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Now, the CE 02 is neither a bike nor a scooter. BMW is pitching this bike as an ‘eParkourer,’ which is a term somebody made up to make ‘urban mobility’ sound less lame. You be the judge of how that turned out. A lot of the marketing material shows pictures of the machine in skate parks, with hip young people in modern streetwear draped over it. Nonetheless, love it or hate it, there’s something about the CE 02 that does get your attention.

Obviously, let’s begin with the way it looks — and top marks to BMW for making something extremely unconventional and so radical-looking. Oriented towards urban mobility, the CE 02 is a small but futuristic EV. Every time I stopped at a traffic signal or parked up, it gathered people around itself, and made me feel like a celebrity. People asked if it was custom-built or if I’d imported it, and they were always shocked to hear that it had rolled off the production line as it looked and that it was built right here in India.

Also, as small as the CE 02 looks, it packs in a whole bunch of features. For starters, this EV gets LED illumination, a USB Type-C charging port, two ride modes (‘Flow’ and ‘Surf’), single-channel ABS, stability control, a reverse mode, keyless operation, an anti-theft alarm, and a 3.5-inch micro TFT. The test bike also had the optional ‘Highline’ package, which added a fast charger, additional switchgear, a smartphone holder, an extra riding mode (‘Flash’), a tri-coloured seat, heated grips, a gold-finished fork, and some graphics.

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Interestingly, the CE 02 is no slouch; it is powered by a pair of 1.96 kWh lithium-ion batteries sending power to an 11 kW motor producing 15 bhp and 5.60 kgm. While BMW claims that the EV can be ridden for up to 108 km on a single charge, during testing I noticed that the real-world range was around 80-85 km, that too in the standard Flow mode. As for charging, using the hefty 1.5 kW unit, the CE 02 charged up in just 3 hours and 30 minutes, although you must keep in mind that lugging that charger unit along is quite a task since the EV doesn’t offer any storage.

Although 15 bhp might not sound like a lot, this thing is definitely not slow. Flow mode has a more muted throttle response and moderate regenerative braking; Surf gives you gutsier acceleration and allows for off-throttle coasting; and the optional Flash mode has the most intense acceleration and regenerative braking.

Naturally, Flash quickly became my favourite — in this mode, you can really start to feel ‘one with the machine’. At spirited town speeds, Flash mode almost feels like you’re linearly controlling the bike’s speed as you move your right wrist. As for the brakes, there were times when I wished for a better bite since 0umbai traffic made me gasp a couple of times and squeeze the brakes harder than I anticipated. Also, overall, the change in regenerative braking in each mode was the bigger difference compared to the thrust when pinning the throttle.

While the CE 02’s spec sheet says that it weighs 142 kg, I never really felt any of it. It feels agile on the move, and the directional changes are rather intuitive. However, I struggled to find the perfect riding position because the placement of the handlebar, footpegs, and that bench seat makes you sit a bit awkwardly on it. Additionally, speaking about that seat, while it does look extremely funky, spend enough time on it and your backside is bound to get extremely sore because there isn’t any proper padding.

As I laid on the bed to soothe my aching body after riding the CE 02 , got time to reflect more on it, and eventually it just switched on like a lightbulb. BMW’s new electric scooter/motorbike hybrid isn’t really about ‘bang for your buck,’ becoming a collector’s item, or elite performance. And for its price tag of Rs. 4.5 lakh, there are plenty of other options down the path of sensibility. But do you want something that will definitely help you stand out and take on the urban jungle? In that case, this neat piece of industrial design gives you one of the most fun experiences you can have on an electric set of wheels.