Special delivery! Sunra Robo S Utility designed to zap goods across busy city centres

Small electric bike specialists Sunra have revealed a new Robo-S Utility model, designed to zap across city centre low emission zones delivering goods and cutting transport costs for businesses.

• Ridden: Standard Sunra Robo S riding impressions below

Based on the standard £3299 Robo S, the Utility model runs on two swappable lithium-ion batteries and is capable of just over 60 miles between charges from a three-pin plug socket.

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You get a claimed 50mph top speed – allowing you to deliver that pizza and chips to a hungry hungover student even faster.

Away from the top end, you’ll also find more than 200 litres of carrying capacity, with 24 of those available under the seat. You’ll also get an alarm, immobiliser, and fingerprint recognition to help keep it safe from would-be bike thieves when not in use.

Available on a range of finance and lease packages, the Utility also benefits from a tall front screen – keeping the rider protected from the elements – and each battery can be charged in four hours.

“We wanted to bring a cost-effective EV solution to small business and fleet operators alike,” said Logan Black of Sunra UK. “While the Robo-S is already being used for this application in standard form, our goal was to offer a machine off-the-shelf that fits this growing segment.”

For more, visit sunra-uk.com

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Sunra Robo S ridden: Electric arrival delivers convincing offer to commuters

First published 12 July 2021 by Jordan Gibbons

New player to the European two-wheeler scene, Sunra have just released their Robo S 125cc equivalent electric scooter in the UK. If you’re not familiar with the name, it’s because they’re new to the UK, but they’ve been making electric vehicles in China since 1999 – and build around four million machines a year.

The range in the UK includes the Robo (a 50cc equivalent) and Robo S scooters plus the Miku Super and Miku Max, which essentially use the same gubbins inside as the scooters but in a naked bike package.

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Given that most people are going to buy these machines for dashing around town, the practicality and extra power of the Robo S means it’s likely to be their top seller.

The Robo S is powered by a 3kW (4bhp) motor mounted in the rear wheel, which means that there’s zero maintenance other than checks of the tyres, brakes etc.

The motor can propel the Robo S to a top speed of 50mph and has a maximum range of 84 miles. There are three riding modes, which progressively neuter the top speed in return for greater range, as well as a reverse in case you get yourself into a tricky spot. All sounds very good but how is the new Sunra to actually ride? Quite impressive, actually.

Despite a modest amount of power the Robo S gets off the line with a decent lick – more than enough to carve up inattentive car drivers in a congested conurbation. If you’re used to bikes with a decent bit of poke then the S is best left in power mode 3, which is the most powerful albeit with a knock-on effect on the range.

Based on our short test ride anywhere between 40-60 miles is a more reasonable estimate on riding range, depending on how much time is spent at the upper reaches near 50mph. The seat is comfortable and the suspension adequate for all but the most cavernous potholes, while the combined braking system sheds speed with ease.

All very good and then you get to the price – the Robo S is just £3299 and it’s backed by a two-year unlimited-mileage warranty on the bike and a three-year 18,000-mile warranty on the batteries. Leaves you wondering why city slickers buy petrol powered scoots at all.

Sunra Robo S explored:

• Torqueing to me The little motor generates an impressive 18lb.ft – more than double that of the Honda PCX125, one of the UK’s biggest-selling petrol scooters.
• In and out The batteries can either be charged while still in the bike or removed and charged separately.
• Less than a cuppa It takes just four hours to fully charge a Robo S from 0% using a three-pin plug costing around 27p – about the same as boiling a full kettle.
• Room for a lid Without an engine or petrol tank, there’s room for 24 litres of storage under the seat – enough to fit a full-faced lid.
• Guess who As well as a standard ignition, there’s also a fingerprint sensor on the dash for a truly keyless experience.