TVS Orbiter first ride review: Is this what a first time EV buyer wants?
With its minimalist styling and easy-going powertrain, the TVS Orbiter promises to offer a scooter for the new-age urbanite. Does it?;
With over 6.5 lakh Thirukkurungudi Vengaram Sundram badged EVs on the road, TVS is the most successful electric two-wheeler seller in the country. To eat a bigger piece of the pie, TVS has introduced the Orbiter. An electric scooter with a funky but minimalist design language, designed to cater to a whole new set of customers – first time license holders and even gig workers. TVS has designed a lot of the elements of the scooter like the large roomy seat, to make it appeal to this audience. Does it manage to do that?
TVS Orbiter design
TVS’ designers have been on a roll lately, with banger after banger design on its products. The Ntorq 150 was a stunning looking scooter and this Orbiter is no different. Unlike the iQube which is more conventionally styled, the Orbiter is a lot more out there. The styling is bold, funky and quite youthful. At the top you have a new headlight and below that is a sloping front end embellished with a body-wide LED combination light which functions as a DRL as well as the indicators.
Below the body work sits a 14-inch wheel. Behind the new headlight is a new 5.5-inch colour LCD screen which displays all the information you need to see rather neatly. On the inside of the front apron you have a sizeable cubby hole that will easily accommodate your phone wallet and smaller items. All the way below is a flat and 290mm long floorboard which is at the perfect height so as to not feel like your knees are in your chest. From the side the Orbiter reveals a very industrial, boxy, almost segmented design. The seat is a long 845mm unit and the seat height is a comfortable 763mm off the ground.
The rear continues the design from the front with a single LED strip running along the width of the body. Again, taking care of brake light and turn indication functions. The Orbiter can be had in a variety of colours that range from funky to mature. On the styling front, the Orbiter is a proper winner in my opinion.
TVS Orbiter motor, battery and performance
The TVS Orbiter makes use of a 3.1kWh battery pack that powers a 2.5kW (3.3bhp) BLDC hub-mounted motor. The Orbiter is aimed at youngsters between the age of 16-18 years and for gig workers (delivery boys, etc.). To that end, the scooter has a top speed of 68kmph and a claimed 158km of IDC range. Get going and it is immediately apparent that this is not a scooter designed to thrill. It is a no frills, no nonsense scooter designed to be easy for anyone to ride. 16, fresh out of school, learners permit in hand, excited to ride. This could very well be a recipe for disaster. But the way the Orbiter delivers its power, I think parents can be rest assured that there won’t be any Orbiter shaped holes in the wall. It sets off in a sedate manner and continues to accelerate similarly to its top speed. There are two modes to choose from: Eco and City. Eco as the name suggests, dulls the throttle response further and City gives you access to the full range of performance. Between 20-50kmph, the Orbiter feels the most comfortable and it’s where it is going to spend the brunt of its life.
The Orbiter lacks gusto with its peak output of 3.3bhp and offers steady and gradual performance with a top speed of 68kmph — Shot by Avdhoot A Kolhe for evo India
The scooter also gets a cruise control feature. This is operated by a single button. The operating range of the feature is between 20-60kmph. To enable it press the button once and then press the button again once you’re at the desired speed. We could honestly do without this feature considering the Orbiter can’t really get on the highways with the sort of performance it has and in the city, with our traffic being unpredictable, you won’t be able to use it for longer than a few metres.
The Orbiter gets a cruise control function with an operating range between 20-60kmph — Shot by Avdhoot A Kolhe for evo India
In terms of range, the 158km figure seems promising and is something I look forward to verifying when we get it for a proper road test. As far as performance is concerned, the Orbiter is approachable for a first time rider without overwhelming them. But anyone with prior experience, wanting a quick scooter, you will need to look elsewhere.
TVS Orbiter chassis ride and handling
Underpinning the Orbiter is a tubular frame that is suspended by telescopic shocks at the front and twin shocks at the rear. The suspension is mounted to a 14-inch wheel at the front and a 12-inch wheel at the rear. Braking is taken care of by drum brakes at both ends. The ergonomics of the Orbiter are by far and away the best bit of the scooter. There’s enough room for shorter and taller riders alike and the seat with its flat design ensures that the pillion is comfortable too. Even at 5-foot-10-inch, at no point did the handlebar foul with my knees. You’re sat upright and the spacious, and more importantly, flat floorboard all make for a very comfortable rider’s triangle.
The riding position and overall ergonomics are on point especially aided by the 290mm long flat floorboard — Shot by Avdhoot A Kolhe for evo India
We rode at the TVS test track in Hosur which, as I’ve said before, has very good tarmac. But going over the few speed breakers there did suggest that the ride quality will be quite pliant. In terms of handling, the Orbiter has the trademark TVS handling traits with it being nimble, agile and mostly stable. Of course there’s also the fact that the speed is never so high that you’re asking too much of the chassis. That being said, even cornering at its top-speed didn’t seem to bother the chassis setup at all.
The handling manners are typically TVS, predictable, stable and sufficiently agile — Shot by Avdhoot A Kolhe for evo India
The biggest letdown on the chassis side of things are the brakes. The drum brake setup works okay and does manage to bring the scooter to a halt. But I feel like from a safety stand point, a disc brake at the front should have been a given. Drum brakes have a tendency to wear out quicker and don’t offer nearly enough feedback and feel. The rear brake on the Orbiter is too sharp and if you grab the lever with even a little extra force, the wheel locks up. Not something a beginner rider will be very comfortable with. Apart from that the Orbiter is a fun little scooter to ride. One that is very easy to manage and get used to. This is also down to its 112kg kerb weight.
The only bit that sours the Orbiter experience are the drum brakes, the rear brake in particular is too aggressive — Shot by Avdhoot A Kolhe for evo India
TVS Orbiter verdict
The TVS Orbiter comes with all the connected features we’ve come to expect from modern scooters these days and also adds features like cruise control and ride modes. As aforementioned, cruise control, not really something that makes a lot of sense owing to the performance on tap. Coming to price, the Orbiter costs ₹1 lakh, ex-showroom and therein lies the biggest problem. The iQube with the 2.2kWh battery pack costs just a few thousand more while the 3.1kWh iQube costs just around ₹8000 more. For that money you get more performance, more safety by way of a disc brake and a scooter that will appeal to a larger audience. Yes, the Orbiter does get a higher claimed range and the lower performance is deliberate, aimed towards beginner riders. But the iQube seems to offer a much better value proposition. In my opinion, the Orbiter in its current spec should have been sold at a price of around ₹70,000 or TVS could have gone the other way, added disc brakes, a more powerful motor and sold it as a sportier alternative to the iQube. While the Orbiter does get the basics right, its high cost and lack of a few crucial features makes it a little hard to recommend.