Okinawa i-Praise: Top 5 Facts

You might remember that Okinawa Scooters, an Indian electric scooter manufacturer, launched the Praise back in December 2017. The Praise was packed with quite a lot of features compared to the rest of the run-of-the-mill lead acid-powered scooters. Now, the brand has launched the i-Praise, the lithium battery-powered variant of the Praise, at Rs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). With the new scooter, Okinawa has taken the overall package up a notch, bringing it on par with other ‘smart’ electric scooters in the country like the Ather 450. Here are some of its salient features:

Looks exactly like the Praise:

Design-wise, both the regular Praise and the i-Praise look identical save for the pillion backrest on the Praise. Even the sticker work and the colour schemes are similar. There’s an apron-mounted LED headlamp with LED DRLs flanking the sides. The brake levers are CNC-machined and are adjustable too. For better practicality, it features two-pocket front storage with a USB charging point in the apron as well. At 7 litres, the underseat storage has gone down by 12.5 litres compared to the lead-acid variant. This is thanks to the inclusion of the lithium-ion battery under the seat. Another nifty feature is the side stand sensor which prevents the scooter from starting when the side stand is down.

Can go between 160-180km per charge:

The i-Praise is powered by a 2.9kWh lithium-ion battery connected to a waterproof brushless DC (BLDC) motor which has a rated output of 1000 watts. Okinawa claims the lithium-ion battery is 30-40 per cent lighter than other lead-acid batteries in its segment. The battery uses a regular 5A household socket to charge and is detachable too, in case you want to charge it in the convenience of your home. It takes around 2-3 hours for a complete charge, and the claimed range is between 160-180km.

Under Economy mode, the scooter can go up to 35kmph. Speed mode allows to reach up to 55-60kmph while Turbo mode can propel the scooter up to 70-75kmph. Not bad for an electric scooter at all!

Comes with smartphone connectivity:

The scooter can be paired with the ‘Okinawa Eco’ app (can be installed from Google Play Store) and the rider can access a whole load of features through the app. For starters, you get geofencing feature in which the user can set a virtual perimeter ranging from 50m to 10km. Whenever the scooter moves beyond the set space, the user receives an alert. A virtual speed limit can also be set, which will notify the app user if the scooter goes beyond the set speed limit. The battery’s health can also be tracked through the app, and there’s an option to set ‘no ride hours’ too, in case the user doesn’t use the scooter for a particular time frame.

Furthermore, you can also save contacts to receive SOS notifications in case the rider sends out a distress call. The app also continuously observes the riding style (braking, acceleration and the likes), and rates the performance over time. The start and end points of the daily trips, distances travelled is also logged into the app. It has an in-built GPS application and a maintenance & insurance reminder too. Other telemetry readouts like ignition status, battery voltage, current and average speed and immobilization mode status are shown in the app as well.

Packs modern underpinnings:

The i-Praise employs gas-charged telescopic forks up front and twin dual-tube shock absorbers at the rear. The 12-inch aluminium alloy wheels are wrapped with tubeless tyres measuring 90/90 both up front and rear. Unlike the regular Praise which gets concentric discs up front, the i-Praise makes do with a conventional single disc at the front with sliding caliper. The rear uses a disc too, and the brakes feature what Okinawa calls “E-ABS” (Electronic- Assisted Braking System) with Regenerative Energy.

The scooter is lighter because of the lithuim-ion battery, and this would have a positive effect on the scooter’s handling. It will be interesting to see how the dynamics are, now that the battery is placed under the seat instead of the floorboard. We can't wait to find out the difference once we get our hands on the scooter.

Commands premium pricing:

At Rs 1.15 lakh (ex-showroom), the i-Praise is around Rs 43,500 more expensive than the lead-acid variant. It’s a steep premium compared to the standard variant, but for the extra moolah, you get a host of nifty smartphone-enabled features. If you compare the i-Praise with its primary competitor, the Ather 450, the former is just around Rs 9700 less expensive than the latter. But the level of engineering and features on the Ather is on just another level. Bookings for the i-Praise, which is manufactured in Rajasthan, have already commenced pan-India.

Source: zigwheels.com