Honda QC1: Hi there guys, this is Dino bringing backtoback electric scooter reviews right from the house of Honda.from the house of Honda. That raises quite an eyebrow. I mean uh I mean that makes a lot of people curious. Affordable scooter from Honda is going to be really kickass or what? Like too many expectations running through the sky and running into the galaxy. So does it live up to the expectation? Have they managed to pull off a miracle? Let’s find out in this uh first look walk around as well as ride review. I’ve already brought you the walk around. It was too chaotic at the launchment. Now we have the scooter to ourselves. Let’s get to know it better.
Honda QC1 First Look Overview
Now this is the QC1. Now they say this is primarily for city commuting and going from point A to point B. There’s no beating around the bush. No fancy gadgets or gizmos. No fancy promises. It is basically a commuterish scooter. Built well. Has very good classy elegant colors. Looks very very classy in this sky blue kind of a color scheme. Design silhouette more or less similar to that of the Activa E. Now here we don’t see the Activa branding anywhere. It’s called the QC1.
Design and Styling
The LED DRL is not there. You have the LED lights. However, LED lighting all around. You have a front fender neatly uh laid out with a black accent. Then telescopic forks are a major plus.
You don’t get diamond cut alloy wheels like the Activa E. Here you get standard alloy wheels and you don’t get the disc brake like the Activa E.
Rear Design and Tail Lamp Setup
Uh, moving on to the back here, you have twin shock absorbers at the back. Again, you don’t get a PMS motor. The permanent magnet synchronous motor is saved for the Activa here. Uh, E. Here you get a BLC motor, which is more cost efficient.
You get twin shock absorbers right over there. and you get a 12-in wheel up front here and a 10-in wheel at the back. Whereas the Activa E gets 12-in wheels at both the ends.
Now, these are differences. Again, you can see the tail lamp is slightly different here. The tail lamp is a lot more premium on the Activa E. Again, you get LED turn blinkers here which are separately mounted.
Common Man Feedback About Blinkers
Now, I got a user feedback or a common man feedback who was just uh gazing at the scooter. He said, “Why don’t you incorporate the blinkers here instead of here?” because tendency of breakage is more when you keep it separately. That’s a good sensible thought. I hope Honda takes notice of that.
Instrument Cluster and Features
Then you have a plain jane LCD display. I’ll just show it to you how the animation uh starts up. That’s what I’m saying. This is a very basic nononsense commuter scooter that takes you from point A to point B.
LCD layout, speed console, state of charge, riding mode. You only have only two riding modes here. Whereas the Activi gets a sport mode here. You have only standard and economy or econ.
And then you have uh yeah push start to start the button or the odometer. You also have the trip meters here. I hope this works. Yeah, that’s pretty much it.
Controls and Switchgear
You get a high beam flasher. That’s a good thing. You get a parking brake. That’s another good thing. Uh good inclusion. And uh yeah uh integrated starter button.
Storage and Practicality
Now coming to the main important points that you need to know about an electric scooter. Again you have charging slot right over here with a glove box here to slot your uh phone or any gadget. Front hook to hook on your bags and baggages.
And uh let us switch to seat and open the seat again here. Drastically when compared to the uh Activa E which is loaded with two portable batteries here because of no battery here this gets a fixed battery.
So you have abundance of boot space to be utilized. 26 L of boot space that is very very usable and well sorted.
Battery, Range, Charging and Performance Specs
And now coming back now looking at the most important relevant specs that you need to know. Battery pack 1.5 kWh battery pack. Range 80 km range. Top speed 50 km/h top speed. What? Yes, you heard me right. 50 km/h top speed.
And uh then uh what else you can talk about the charging time? Charging time is 4 and 1/2 hours for 0 to 80% and 6 hours 50 minutes for a full charge.
And it has a fixed battery with a 330 watt portable charger. That’s what you get. And that’s pretty much it. Almost everything is uh this thing.
Key Specification Summary
So yeah, battery pack 1.5 kWh range is 80 km to a single charge. That is IDC range, not the true range. And then uh you have two riding modes, econ and standard, not the sport mode here.
And the top speed is 50 km/h, which is very very modest. At least they should have given 70 or 75 km/h.
Uh because you might get stuck sometimes and it might get you in trouble when you want to perform those quick overtakes, but you’re stuck because the speed is limited.
Ride Comfort and Ergonomics
But anyway, ground clearance is well sorted. Again, I think 169 mm or something. I’ll leave the exact uh number on the screen.
Again, seat height is well sorted. Nice and low seat such that you can put both your foot down. Adequate space for the rider as well as the pillion to move around.
Well laid out grabbar and the pricing.
