Review: Joy E-Bike Mihos Electric Scooter

Electric vehicles are the flavour of the day, and a lot of companies are trying to get a piece of this lucrative pie. And Vadodara-based WardWizard Innovations & Mobility’s EV business, Joy E-Bike, is one among them. The company already has a wide range of electric two-wheelers on sale in the market, and its latest offering is the high-speed electric scooter - the Mihos. Joy E-Bike launched the e-scooter earlier this year at the 2023 Auto Expo, and it is right now the EV maker’s flagship model in India. We recently got to spend a whole day with the Mihos at the Traction Motodrome go-kart track in Vadodara to know more about this new electric scooter.

Design and Styling

Joy E-Bike has gone with a cool retro theme for the Mihos electric scooter. The styling takes inspiration from European scooters of the 60s and 70s and is equipped with elements like a round headlamp, long chrome mirrors, and a wide single-piece seat. At the same time, features like the 12-inch alloy wheels and LED lighting bring in the modern touch.

The Joy E-Bike Mihos gets retro styling, with a round headlamp, long chrome mirrors, and a wide single-piece seat.

All that said, we did notice some large panel gaps in some places, and the finishing on some of the plastic parts was also very crude. Also, the hinge that attaches the seat to the scooter was very flimsy, while the large grab rail at the rear looked out of place. However, the company has told us that the scooters we got to test were pre-production models, and all these quality issues will be ironed out in the final production version.

The 12-inch alloy wheels and LED lighting bring in the modern touch.

While we might have to reserve our judgment regarding the quality of the Mihos until the production model is launched, when it comes to overall construction, we are convinced that it is one of the most durable scooters out there. That’s because all body panels of the Mihos, except for the head unit, are built using a special polymer material called Poly Dicyclopentadiene or PDCPD, which is high-impact resistant.

Also Read: Auto Expo 2023: Joy e-Bike Mihos e-Scooter Launched In India; Priced At Rs 1.49 Lakh 

The Mihos' body panels are built using a special polymer material called Poly Dicyclopentadiene or PDCPD, which is high-impact resistance

This means the Mihos electric scooter is virtually ‘indestructible’. But as they say, the proof is in the pudding, we did put the claim to test, and you can see that in the below video.

Features and Tech

The Mihos gets a 4.3-inch TFT colour display that offers all kinds of information like speed, range, battery health and more.

Joy E-Bike has also equipped the Mihos with a host of smart features and tech. And the most noticeable bit is the 4.3-inch TFT colour display. The system gives you all kinds of information like speed, range, battery health and more. In fact, it’s also Bluetooth enabled and even offers turn-by-turn navigation, along with some connected tech like - riding behaviour, vehicle tracking, geo-fencing, and remote disabling with a theft alarm. 

The display is Bluetooth enabled and even offers turn-by-turn navigation, along with some connected tech 

The under-seat storage compartment also comes with a USB charger and a LED light. Now, the Mihos doesn’t come with the conventional reverse function that we have seen on other electric scooters. What it gets is a reverse assist feature. So, all you need to do is slightly push the scooter back and the motor will start spinning at a low speed to help you reverse. 

Battery And Performance

The Mihos comes with a 1.5 kWh Lithium-Ion battery that powers a rear-wheel-mounted hub motor

The new Mihos high-speed electric scooter comes with a 1.5 kWh Lithium-Ion battery that powers a rear-wheel-mounted hub motor. The motor produces a power output of around 1.5 kW or 2 bhp, which might not sound all that impressive, however, it also develops a massive torque output of 250 Nm. All that torque at the rear wheel makes the scooter quick and very peppy. Now, we only got the test the Mihos in the controlled environment of a go-kart track, so we did not get to explore the actual performance of the electric scooter and we will have to test in real-world conditions before concluding. However, based on the limited time we had with the Mihos, things do look promising.

Joy E-Bike offers three riding modes - Eco, Sports and Hyper, and all three offer different levels of performance. 

The e-scooter comes with three riding modes - Eco, Sports and Hyper, and all three offer different levels of performance. In Eco mode, the consumption of energy happens in a much more efficient manner. The top speed is limited to 35 kmph and is claimed to offer a maximum IDC (Indian driving conditions) range of 130 km. That said, the company says that even in real-world conditions the e-scooter can offer a maximum range of up to 102 km on a single charge.

The top speed of Mihos in Hyper mode goes up to 63 kmph and the scooter really feels engaging. 

In Sports mode, the scooter becomes a bit peppier and more agile and can achieve a top speed of 45 kmph, however, in Hyper mode is where you’d want to mostly ride the scooter. The top speed in this mode goes up to 63 kmph and the scooter really feels engaging. But as you’d expect, the only trade-off here is that the range will come down to about 65 km.

Ride and Handling

The Mihos offers great handling that's sharp and precise.

We also loved the way the Mihos handles. It is sharp and precise and there was seldom a situation where we lost confidence in the scooter's capability on this go-kart track. However, this also means that due to the optimum conditions of a track, we won’t be able to give you our honest opinion about the ride quality of the Mihos. So, you will have to wait for our road-test review for that. That said Joy E-Bike needs to work on the braking as well because the brake pads are noisy, and also when you apply the brakes, the motor fully cuts off the power, which in a real-world scenario could be a lot cumbersome and even pose the danger of the rider losing balance while navigating traffic. 

Price and Verdict

The Mihos is priced at Rs. 1.35 lakh (ex-showroom) and the company has already bagged over 20,000 bookings.

At a pre-subsidy price of Rs. 1.35 lakh (ex-showroom India), Joy e-bike’s Mihos does seem a bit pricy. Especially when you consider the fact that EVs like the Ather 450X and Ola S1 Pro offer much better performance at a similar price point. However, what the Mihos promises to be is an extremely durable, no-nonsense electric scooter that comes with decent features and tech. And that seems to be good enough for a lot of buyers. Because the company has already bagged over 20,000 bookings for the Mihos.

The Mihos did impress us, largely, the company still has to do a lot of finetuning. 

So, while some aspects of the Mihos did impress us, largely, the company still has to do a lot of finetuning. Now, Joy E-Bike has promised us that all those issues will be rectified in the production version that is slated to roll out in April 2023. However, until we get to ride that electric scooter in real-world conditions, we won’t be able to recommend the Mihos over some of its established rivals.