High Praise?

Okin wa’s Prais gets a new range topping v riant but will it be able to break the stigma surrou ding electric vehicles, y br ing them to the masses!

- Dipayan Dutta

Electric scooters are the foot-soldiers’ of this green revolution, the image that they portray today will shape the perception that will surround electric vehicles for the foreseeable future. This is quite unfortunate considering that most brands that sell electric scooters are still sapling companies with no past capital reserves, and a desperation to turn a profit. Okinawa Scooters’ is one of them, and to that end, I’ve spent a week on their Praise Pro to find out what they are all about. Prima Facie, the Okinawa seems to have the visual presence on point, the sharp beak with a large LED headlamp with DRLs upfront leading into a svelte body with LED tail-lamps at the back. Adding to presence are alloy wheels with disc brakes all round. There’s also a remote key that allows for remote unlock and some semblance of an anti-theft alarm. Feel and touch factor is where I’d say the Praise Pro starts to lose its sheen. The plastics’, the buttons and even the boot lid latch just don’t feel sturdy or well built. Ergonomics is where the Praise Pro losing out the most in my books. Foremost on this is the floorboard, which is unusually high