Paranoid Android

What does the most expensive electric scooter on sale in India have to offer? Is it all price, no pants, or is it a truly unique experience? We hit the streets in a bid to find the BMW CE 04's place in it

- Abhinav Jakhar

Can an object really be defined by the price one puts on it? In our field, it’s often detrimental to judge a vehicle purely by the price tag it carries, and it’s better to just look at all that it has to offer and then factor in the cost. However, there are some cars, motorcycles, and in this case, scooters, that are defined by their asking price, and the BMW CE 04 is one such machine. One big reason for the hefty fee is the fact that it is an imported model or CBU. When I first arrived at the BMW office to pick up the CE 04, there it was in all its glory, standing apart from all the other models present in the basement parking. It made an impression right away because of its unique design language. But also because it looked nothing like I've ever seen before on Indian roads. That’s always one thing that gets me going, to test a four or two-wheeler that is a unique proposition. Since its most obvious, in-your-face feature is its design, it feels like a good place to start.

On the whole, this is a thoroughly futuristic-looking scooter. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a maxi-scooter, but it certainly seems like it falls in that category. The CE 04 boasts an over-the-top yet sophisticated design language, thanks to those angular cuts to the panels on each side of the front apron, and just under that rather narrow but long seat. There’s a tiny flyscreen up front, which in all honesty, doesn’t seem to have any practical use, but does make it look cooler. BMW has fitted it with LED lighting all around, and the headlamp unit comes on automatically, which again feels really cool at night.