I’d only just gotten off a happy morning astride the lovable Yamaha EC-06. The setting, somewhere on the outskirts of Lonavala, had lent itself wonderfully to riding an electric scooter and, to my delight, there was another one I had ample time to spend with — the Aerox E.

The Yamaha Aerox 155 has, so far, set the standards for what scooters with a performance bent should aspire to be like. It isn’t flawless and while it comes with an undeniable comfort deficit, it feels quintessentially ‘Yamaha’ — that matters. Therefore, I expected no difference, of the Aerox E which, on the face of it, has been designed with a clear brief: live up to the Yamaha legacy, the Aerox nameplate and set the standards for what electrified performance should feel like. Not a daunting task for a manufacturer as proficient as Yamaha, you’d think. Somehow, the Aerox E does no such thing. Not even remotely.

Visually, there’s no sign of this. Yamaha offers it in white only and the teal highlights, including the swingarm-mounted motor, do enough to distinguish it from the ICE version. It paints a neat picture, seeing as the Aerox is an inherently racy-looking scooter and to imagine it going about its expected behaviour albeit in a hushed manner isn’t unappealing at all. Yamaha has upped the switchgear quality in the process and has also added a disc brake at the rear, along with ABS and traction control.

NOT FOR LAUGHS

A set of two 1.5-kWh batteries power the Aerox E and, on paper, the 12.6 bhp it produces sounds exciting. Paper isn’t fun to ride, though, and neither is the Aerox E. No, not in comparison to the Aerox 155. It just isn’t. Period. Just to reinforce context, it wasn’t as if I’d hopped off a powerful motorcycle with no palette cleanser in between; I’d spent a few hours astride the EC-06, an electric scooter made by an EV start-up funded by Yamaha itself. That scooter had me grinning for the most part.

Things went sour much before I got to that bit, however. Now, the Aerox has always looked past comfort in its sporty outlook but the Aerox E is, in a way, worse. When I took off with it from the parking bay, I pulled over almost immediately to check if I’d left the seat open. I hadn’t. There’s a strange contour to the seat that feels a bit like sitting on a helmet (don’t ask how I know) although, to the Aerox E’s credit, my mind was soon taken off that concern and onto other glaring ones. Such as the ergonomics.

With the absurdly shaped seat also being forward-sloped — just as the floorboard is — you’ll find yourself in a needlessly aggressive riding position with your knees practically level with the handlebar. It’s not much different from riding a scooter while standing up. Oh, and the Aerox E, at 139 kg, is 13 kg heavier than the Aerox 155. If you thought the bad news was over, I’ll have to disappoint you.

STRANGER THINGS

My test route had a slightly rough patch of tarmac before opening up to a really smooth curvy section and, on the Aerox E, this felt torturous. The suspension, carried over from the regular Aerox, is simply too firm at the rear and equally soft at the front-end, which results in a ride that’s unacceptably thrashy and crude. Premiumness? Look away, please! To be fair, an Aerox isn’t built for bad roads; it’s for really fun, fast bits of urban tarmac which, I knew, were my reward for enduring this uneven section. Unfortunately, when I got there, that reward was conspicuously absent.

The Aerox E is neither fast nor fun. It shockingly lacks any form of punchy attitude, no matter what level of performance you’re accustomed to. Of the three modes it offers, I stayed in Power for the most part — as you would on a scooter of this class — and was crestfallen at its lack of spiritedness. Sure, there is a boost mode that lasts 10 seconds (can be re-accessed only after a 30 second interval) but, even then, it felt only moderately more exciting. A saving grace is that, unlike on the EC-06, you can switch modes with the throttle engaged which is a blessing if you’re in one of the lower modes (Eco, Standard) and need to execute a quick overtake.

The one redeeming aspect of the Aerox E is its handling. With 14-inch wheels at either end and ample contact patches courtesy the Ceat Zoom Plus Y tyres, the Aerox E feels comfortably agile and poised all at once. Here, it benefits from the Aerox’s inherent dynamism although its compromised ergonomics ruin this flavour to a large extent, too. Braking is, thankfully, predictably sharp and it takes really aggressive inputs to get the Aerox E to lose composure.

TRY ANOTHER DAY

What’s the range on offer? Yamaha claims 117 km (IDC) although my test scooter, under a riding style that was less than favourable, seemed to lose charge quite rapidly. I, for one, don’t mind a trade-off in range for impeccable performance but since that’s sorely lacking on the Aerox E, it’s a struggle to make peace with.

Charging isn’t exactly a breeze either. The Aerox E deploys two removable batteries (13 kg each) under its seat; it takes a touch over 3 hours to charge each battery with the 650W charger it’s supplied with and it offers single-battery functionality, too, with a further drop in performance. Not really tempting, then, especially seeing as the Aerox E is rumoured to sport a price tag that’s in excess of ₹2 lakh. No typo, that.

Is there any reason you should buy an Aerox E, then? No. I thought long and hard (what else was there to do astride it anyway?) to find some ray of hope in the Aerox E and simply couldn’t find any. See, I get that the Aerox E isn’t a born-electric such as the EC-06; it’s a retrofit and that’s no bad thing except that it properly feels like one. Think of it as a college project at best, and not even the winning entry. If you still absolutely must have one, I suggest you wait for the discounts that should follow its launch. Better still, get yourself an Aerox 155 and leave saving the planet to someone else.

@TheMotorGram

Published on April 24, 2026