Simple One

Simple Energy has launched the new Simple One S Gen 2 in India with a whole bunch of updates and new features.

Simple One Gen 2 Overview

The Simple One Gen 2 is a sporty looking e-scooter from Bengaluru based EV manufacturer, Simple Energy. It is available in two variants offering a great blend of impressive claimed range, along with a long list of useful features. 

Design 

The Simple One Gen 2 comes with a sharp and edgy design, an apron mounted headlamp and neatly integrated DRLs on the handlebar cowl. The Gen 2 also gets a new design for the rear view mirrors, which are now sleeker, claimed to be more aerodynamic and offer better visibility. Along with this, Simple Energy has also given it a sleek-looking tail section. Simple One’s design has always been likeable, particularly by younger audiences, and the Gen 2 continues with the same theme.

It is available in 9 striking colour options: Grace White, Aero Grey, Brazen Black, Azure Blue, Sonic Red are single tone, whereas Light X, Aero X, Brazen X, Asphalt X are dual tone finishes. Among these shades, the Sonic Red single tone paint scheme is what we like the most.

Simple One Gen 2 Features 

Safety Features

The Simple One Gen 2 gets 4 modes for the traction control system: Road, Rain, Track and Rally, along with 4 levels of regenerative braking. This ensures maximum wheel grip in different types of riding conditions. Even the battery packs are made safer, as they offer 50% better impact resistance (from the front) than the Gen 1.5. The Simple One has multiple ride modes now. The lower (4.5kWh) variant has Eco X, Eco, Normal, Air (earlier called Dash), and Sonic. The top (5kWh) variant has an additional Sonic X mode. Eco X offers maximum range as it analyzes the rider’s throttle input, the riding environment and adjusts the acceleration in realtime. While the Sonic X offers maximum performance, without any energy saving feature working in the background. The other ride modes work normally without any realtime acceleration adjustments.

Convenience Features 

It gets a 7-inch TFT touchscreen instrument console with Android 12 based operating system, smartphone connectivity, full-fledged Google maps navigation, call control, music control, notification control, digital document storage, ride analytics, OTA (over the air) updates, live location sharing, realtime efficiency graph, and dynamic display themes. 

It also gets two modes for the cruise control: Standard and Metro. The Standard mode works like a conventional cruise control, while the Metro mode is particularly designed for city commutes. With this, the cruising speed varies, and the brand says it neatly maintains pace even with constant braking and dead starts. You also have road side assistance functionality, which can be accessed using the phone app, in case of a breakdown, or flat tyre. 

The Simple Gen 2 comes with features like fall detection (Drop Safe), hill hold assist (Super Hold), park mode, hazard lamp activation while braking hard, limp home mode (restricts performance in case of a fault in the system), TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system), speed limiter, crawl mode, ping my scooter (helps in locating the scooter in crowded parking lot), theft alert, and follow-me home lights. 

It also gets geofencing, which creates a virtual boundary (and alerts the user if the scooter moves beyond the preset boundary). There’s also  ‘Time Fencing’ which is essentially a timed geo-fencing feature. The Simple One Gen 2 console can also be connected to a smartwatch app, called the Companion app, which shows key information such as odometer reading, charge status, and range. It gets a 35-litre illuminated underseat storage, which is 17% more spacious than the Gen 1.5’s 30-litre underseat storage. It also gets a 1-litre apron mounted glove box with lid (suitable only for small items), and also an apron-mounted USB charger. 

Rider Comfort 

The Gen 2 gets a ground clearance of 172mm, which is pretty decent. With a seat height of 780mm, which is 16mm lower than the Gen 1.5, the Simple One Gen 2 should be fairly accessible for most Indian riders. It also weighs 129kg (kerb), which is 8kg lighter than the Gen 1.5’s 137kg kerb weight. Overall, the Gen 2 should provide a comfortable upright riding position, ideal for daily commutes.

Pillion Comfort 

The Simple One Gen 2 gets a single piece seat, and the space for the pillion appears to be decent as well. It gets split grab rails, but there’s no cushioned backrest even in the higher-end variants. It’s not necessarily a bad thing considering it’s a sporty scooter, so a cushioned backrest, while it may be supremely practical, might not look as cool. 

Motor & Battery Pack

The Simple One Gen 2 is available in two battery packs: 4.5kWh and 5kWh (both IP67 rated for water and dust resistance). The top-spec variant uses the 5kWh battery pack which is said to be lighter, denser and more efficient. At 30kg, the battery pack now weighs 4kg less than before. The 4.5kWh variant gets a 6.4kW motor, while the 5kWh variant gets a 8.8kW motor (both peak). 

The 4.5kWh variant offers a peak torque of 52Nm, while the 5kWh variant offers 72Nm. Both use a 750W charger, using which the 4.5kWh variant takes 4hr 45min to charge from 0 to 80%, while the 5kWh variant takes 5hr 20min for the same. 

Along with the standard 3 years warranty, Simple Energy also offers a Simple Protect plan and a Simple Super Protect plan, which extends the warranty up to 5 years/50,000km and 8 years/80,000km, respectively. Simple Energy also offers a 'Lifetime Warranty' plan that extends the battery and motor warranty to 15 years and unlimited kilometers at an extra cost.

Performance 

Simple Energy claims to have improved the throttle response times of the Simple One Gen 2 by 9%, which makes both variants marginally quicker than Gen 1.5. As a result, the 4.5kWh variant can go from 0 to 40kmph in 3.30 seconds, gets a top speed of 90kmph and a claimed IDC (Indian Driving Cycle) range of 236km. On the other hand, the top-spec 5kWh variant gets a top speed of 115kmph, which is a 10% improvement over the Gen 1.5’s 105kmph top speed, and it can go from 0 to 40kmph in 2.55 seconds and gets an impressive range of 265km (9% improvement in efficiency). All figures are claimed. As per the testing done by Simple Energy, the scooter can climb an 18 degree incline with two people onboard. Also note that all the IDC range figures as well as the specification data are as per Simple Energy’s internal testing conditions, and are subject to requisite certifications.

Brakes

The Simple One Gen 2 gets a 200mm front and a 190mm rear disc brake setup with CBS (combined braking system). According to the testing done by Simple Energy, the 4.5kWh variant can come from 60kmph to a dead stop in 19 meters, while the 5kWh variant takes 19.1 meters for the same. This braking performance is claimed to be 13% better than the Gen 1.5. Sadly, Simple doesn’t offer ABS in any variants, which is a big miss in our opinion. 

Rivals 

The Simple One Gen 2 competes with the Ather 450X. The Ather 450X comes with a similar design (although the Ather entered the EV space much earlier), decent claimed range, and more importantly, a widespread dealer and service network.