There are literally a plethora of options to consider when it comes to electric two-wheelers, especially in the scooter segment. Despite being an early bird in the nascent electric vehicle (EV) market of India, Okinawa seems to have lost some ground with the advent of newer rivals in the “circuit”.
The Indian manufacturer (although the name might give Japanese vibes) intends to make amends and regain its market share by bringing out improved versions of their existing portfolio. Okinawa Autotech claims to have made a couple of critical updates to the Praise Pro that should make the electric scooter friendlier to the rider than its predecessor.
We recently got a chance to test ride the Okinawa Praise Pro for a brief duration around the company’s new facility at Bhiwadi in Alwar district, Rajasthan and put the claims to test.
Okinawa Praise Pro Review: Looks unchanged, built better
Styling of the Okinawa Praise Pro has remained unchanged barring the fact that the company is now offering four new colour options with the electric scooter. Our test model wore a beautiful Olive Green shade reminiscent of the Army vehicles we have grown up watching.
The LED headlights with integrated DRLs housed within the front apron give the scooter a sharp appearance although the same couldn’t be said about its rear end which looks plain and simple. Overall, design looks proportionate and Okinawa has sensibly avoided incorporating any fancy or quirky elements to its styling.
The Praise Pro is definitely better built than its predecessor with tighter panel gaps, better plastic quality, and overall a sturdier feel on touch points such as the switchgear, handlebar grips and more significantly the CNC machine-finished brake levers which are now adjustable, a rarity for this segment of vehicles. Another visual highlight are those machined alloy wheels that lend a premium appeal to the Praise Pro.
Okinawa Praise Pro Review: Features & Practicality
Okinawa Praise Pro gets all the basic features up its sleeve including LED headlights and taillights, a digital instrument cluster, and a USB charging port. On top of these, it gets some high-end features such as central locking with anti-theft alarm, keyless entry, and find my scooter functionality.
The instrument console, while functional, is hard to read under the direct sunlight. Another major sore point is the non-existent underseat storage completely eaten up by the battery pack that makes a series dent in practicality. You only get a small slot to keep your documents and tool kit. Thankfully, Okinawa has provided a sizable glove box up front to stash your knick knacks like phones, bottles, etc.
Okinawa Praise Pro Review: Handling & Ergonomics
In the media briefing, Okinawa revealed that the Praise Pro’s chassis sits 40mm lower than the previous model. As a result, the rider’s knees don’t obstruct the handlebar during a complete lock-in turn which was the case earlier.
While the single-piece seat has a fair amount of real estate and an impressive contouring for the rider’s buttocks, it could have done with some extra padding. Like most electric scooters going around, the rider invariably has to keep a knees-up posture courtesy of a raised floorboard which means taller riders will feel cramped.
Coming to its ride, the suspension is sprung stiffly which makes the ride feel harsh on every piece of broken tarmac. The telescopic front forks and twin rear shock absorbers have very low travel and tend to bottom out while encountering even mild pot-holes, sending jitters to the rider’s spine.
If you thought the stiff chassis would have a positive impact on its handling, then you will be left disappointed because it doesn’t. While it is fairly predictable around corners, the 90/90 R12 TVS Remora tyres don’t provide any sort of grip. Plus, the knees-up riding posture makes it a tedious task for the rider to lean around twisties.
Okinawa Praise Pro Review: Performance
Okinawa hasn’t made any changes to its powertrain. It gets the same removable 2.08kWh Lithium-ion battery pack that feeds energy to a 2.7kW electric motor. On full-charge, the battery could offer a range of 81 km but we were unable to put this claim to test due to shortage of time.
The Praise Pro offers two ride modes– Eco and Sport. Though trivial, the difference in performance between both modes is noticeable. That said, in both modes, we were able to clock the same speedo-indicated top speed of 57 kmph. For some more spice, Okinawa is offering a ‘Turbo’ mode that offers an additional boost for 30 seconds, but again nothing very significant.
Performance feels fairly linear like a normal petrol-powered scooter although there is nothing exciting on offer. Even a 110cc petrol scooter was able to conveniently overpower us on the highway. As for braking, the disc brake setup at both ends does a fairly decent job at bringing the scooter to a halt in a progressive manner despite the levers lacking the bite. However, you’ll surely miss the absence of ABS, even more thanks to the unsticky nature of the tyres.
The company has added a few more sensors to the battery management system to keep a thermal check on its internals which does work efficiently since it kicked in after aggressively pulling the throttle on numerous occasions, making the scooter slow down to crawling speeds. The efficacy of the system is appreciable since the scooter regained normal speeds barely a couple of minutes later.
Okinawa Praise Pro Review: Verdict
The updated Okinawa Praise Pro surely has quite a few flaws but none of them are deal breakers. Nothing that won’t grow on you over a period of time. But things start to look very different when you consider its marked price of Rs 99,645 (ex-showroom). For the scooter being offered to you, the price tag seems a bit of a stretch.
This is due to the fact that Okinawa was recently dropped from the list of Government of India’s FAME II beneficiaries. Recommending the Praise Pro gets even more difficult since apart from a good build quality, the scooter doesn’t excel in any other departments. It neither has a thrilling performance nor an exceptional range, nor a set of features that is class leading.
For the price at which the Praise Pro is offered, you’ll find more value-for-money options in the battery-powered segment. However, one thing that goes in its favour is Okinawa’s fairly wide range of dealerships and service network across the country which other EV brands currently lack.
