The Comparison of 'Auto Rickshaws' in India!

[raj_5004]

Three wheelers taxis popularly known as 'autos' or 'rickshaws' have been an integral part of our life since many years.

Being born & bought up in Mumbai, I have seen and sat only in Bajaj RE series autos & nowadays all are CNGs. Its only when I visit Kerela & Pune that I get to see other rickshaws like Mahindra, Piaggio, Atul, etc. I was actually surprised when I sat in a Bajaj RE series rick in Kerela & it turned out to be a diesel. I never knew it existed!

So, I thought of making a technical comparison of the models. Also, I am sure many TAI'ns would have a lot to share about our rickshaws. Lets compare our ricks!

Typically ricks are available in petrol, diesel, CNG & LPG.

In the petrol category, we have:

1) Bajaj RE 2S



2) Bajaj RE 4S



3) Bajaj GDI



4) Piaggio Ape City



Comparison of their technical specs here -

View attachment petrol.xls



In the diesel category we have -

1) Bajaj RE Diesel



2) Bajaj Mega Max



3) Mahindra Alfa Passenger Diesel



4) Piaggio Ape Xtra



5) Piaggio Ape City



6) Atul Shakti Smart



7) Atul Gem Paxx



Comparison of their technical specs here -

View attachment diesel.xls

 

[raj_5004]

Re: Comparison of our 'rickshaws' !

In the CNG category, we have -

1) Bajaj RE 2S CNG



2) Bajaj RE 4S CNG



3) Piaggio Ape Xtra CNG

Pic same as above

4) Piaggio Ape City CNG



5) Atul Shakti Smart Passenger CNG



6) TVS King



Comparison of their technical specs here -

View attachment CNG.xls







In the LPG category we have -

1) Bajaj RE 2S LPG

2) Bajaj RE 4S LPG

3) Piaggio Ape Xtra LPG

4) Piaggio Ape City LPG

(Pics same as above)

Comparison of the technical specs here -

View attachment LPG.xls

 

[raj_5004]

Re: Comparison of our 'rickshaws' !

Now, in 3 wheelers, although not very popular, we do have some 6+1 seater versions as well -

1) Mahindra Champion Diesel



2) Mahindra Champion CNG



3) Atul Shakti



Comparison of the technical specs here -

View attachment 6 seaters.xls




As the market is evolving, we can see the trend slowly shifting towards 4 wheels now -

 

[raj_5004]

Re: Comparison of our 'rickshaws' !

Summary:

1) Prices have not been mentioned as the official websites does not have any information regarding it.

2) Please do point out mistakes, if any.

3) Please do mention if I have left out any product.





My experience with :

1) Bajaj RE 2S Petrol -

Ease of ingress/egress : 4/5
Passenger Space : 3/5
NVH : 2/5
Acceleration (as experienced) : 4/5
Ride quality : 3/5
Luggage space : 2/5
Dashboard : 1/5

2) Bajaj RE 4S CNG -

Ease of ingress/egress : 4/5
Passenger Space : 3/5
NVH : 3/5
Acceleration (as experienced) : 2/5
Ride quality : 3/5
Luggage space : 2/5
Dashboard : 1/5

3) Bajaj Mega Max -

Ease of ingress/egress : 3/5
Passenger Space : 4/5
NVH : 1/5
Acceleration (as experienced) : 2/5
Ride quality : 3/5
Luggage space : 3/5
Dashboard : 2/5

4) Mahindra Alfa Diesel -

Ease of ingress/egress : 4/5
Passenger Space : 4/5
NVH : 3/5
Acceleration (as experienced) : 3/5
Ride quality : 3/5
Luggage space : 3/5
Dashboard : 3/5

5) Piaggio Ape Xtra -

Ease of ingress/egress : 2/5
Passenger Space : 4/5
NVH : 2/5
Acceleration (as experienced) : 2/5
Ride quality : 2/5
Luggage space : 4/5
Dashboard : 2/5

6) TVS King CNG -

Ease of ingress/egress : 4/5
Passenger Space : 3/5
NVH : 4/5
Acceleration (as experienced) : 4/5
Ride quality : 4/5
Luggage space : 2/5
Dashboard : 4/5

Till now, I have liked the TVS King the most.

 

[Vishwas]

Re: Comparison of our 'rickshaws' !

+1 For TVS King, i have travelled it umpteen times and the comfort in the back seat is just awesome and there's Very less NVH levels.Moreover the only thing which should have been present is more of thigh support,felt a bit uncomfortable being 5.8ft.

I'm hearing for the first time that BAJAJ has diesel RE,wonder why it didn't make an entry in our city?

 

[raj_5004]

Re: Comparison of our 'rickshaws' !

^^^ Maybe because the competitors of diesel RE is much larger or cheaper.

 

[P3T3R]

Re: Comparison of our 'rickshaws' !

Nice thread. The Bajaj front engined rickshaw's were based on the old Ape when they had a tie up with Piaggio. India's first Diesel rickshaw was the Greaves Garuda.

 

[Akash]

Re: Comparison of our 'rickshaws' !

Excellent thread buddy, and kudos to your efforts for collecting the information.

 

[rakeshkn]

Re: Comparison of our 'rickshaws' !

As my experience ape has the worst ex-host., its sound like a generator or like no silencer.

 

[sudharshang]

Raj,

You missed autos from TVS and Greaves companies

Down here in Bangalore and other southern cities, TVS autos are gaining popularity. The ride in them is much better than Bajaj.

 

[raj_5004]

^^^ I have mnetioned TVS king my friend.

 

[swiftvxi06]

I think Bajaj will finally give it a call to RE-4S and other auto rickshaws with RE 60 variant which was recently showcased by them.The RE-60 in my opinion is much more safer than these models due to proper doors and ergonomic seating and most importantly 3 wheels getting replaced by 4 for a balanced and safe ride.!!!

 

[EnfieldRyder]

The Mahindra Champion diesel have been popular with the local ferry fellas in Hyd & not the janta in particular, they are the most polluting & most shabby looking ones that ferry passengers in the city

However currently the Piaggio Ape Xtra has gained popularity along with other 4 wheeler mini passenger ones that were launched, the Ape is a bit less pollutant but the guys who drive them are a nuisance in peak traffic

 

[Sam Dinkar]

Though all of these are crude and uncomfortable, I simply loved the cracking engine/exhaust note of the Bajaj RE 2stroke. Peppy performance from a strong, indefatigable 2 stroke engine (prior to the cat-con era).

 

[Vishwas]

Though all of these are crude and uncomfortable, I simply loved the cracking engine/exhaust note of the Bajaj RE 2stroke. Peppy performance from a strong, indefatigable 2 stroke engine (prior to the cat-con era).

What more can you expect from an economical people mover?
It serves people well than the over-crowded city buses and who cares about the comfort of them in short distance travel.