Kinetic Safar Smart

The Kinetic Safar Smart is a three-wheeled electric passenger vehicle designed for last-mile mobility in urban and rural areas of India. 

Featuring an attractive design and available in four colour options, this electric rickshaw can seat 4 passengers (though it can even seat 6 people, if needed). The seating arrangement offers ample legroom and headroom, and a durable roof material for protection from various weather conditions. The battery of the three-wheeler is placed under the passenger seat, away from external conditions like heat and rain for better safety.

Additionally, the Kinetic Safar Smart is offered with a 3-year warranty on the battery, ensuring peace-of-mind ownership. The vehicle itself is covered under a 3-year warranty providing additional assurance of its reliability. Currently, the Kinetic Safar Smart is available for purchase at a starting price of Rs. 1.45 lakh (price indicated is ex-showroom Delhi).

Kinetic Safar Smart: Battery Specs

The Kinetic Safar Smart is powered by a 1.2 kW BLDC motor, which draws its power from a 4 kWh lithium-ion battery that can be fully charged in just 2 hours. The battery offers a range of up to 100 km on a single charge, making it perfect for intra-city travel.

The company also offers an option to choose a 140Ah lead-acid battery pack, which is much cheaper in cost than the lithium-ion battery. However, it is unclear if the range and charging times in the lead acid battery pack version are lower than the lithium-ion battery. 

Regardless, it is recommended to choose lithium-ion batteries since they ideally last 3-4 times longer than lead-acid batteries without losing their effectiveness over time.

Kinetic Safar Smart: Technical Specifications

The Kinetic Safar Smart has a maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 679 kg and can accommodate up to four passengers comfortably. The vehicle has a ground clearance of 220 mm and delivers 10.3-degree gradeability, making it perfect for Indian roads.

The Safar Smart includes three different riding modes (high, medium and low) for better driveability and a special gradient gear, which, when engaged, will help the vehicle climb 7 to 8-degree inclines easily with decent speed.

Apart from these, the vehicle comes with 130mm drum brakes in the front end and 160mm drum brakes at the rear offering good stopping capabilities to the electric three-wheeler. 

Kinetic Safar Smart Features

The Kinetic Safar Smart comes with many features to enhance comfort and driveability. It features anti-skid flooring, a basic but informative instrument cluster, a state of charge (SOC) meter that shows how much charge is left in the battery, a USB charging port to let the driver charge mobile phone, a reserve charge mode switch and provision for speakers, among others.  

Kinetic Safar Smart Comfort

The Kinetic Safar Smart offers a comfortable and spacious cabin that is designed to provide a stress-free riding experience. The vehicle offers well-cushioned seats for the driver and up to 6 passengers and comes with a spacious front and rear row for optimum comfort. 

Kinetic Safar Smart Rivals

While the Safar Smart from Kinetic has taken the market by storm, it does face competition from the likes of other electric three-wheelers in its segment. Some of the key rivals of the Kinetic Safar Smart include the ATUL Elite Plus, E-Ashwa E-Auto, Mahindra E-Alfa mini, Mini Metro E Rickshaw and the Mahindra Treo Yaari, among others. 

Overview

Kinetic, the well-know automotive brand, also ventured into affordable green mobility solutions. The company aims to design and develop well-engineered yet economical models suitable for India's growing e-auto market. It believes the battery-operated vehicles the future of public transportation. They are smart, modern, and importantly sensitive to future requirements. It is not only economical and profitable to operate but also helps the environment with zero carbon emission, zero noise, no vibration, elegant looks & intelligent ergonomics make them ideal solutions for smart cities. The electric 3-wheeler is catering to the last-mile passenger carrier segment both in the urban and rural areas. This segment has become highly popular with the growing demand for green three-wheelers, and Kinetic wants to address this market with high quality locally made products. 

Kinetic Safar Smart comes from the same philosophy of affordable and environmentally friendly last-mile people carriers. This modern e-auto comes with a more durable lithium battery with zero maintenance, full charge just in two hours. Comfortably for passenger and highly strong with steel body structure. It is capable of carrying drivers and four passengers effortlessly with sufficient power and pickup, thus enabling higher earning potential.  

Features

Safar Smart packed with features including long-life ED coated all weatherproof long life tubular chassis. Luxurious car type dashboard, Easily accessible from the driver seat, optional spare wheel & jack, fitted with electric wiper motor, fully functional car type dashboard, provision for mobile charger, roof lamp, and music system. Lockable glove box, body-colored FRP hard rooftop.

Performance

Kinetic Safar Samrat is easy to use, affordable and helps earn a higher profit for the vehicle owner. This e-auto comes with a reasonable range of 80-100 km in a single charge, sufficient for day-long use. It can carry a driver and four-passenger comfortably with enough power and pickup with a maximum speed of 25 km. 

This e-auto comes with lead-acid tubular or Lithium-ion battery options with a system voltage of 48Vis equipped with a BLDC motor with continuous power of 1.9 KW, and rated power of 850W. The controller voltage rating is 48 V, and the maximum current rating is 40 amps.

It comes with an on-board charger with an input capacity of 230V and an output of 48V. The company claims 8-10 hours of charging for lead-acid battery and 2-3 hours for lithium-ion batteries. A two-speed gearbox helps in climbing gradients and 3-speed mode selector-high, medium, and low to optimize range per charge. Comfortable front suspension with hydraulic damper.

It is a 725 gross vehicle weight category vehicle, the kerb weight and the battery pack are 376 kg. The maximum gradeability in forwarding gear is 12% gradient at normal load 

 Verdict 

In the crowded market of e-autos, the Kinetic is trying to offer a more burgeoning product- packed with features, performance elements, and complete passenger carrier. Check this model out before making a going ahead with a decision to purchase one.