Honda QC1 Pricing: The Biggest Highlight
So the pricing it’s like is the icing on the cake. 90,000 rupees only for a Honda built electric scooter. So that’s saying something because the reliability of Honda, durability of Honda, you and I know very well and offering a scooter at 90,000 is amazing.
But they could have done better. They could have at least offered a true range of 100 on this. They could have at least offered a top speed of 80 on this. And uh yeah, fixed battery is okay.
They could have at least offered a 3 kWh fixed battery, I mean battery pack. This is my feedback.
Honda QC1 Real World Ride Review
But apart from this, this is what you get. As you get a 1.5 kW battery pack, you get a 80 km range and 50 km/ top speed which is very very modest.
But how does it translate in real world conditions? Sometimes spec sheet doesn’t say much whereas the real world condition usage is much more practical.
So let’s go right and see whether it is truly made up of something to give the likes of the competition like Chetakola and Aether a real run for the money and including TVS IQ of course which is one of the finest.
So let’s see. Let’s go ride it and see what it has on offer.
Economy Mode Performance
Okay, guys. We’re good to go and check the economy mode. There’s not too much to play around with here.
Suspension is a little soft and supple here. It’s a good thing. Activa E has very stiff suspension.
This one is in as I told you 1.5 kW battery pack 80 km range 50 km per hour top speed. Let’s go this way and see what it has offer.
Okay, it’s pretty smooth linear acceleration, but it doesn’t go beyond 30. Yeah, it’s kind of locked at 32.
Standard Mode and Top Speed Test
Now, change to standard. Oh, let’s try for a top speed test. QC1 or it’s limited.
I think let’s try a U-turn here. Do we have a free U-turn here? Yeah, I think we have a free U-turn here.
Okay, off we go. This is actua. This is just the QC1, not the actua. E is different. This one doesn’t get the active bing.
50 is the top speed we’re doing already. 53. It is logged at 53. Doesn’t go beyond that. So that is the top speed of QC1.
City Practicality and Daily Usage
Now coming back to the practicality part in Eco it doesn’t go beyond 30. Uh for those who are doing short computes maybe 5 to 10 km daily I think there’s a good deal for them.
You have fixed battery you have portable charger. Uh you have the Honda’s reliability, you have the BLC motor, the brushless DC motor also is maintenance free.
So pretty much low on maintenance and the pricing is the key. 90,000 is pretty enticing to get one for yourself.
So long as the range is uh good enough like the 80 km range should be true range not IDC. So let’s hope it performs well.
Comfort, Handling and Ride Feel
Seat is nice and comfortable. There you go. Very lethargic response. No instant pickup as such.
We are able to overtake but that instant torque is missing. Instant pickup right of the mark is not there. Something you need to note.
Handling is good. Stability is good. Chassis orientation is good. The suspension telescopic folks lend the scooter good stability.
So overall everything seems to be working fine so far.
Value Proposition: Is Honda QC1 Worth 90,000?
In terms of value proposition, yes, good value for money. this one.
Oh boy. Again, this speed is capped at 53 km/h. So, it’s not going beyond that. That’s kind of sad. They should have at least given 75 km/h top speed.
Is that a red light? Yeah, it’s a red light. Okay, let’s stop. Nothing is too confusing. Let’s go behind the line.
Comfort is well sorted. Ergonomics are well sorted. Equipment is well sorted.
What Honda Could Have Improved
If only they would have given Oh, ambulance. Let the ambulance go.
If only they would have given a range of 120 on this by a scooter and a top speed of 80 km/h. This would have been a blockbuster. Absolute blockbuster.
This should have gotten a 3 kWh battery back at least 1.5 yard. Like it’s absolutely nothing these days.
We have uh scooters that are promising 260 km range to a single charge which is insane. We are uh having scooters promising around 240 to 250 km range for a single charge.
So at least 120 km being a Honda. Yes, you have the advantage of the people’s trust and durability issues are not going to be a question mark. Reliability issues are not going to be a question mark being Honda.
But we need to have something to root for or to convince ourselves that yes, this will do the job for us.
So I feel they are short of around 40 km on the range, 30 km/h on the top speed and 1.5 kW hour in terms of battery pack.
Apart from that everything seems to be well put together and uh for the price especially price of 90,000 I think it’s a very good deal.
Final Verdict: Should You Buy Honda QC1?
So what do you what do you reckon? Do you think it’s decent enough or what about the S1X’s and the S1X Pluses from Ola Ola the affordable variant from Chetak? Who do you prefer that instead?
Feel free to comment below and let me know. And that’s pretty much it.
Thanks for watching. I’ll catch you guys in the next video. Until then, take care. God bless and ride safe.