hero. Apart from that, there’s not much to complain about in the looks and styling department of the Vida VX2.

Vida VX2 Plus performance, ride and handling

Powering the VX2 Plus is a 6kW motor that takes juice from a twin-removable battery that packs in a combined 3.4kWh of charge. Hero claims that this gives the scooter a 0-40kmph time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 80kmph. Performance feels familiar and predictable, and this is exactly what we’ve come to expect from a well calibrated electric scooter. The three modes – Eco, Ride and Sport have a proper difference in the way they react and each of them has a proper use case. One interesting feature on the VX2 – performance wise – is the boost function. Once switched on, what this essentially does is allow you access to all of the scooter’s performance irrespective of which mode you’re in. This will come in handy when you need to make a quick overtake but don’t want to change modes just to be able to. The feature works as advertised and once you understand the nuances of the throttle response, the boost function is actually handy and will allow you to use all of the performance of the scooter without compromising too much on efficiency.

Speaking of range, the claimed figure is 142km on a full charge for the Plus variant, with a claimed real-world figure of 100km on Eco mode. I can’t say this with absolute certainty, owing to the fact that we rode the scooter exclusively in the steep ghats of Nandi Hills in Bangalore, but the scooter should do between 80-90km on a full charge if ridden in a sedate manner. The 18 degree gradeability of the motor also comes in handy, and none of the uphill corners could stop the VX2.

Coming to the ride and handling, the VX2 runs on 12-inch wheels at both ends and it gets a telescopic fork at the front and a monoshock at the rear. Ride quality is pliant and very agreeable, as is the braking performance. The scooter is comfortable to ride and every member of the family will be happy to ride it. It is predictable, stable and has just the right amount of nimbleness to be able to filter through traffic effortlessly.

Vida VX2 Plus features and charging

One of the main benefits the Vida VX2 brings to the table is the ability to charge it in three different ways. One is via the fast charging port, using one of Hero’s 3900+ strong fast charging network across India, or even Ather’s for that matter considering the port is the same. The second way is to use the portable charger and plug into the ports near where the batteries are stowed to charge the scooter at your parking space. The third, which addresses one of the major reasons why people don’t buy EV scooters, is the ability to take both batteries home and charge it with the portable charge using any 5A socket.

In terms of features, the VX2 Plus gets a new 4.3-inch colour TFT screen (on the Plus variant, the Go variant gets an LCD of the same size) with all the connectivity features we’ve come to expect from a modern scooter – phone pairing for calls, music and turn-by-turn navigation. Geo-fencing and other related features are also accessible via the companion app, along with telemetry and the ability to store important documents on the screen. All-in-all, this is a very well-equipped scooter.

Vida VX2 battery as a service

This is the first scooter in the country that offers the buyers the ability to buy the battery as a service and not pay the big sum that it costs while buying the scooter. This means that the introductory price of ₹84,999 and ₹99,999 for the VX2 Go and Plus, respectively are slashed to ₹44,999 and ₹57,999, respectively if you were to choose the Battery-as-a-service option. Prices for the per kilometre usage range from ₹0.90 and go up to ₹1.47, based on the km/month plan you choose. Essentially, the more the kilometres you opt for per month, the lesser the per KM cost will be. While this seems very enticing, making the scooter feel like a steal for the lowered cost, do bear in mind that if you plan on keeping the scooter for a long time, you’d be better of buying the barter as well, because if you use the scooter for long enough and pay per KM till you reach the actual cost of the scooter, you’ll continue to pay and the costs will then start adding up. That being said, if you opt for BaaS, you get free charging at all Hero fast chargers and get a free replacement of the battery if the health reduces below 70 per cent. So the benefit of this scheme will only really be apparent if you figure out your usage and have a good idea of how long you intend on keeping the scooter in your garage for.

Hero Vida VX2 Plus verdict

The Hero Vida VX2 is a solid contender in the ever growing EV scooter space and is by far and away one of the best implementations of a swappable battery system. The versatility of charging, the solid performance and the comfortable ride make for a very appealing scooter and definitely one that is packaged and placed (in the market) much better than the Vida V1 and V2. It feels traditional in all the right ways as it does modern. The prices are on par with competition and the battery as a service options should add value to those who don’t plan on running the scooter for too long and would like to periodically upgrade to newer versions. All-in-all, barring the build quality issues, there’s not much to complain about and the Vida VX2 is an easy scooter to recommend for someone who wants a no-nonsense EV. I look forward to spending more time with this scooter, so stay tuned for a more in-depth road test and a comparison with the more established rivals.