The Luna is back and it’s now an EV, but does it still make sense in the 21st century?
The original Kinetic Luna was a utilitarian and inexpensive workhorse that, despite going off sale over two decades ago, has now gained cult status amongst small circles of classic enthusiasts. Kinetic Green (new name, same company) wants to recreate that success with the new E Luna but times and people’s needs have changed a lot since the Luna went off the market. So, is there still an audience today for the E Luna?
Kinetic E Luna design
To look at, the E Luna is a traditional moped but it’s technically no longer one since it forgoes pedal assistance. Depending on who you ask, its design will be a pro or con. Personally, I think its cute, boxy looks help it stand out in the ocean of two-wheelers that dominate Mumbai’s roads. It’s quite spacious for both the rider and pillion although the pillion’s legs are positioned in an unnatural way due to the awkward placement of the foot rests.
Pillion’s feet are folded awkwardly.
There is a small cubby under the E Luna’s pillion seat although the chassis tubes restrict the amount of space here. More significantly, you cannot fit the charger in the provided storage space, which is a big miss here!
Chassis tubes restrict underseat storage; charger doesn’t fit in there.
Kinetic E Luna features
The E Luna is meant to be a utilitarian product but it still has a simple LCD dash that’s well laid-out and has a DTE (Distance To Empty) readout. However, the tell-tale lights are a little hard to read on a sunny day. Fit and finish is just about acceptable for the price, but isn’t particularly pleasing.
Dash shows you all you need to know.
There is a ‘mode’ switch on the right hand side switch cube but all that seems to do is restrict top speed depending on which position it is in. The restrictions are 35kph, 45kph and 50kph. What will annoy you at anything above 20kph is the shrill whine of the motor and chain final drive, which I could hear despite wearing earplugs and listening to music on my Bluetooth headset.
Kinetic E Luna real-world range, battery, performance
In our range test, we managed to cover 61.7km on a single charge, which is significantly lower than the claimed 110km IDC range. Considering that most users of the E Luna will probably heavily load it up, this number will likely drop even further.
We’ve tested the X2 variant with the 2kWh battery, so if you opt for the lower X1 variant with the 1.7kWh battery, expect a realistic range figure closer to 50km. A full charge takes about 4 hours for the X2 variant.
This is a slow machine by any unit of measure, but to its credit, performance never really tapered off until right before the battery died, which is quite commendable. Another impressive thing was how the E Luna climbed just about every steep slope I pointed it at even with a pillion. Some of these slopes were so steep that even the much more expensive Ola S1 Pro couldn’t climb them in its lowest Eco mode.
Kinetic E Luna comfort, issues we faced
Comfort is not a strong point on the E Luna, particularly in how the rear shocks send impacts to your spine. This was something I noticed when I was riding both with and without a pillion.
Weak drum brakes need a lot of effort.
The accelerator response could also be better tuned and the power delivery is strange as well. Acceleration is very dull until the Luna crosses about 25kph, which makes it tricky to make quick overtakes in the city. The drum brakes also require a very strong tug to bring this 100kg EV to a stop and they never inspire enough confidence even with the relatively low speed-indicated 50kph (GPS verified 46kph) top speed.
Kinetic E Luna price, verdict
To sum up, the Kinetic Green E Luna is a simple and utilitarian two-wheeler, much like its ancestor, but there is one difference. Where the old Luna was much more affordable than a motorcycle, this one isn’t. At Rs 74,990, it not only costs about Rs 10,000 more than the likes of the TVS Radeon and Honda Shine 100, but it is vastly more expensive than its closest rival, the TVS XL 100 which starts at Rs 45,000.
Ultimately then, the E Luna will probably have a stronger chance of finding success in the e-commerce space. As for private buyers, it will appeal to those who wish to have the form factor of a moped along with the low running costs of an EV. And we’re not sure how many such customers are out there.
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