I'm planning to buy a motorcycle around ₹3 lakh for daily office commutes in Pune, mostly in city traffic and under-construction stretches where the roads are not very good but not full of deep potholes. At 5'8" height, I need a comfortable, lightweight bike that is easy to handle in traffic and stays stable and compliant over broken or uneven roads. Which models and segments should I be looking at, and what would you recommend for this use case?

autocar.india

•5d

The Orbiter is a sensible electric scooter that focuses on maximising range and practicality, and of the two options, the Orbiter will be the safer bet in the long run. Do bear in mind that the Orbiter's performance is quite mellow, especially in Eco mode, and if your daily commute involves a lot of flyovers or riding in hilly regions, then you will have to use the scooter in City mode as well as keep the throttle pinned. The Ampere Magnus will likely be a bit more affordable, but in the real world, small quality-related niggles are more common than they should be, and after-sales can be patchy depending on your city.One thing to watch with the Orbiter is that the top 3.1kWh variant's price will be over Rs. 1 lakh on-road in your city, so you may have to stretch your budget by a small amount.If stretching your budget is simply not an option and you must have an EV from a reputed brand, choose the Hero Vida VX2 Go 3.4, which should give you enough range and performance.Try to take test rides of the Orbiter and VX2 before you make your decision.

autocar.india

•3d

A new car buyer should not make a purchase decision based on short-term fluctuations in crude oil prices or geopolitical events. Even if crude prices soften, vehicle ownership is typically a 7-10 year decision, while fuel prices can change dramatically several times during that period. The best approach is to buy based on your usage pattern, not on what fuel prices may do over the next few months.If your usage is predominantly city driving with access to home charging, an EV still makes a lot of sense because of its low running costs, smooth driving experience and lower maintenance requirements.If you cover high monthly mileages and spend a lot of time on highways, a diesel can still be a compelling option, particularly in larger SUVs.For most buyers, however, a regular petrol or hybrid remains the safest and most hassle-free choice today. Modern petrol engines are already compatible with current ethanol blends and there is no urgent need to wait for flex-fuel vehicles.As for flex-fuel cars, the technology is promising, but it still has a long way to go before it makes complete financial sense. The government will likely have to keep E85 priced significantly below regular petrol to offset the efficiency penalty. In our recent E85 versus E20 mileage test on a flex-fuel Suzuki Gixxer SF 250, fuel efficiency dropped from 38.1kpl on E20 to 28.8kpl on E85, a reduction of over 24 percent. Even though E85 was around Rs. 20 per litre cheaper, the lower efficiency meant the running cost per kilometer was actually higher on E85.