It all started in 1972 when Bajaj introduced a name to the world, Chetak. Like the activating splendours of India, the Chetak was a name associated with trust. Remember the advertisement, humara Bajaj? The Chetak had a good run till it was discontinued in 2006. Bajaj revived the Chetak in an electric avatar in 2019. 5 years later, the Bajaj Chetak is slowly but steadily evolving. We rode the 2024 Bajaj Chetak in the city of two-wheelers, Pune. Here is what we feel has improved to match the competition of this era.
TecPac - Optional on paper, mandatory in reality
Bajaj is offering something unique this time for both the Urbane and Premium versions of the Chetak. They call it the TecPac. On its own, the Urbane version gets a top speed of 63km/h, only an eco mode and call management. Add the TecPac worth INR 8000 on the Urbane and the Chetak’s top-end changes to 73km/h like the Premium version, add two more modes, Sports and Reverse, automated hill hold assist based on gyroscope and music changes with volume controls.
Add the TecPac worth INR 9000 to the Premium version of the Chetak, and apart from the features mentioned above, it adds smartphone notifications, display themes on the 5-inch TFT colour display and turn-by-turn navigation with trip data and geofencing. It’s surprising that without the TecPac, the Premium variant also sticks to only Eco mode, albeit with a Reverse mode as standard.
Verdict - A viable option in 2024
The Bajaj Chetak has evolved in the last 5 years and brings some of the most impressive BMS on an e-scooter to date. It has become zippier, if not sportier and adds immense value with the TecPac on both its Urbane and Premium variants. The evolution took its sweet time, but with time, the Chetak has matured to be a viable e-scooter option, worth considering in 2024.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Exteriors - Retro outside, modern inside
There are two versions of the Chetak, Urbane and Premium. The differences in the earlier iteration were minimal, not anymore. The Urbane still features a similar round display as the outgoing model, but this time around, it’s a colour LCD display with more functionality, the highlighted accents are similar to the outgoing model with a brushed aluminium finish and also features monotone colour and drum brake setup with 2.9kWh battery and an off-board 650W charger.
The Premium Chetak gets some premium treatment this time around: a new 5-inch rectangular TFT colour display with geofencing, turn-by-turn navigation through the Chetak app integrated with Map My India, black brushed aluminium highlights, larger 3.2kWh battery and range, dual-tone colours, disc brake on the front and an on-board 800W charger. Bajaj claims that they stuck to a button-interactive display and no touchscreen to maintain the IP67 ratings of the Chetak, including its overall battery and body, and the longevity of the display in general. Both the Urbane and Premium variants shall support OTA and service centre-based software updates. Thanks to the cleaner graphics and differentiating highlight colours, the Urbane and Premium set unique identities for the variant owners. Overall, the Chetak is still one of the prettiest retro-modern takes on an e-scooter, and with maximum use of metal as its armour and glamour, Bajaj claims the Chetak to be life-proof.
Specification
Urbane: 113kms range, 2.9kWh battery (650W off-board 15 Amp charger)
Premium: 126kms range, 3.2kWh battery (800W on-board 15 Amp charger)
TecPac: Sports mode, reverse, navigation, music changes and more
Charging Time: 4.5 hours
Price
Urbane: 1.15L and Premium: 1.35L
Evolved rideability - Denser battery cells, better BMS and more
Bajaj has revised the battery pack, and thanks to clever engineering, it liberates 21L under-seat storage as compared to 17L on the outgoing model. This revised battery pack, has denser cells in the same package, storing more energy, delivering more usable power and bringing more efficiency with an updated battery management system (BMS). The Urbane version delivers an ARIA score of 113kms with its 2.9kWh battery pack, while the Premium version delivers an ARIA rated 126kms with its 3.2kWh battery pack. Both these variants take a similar time of 4.5 hours to charge from 0-100% SOC.
The 4080W side-mounted motor remains the same, but with the revised battery packs on similar 90-section 12” tyres and the TecPac, the Chetak has evolved into a viable option for modern-era e-scooter commutes among competitors. Riders can switch modes on the fly, and there are significant power curve changes when switching from Eco to Sport modes and vice versa. The power delivery is progressive at the start in the Eco mode, while there is a good amount of electric torque in the mid-range all the way to the top end of this e-scooter. Regenerative braking is automated and is less intrusive in Eco mode, allowing the Chetak to glide. Switch to Sport mode, and the Chetak becomes peppy right from the start all the way to its top-end speeds. Regenerative braking adapts accordingly and is a tad bit more aggressive than Eco mode. Reverse mode comes in handy for sensitive beings and is capped at 3km/h.
What has improved is the BMS and the way this scooter now feels like filtering through traffic and on highways. The Chetak has become peppier than before, especially in the mid-range for the Eco mode and throughout the Sport mode. Overtakes are zippier, there is enough power to pull through gaps in traffic and also enough top-end to sustain a good highway run. Despite the metal body, Chetak feels nimble on the road and has one of the best suspension setups, comfortable for solo and pillion riders. The BMS has improved by miles and bounds. We picked the Chetak at 70% SOC, drove sedately around Pune for about 40Kms through start-stop traffic, some highway sprints, and returned the Chetak in the evening with 68% SOC. This was darn impressive. The graph had us refilling the battery SOC through traffic and depleting on highways, but the overall result left us impressed.
