Rs 80k Budget: Buy The Ola S1X Or The Honda Activa?

Both are very, very tempting options! 

• The Ola S1X is the most affordable scooter in Ola’s lineup.
• While the Activa has a lower price, the effective on-road price won’t be too far from the S1X’s.
• The Ola S1X will also save you from the eye-watering fuel prices. 

Ola recently launched its most affordable scooter, the S1X at an incredible price tag of Rs 79,999. Yes, that is the introductory price and it’ll soon go up by Rs 10,000, but even the Rs 89,999 price tag doesn’t make it a lot more expensive than its biggest rival, the Honda Activa 6G, whose prices start from Rs 76,234. Plus electric scooters have a lot less other costs, resulting in an even closer effective price (all prices ex-showroom). 

So does the evergreen Activa finally have a rival? Should you actually consider the S1X instead of the Activa? Let’s compare the two in terms of their running costs: 

Running Costs

The Ola S1X scooter has a big advantage when it comes to the cost of running it compared to the Honda Activa scooter. To fully charge the Ola scooter at home, it will use 2 to 4 units of electricity, depending on the specific model. The cost of each unit of electricity ranges from Rs 3 to Rs 8, based on where you live and your electricity usage. 

On average, if we consider Rs 5.5 per unit, it will cost about Rs 11 to charge the Ola S1X, which has a battery capacity of 2 kilowatt-hours (kWh). This version of the Ola scooter is said to travel around 85 kilometres on a single charge, which means the cost per kilometer is about 13 paisa.

On the other hand, the Honda Activa scooter needs around 5.3 liters of petrol to fill up its tank. Since petrol prices in India vary between Rs 95 to Rs 110 per liter, it will cost about Rs 543.25 on average (assuming Rs 102.5 per liter) to fill up the Activa's tank. Considering that the Activa has a fuel efficiency of about 60 kilometers per liter (kpl) as per official testing, the cost per kilometer is around Rs 1.7. 

For perspective, if we use the provided numbers for calculations, covering a distance of 50,000 kilometers on the Ola scooter would cost you only about Rs 6,500. Meanwhile, covering the same distance on the Honda Activa would cost you around Rs 85,000. Additionally, electric vehicles (EVs) have very low annual maintenance costs compared to petrol vehicles, primarily due to less frequent replacements of items like tires and brake pads.

Battery life is a major concern for potential EV buyers, and a good warranty helps alleviate some of those worries. The Activa 6G comes with a standard warranty of 3 years or 36,000 kilometers. 

On the other hand, the Ola S1X offers a standard warranty of 3 years or 40,000 kilometers for the scooter and an unlimited kilometer warranty for the battery. Both scooters also provide the option to extend the warranty for an additional cost. The Activa's extended warranty is for another 3 years or 36,000 kilometers, while the Ola's extended warranty covers an additional two years.

Conclusion

In summary, the Ola S1 scooter is better equipped and more cost-effective to operate, but there's uncertainty about its long-term reliability, unlike the well-established reputation of the Honda Activa. Additionally, the most affordable version of the S1, the S1X, is suitable for those who travel less than 40-50km daily and have the option to charge the scooter at home. 

It remains to be seen how many people fit into that category. On the other hand, the Activa benefits from a strong brand reputation built over many years and a wide service network. It also offers the advantage of refueling within minutes, whereas charging the Ola scooter takes several hours. So for now, the Activa would just be the safer bet for most.