In the modern world, everything can be connected to your smartphone. Using the internet or WiFi, the possibilities are endless. You can control your home appliances like your TV, washing machine, air conditioners and more just through smartphone apps these days. And now with the latest generation of cars, you can control them remotely as well. But what if you own an older car which is simpler and doesn’t come with all the gadgetry and features, but you want some of those features in them? The Rollr Mini might be just what you’re looking for and here is why.
What is the Rollr Mini?
The Rollr Mini is a vehicle tracking and telematics device which helps you track the location of your car, provides you with driving behaviour information and provides vehicle telematics and health data about your vehicle. The system is extremely easy to use. Plug-in the device to the vehicle’s OBD (Onboard Diagnostics) II port to activate and then download the free Rollr smartphone app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Log in by entering your Rollr Mini device ID, the verification code and feed in your vehicle details, email address and phone number and you are good to go. It takes just a few minutes to set up and start using.
The device will work on any car or SUV manufactured after 2009 irrespective of shape, style and price. We tested the system on a 2011 Ford Figo. The device will work on any vehicle with an OBD II port.
How does the Rollr Mini work?
The Rollr Mini device has an in-built prepaid and preconfigured telematics grade SIM card. All the data that the device reads are sent to the Rollr servers, all of which is encrypted according to the manufacturer. The device transmits the location of the vehicle every three seconds with a claimed error tolerance of 5 metres when it comes to location accuracy.
What can the Rollr Mini do?
The Rollr Mini servers create a vehicle history of where your car has been, how long it has been driven through which route, and what distance it has covered in how much time. It records every time the vehicle is started and you can even set a speed limit on the app. If the vehicle exceeds that limit it will be noted in the history. The system relies on Google Maps so you don’t have much to complain about the tracking services. If you or anyone ever disconnects the device from the car, you will be notified via SMS even if you keep all the notifications turned off from the app settings, which is also pretty neat. The Rollr Mini also monitors the vehicle’s health and lets you know if there is anything under the bonnet needs attention. All of these parameters and the vehicle history is available for you to monitor and track from the Rollr smartphone app.
How easy is the Rollr app to use?
The smartphone app is fairly easy to use. The ‘Dashboard’ screen tells you the last trip details, the route, and trip statistics. The statistics include max engine RPM, average RPM, max speed and average speed. On the home screen, the app also provides a driving behaviour score which monitors how hard you accelerate and brake, how many times you are speeding, and how long you are idling. The score is based on your entire driving behaviour’s evaluation.
Most of my commute was in Noida’s rush hour traffic. After driving 1,527 km, the best driving score I was able to achieve was 7.9, of which I’m quite proud of. Especially considering that my vehicle idling time is high due to the traffic and hard braking is unavoidable on the notorious Indian roads with many variables.
The ‘Alerts’ screen lists all the alerts that the system detects. It gave me the exact time and date the vehicle’s engine was started or if the device was unplugged and also since I decided to set a speed limit to 75kmph it also lists every time you cross that limit. What is great about it is that it will also tell you the top speed achieved if you cross the limit, but I can’t help but feel a graph for vehicle speed would be beneficial as it would also provide the duration for which the speed limit was exceeded.
The third screen is the “Trips” page. This gives you a graphic representation of distance travelled throughout the month on a day by day basis. It tells you how many trips were made, distance travelled in total and the amount of time the vehicle was driven. You can even view the details of each trip that was made at any given time.
The fourth page is the “Health” screen. This screen will tell you if there are any problems the Rollr Mini has detected from the vehicle’s engine management system. The system has a malfunction indicator, engine warning indicator, battery health indicator and coolant temperature. Among the parameters of the engine warning indicator, the Rollr Mini can monitor air-fuel control, fuel system, ignition system/misfire, auxiliary emission control, speed/idle control, computer system, transmission, and more.
How accurate is the data from the Rollr Mini?
In terms of the data, the numbers from the Rollr Mini are very accurate. Whether it’s travelling distance, or engine RPM, vehicle speed or even vehicle health information. However, the location accuracy was not entirely accurate despite the claimed 5 metres tolerance but was accurate enough to let you know the whereabouts of the vehicle at any given time, which is more than enough accuracy you need. I never found any other discrepancy with the data. Additionally, what I did find quite helpful was the weekly update Rollr would automatically send to your registered email address.
Who is the Rollr Mini for and is it worth it?
The Rollr Mini costs Rs 6,499 (including 1st year subscription) in addition to the annual subscription charges which start from the second year for Rs 1,200 (Rs 100 per month). Essentially, the Rollr Mini would be for someone with multiple cars or has a chauffeur who predominantly drives the vehicle. This will most definitely help someone keep track of their car and prevent any misuse. Additionally, The Rollr can be extremely beneficial for fleet owners to track and monitor any given vehicle at any given time. For B2B services, the Rollr Mini is an ideal product that can not only help you keep track of their whereabouts or driver’s driving habits but also the vehicle’s health.
For personal use, the Rollr Mini does provide some good insights and can help you better your driving style as the driving score does mentally challenge you to better that number, and you can end up making huge savings in fuel consumption if you’re lucky. Also, it provides the data that will help you stay one step ahead should your vehicle develop a malfunction or get stolen. The GPS tracker will most definitely help you locate the vehicle should you face something so unfortunate.
Whether the Rollr Mini is right for you is a question that you will have to answer for yourself but does it offer what you are looking for? If telematics, GPS tracking and engine management are what you’re looking for, then the Rollr Mini will get the job done and you will be pleased by the results.