The Ride
The first thing we noticed while boarding the BMW CE 02 was its compactness but with a relatively clean build. It has a premium touch with a high feel-good factor. From the handlebar to the seat cover, the colours, the adjustable levers and their finishing, and the switches, everything on the baby CE exudes a sense of upmarket and elite. The long skateboard-like seat feels slightly narrow but you get used to it once on the go. However, a somewhat better padding on the edges would be helpful. That said, the seat may look like it can house two people, but that won’t be the case with two full-size adults.
Once on the move, the CE 02 feels quick and accelerates swiftly. Since the test unit boasted the Highline package, it features three riding modes – Flow, Surf, and Flash. We toggled through all of them on our short spin with the 02 and experienced only a marginal difference in the acceleration. However, the change in regenerative braking in each mode was more pronounced compared to the thrust when pinning the throttle. I also felt the CE 02 could do a slightly better job in its braking department as its current setup felt soft and lacked sharpness in terms of the bite.
The CE 02 weighs 142kg which is slightly high for such a small two-wheeler. But the weight doesn’t bother in the real world as it feels agile while on the move and the directional changes are rather intuitive. However, since the centre of mass is slightly higher with the battery pack placed above the front footpegs, balancing the CE 02 may not feel natural at first. But if you scoot back on the seat, things get better and with the weight shift, the CE 02’s manoeuvring feels normal and something that you would get easily used. Plus, the 14-inch wheels also add to the stability but we need to ride the CE 02 more for a detailed experience of the same.
BMW CE 02 electric scooter – First Ride Review