The new E-Luna carries a big responsibility on its shoulders. The OG Luna first came out in 1972, a time when personal motorised transport was a luxury for the common man. The Luna fulfilled many dreams of owning a motorised two-wheeler. It was groundbreaking in its own unique way – a moped with a puny engine and a 2-litre fuel tank but sturdy enough to carry your house around if you wanted to! You could even pedal it to the fuel pump if you ran out of petrol. Kinetic Green is looking to repeat the same magic with the new E-Luna. But before we talk about the E-Luna, let’s discuss why, despite its humble origins, the Luna is considered an icon in the Indian automotive industry.
Back in the 70’s, the Luna provided an affordable mobility solution to a common middle-class person who had to restrict themselves to a bicycle as they couldn’t afford a motorcycle to move around. The Kinetic Luna was a 50cc moped that was sort of a bicycle with a motor to reduce the effort required to ride. The perfect middle ground, one that was almost as efficient as a bicycle to ride but comfortable and faster! More importantly, you could carry a lot of cargo around on the Luna making it the perfect tool for vendors and small businessmen to ferry their wares across town. The new E-Luna operates on the same ethos – to offer an affordable form of transport solution for small businesses. Is it as good as the OG Luna when it comes to fitness of purpose? Let’s find out.
The E-Luna’s styling is a major throwback to the OG Luna. It starts with a circular headlamp housed in a rectangular box to mimic the iconic square headlamp look, 16-inch spoke wheels, telescopic suspension at the front, twin shock absorbers at the rear and flat seats for the rider and pillion. It does miss on pedals like the OG Luna but engineering-wise, pedal placement would be an issue given that the motor sits under the floorboards, where the pedals could have been ideally placed. Also, would you really want to pedal a 96-kilo moped? The industrial design has its own charm and a smart touch is the painted frame that stands out from the rest of the blacked-out bodywork. Unlike the OG Luna, the E-Luna feels quite sturdy with its metal crash guards and steel chassis.
Keeping with the industrial design, the features are just about adequate. It misses out on an LED headlamp, tail lamp and LED DRLs instead getting halogen and bulb-type units. However, you get a full digital display that showcases the range besides the usual odometer and speedometer readings. Interestingly the E-Luna gets three riding modes, a side stand sensor and a combi-braking system.
Its real USP though is its practicality. The E-Luna offers ample storage by the way of a flat floorboard, with a hook on the front apron to keep stuff in place besides a small underseat storage bin that comes with a USB charging port. In case you need more cargo space, the rear seat can be easily taken off leaving a flat metal storage plate in its place. The E-Luna boasts a combined payload capacity of 150kgs making it ideal for shopkeepers and delivery personnel to carry goods around.
The E-Luna gets a 1.2kW BLDC mid-mounted electric motor with a chain-driven system. The instant torque delivery helps in initial acceleration even with two occupants on board. This is particularly helpful if you are carrying heavy loads on the moped. The top speed is limited to 35kmph in riding mode 1 but goes up to 50kmph in the other two riding modes. You can feel the power cut off as you reach the top speed, hinting that the motor is capable of delivering more performance but has been restricted in interest of range. That being said, the performance feels adequate for most use case scenarios and it is only on sharp inclines that you’d wish for more grunt.
The E-Luna gets two battery pack options — 1.7kWh (X1) and 2kWh (X2). The X1 and X2 variants offer a claimed range of 90km and 110km respectively, on a single charge. We tested the X1 variant whose display showed a range of 85km on full charge. It dropped to about 55km after riding the scooter for around 25km. This includes around nine kilometres with two occupants in city traffic and the rest on the highway at full throttle. That’s impressive! Equally impressive is the Distance-To-Empty gauge which was quite accurate in our experience. The battery pack too seemed to radiate less heat and we suffered no performance lag or throttling issues which are signs of a reliabile powertrain.
The X1 variant takes about three hours to fully charge (four hours for the X2 variant) via a portable 10amp charger. Additionally, you can even take out the battery and charge it at home but that would require you to purchase a different socket which, we feel, is a useful investment if you buy the E-Luna.
The suspension setup on the E-Luna is on the firmer side to help carry heavier loads. That said, the ride never feels jarring and the 16-inch wheels help soak up most road imperfections and speed breakers. Braking duties are handled by drum brakes at both ends with combi-braking and given the limited top speed, is adequate for daily use scenarios.
The Kinetic E-Luna costs 69,990 for the X1 going up to 74,990 for the X2 variant (both prices ex-showroom). The E-Luna is one of the most affordable electric scooters on sale. Its industrial design, focus on practicality and ample range makes the E-Luna a fantastic last mile delivery solution. To sum it up, Kinetic Green has packed in all the positives and nostalgia of the OG Luna with a touch of modernity in the E-Luna.
