Bajaj Qute - First-Of-Its-Kind Qute In India

Bajaj finally brings out the first-of-its-kind Qute in India

- Kartik Ware

It’s not a car.’ That was probably the most repeated statement at the Bajaj Qute’s first drive. As if to ram the point home, the word ‘drive’ was entirely absent at the drive, with even the welcoming messages reading, ‘Welcome to Bajaj Qute first ride.’ Yes, it’s not a car, though that’s not what other manufacturers thought when it was revealed at the 2012 Auto Expo as the RE 60. And, since the ancient Central Motor Vehicles Act has been plodding along since shortly after the invention of the wheel, there was no definition of that class of vehicles. So, even if the attentive and/or envious manufacturers’ only concern was defining the category, their efforts threw a Supreme Court-sized spanner in Bajaj’s works. It also turned the Qute into a bit of a quandrycycle.

However, after a six-year-long battle, it’s finally here, and Bajaj may have to forgive people for thinking it’s a car; after all, India doesn’t really have that depth in its automotive spectrum to differentiate between machines for different applications. For example, a Ducati Panigale is still seen as a motorcycle that can threaten a Bajaj Platina, and so hefty taxes are slapped on the former. As far as I’m concerned, if it’s got four wheels and a steering wheel, it’s driven and not ridden. So what’s the Qute like to drive? First things first.