The Eko Cosmic I or II or whatever else they may call it (and, frankly, the dealer didn’t know the difference himself!), is cute enough to look at. Closer inspection reveals tackiness in the overall fit and finish and the vehicles proffered for test-drives were the same ones for which some unsuspecting buyer will pay the full price! Uh...well, this is India, what, and we are like this only. Ok, I checked this nifty looking two wheeler purely out of curiosity and realized it looks pretty close to the Bajaj Spirit and the TVS Scooty or rather a cross between the two. Wonder which of them will sue first, if this baby starts selling in bigger numbers than the 2000 units they claim to have sold in the past 6 months. However, the overall impression was that this is one shady outfit. The vehicle didn’t do much to boost my confidence, either. With figures like 50km (the dealer later hedged his bets on anywhere between 40 and 45km) on a single charge of 5 hours that consumes only 1 unit of power and a top speed of 45 kmph with two regular size adults, the per km cost works out to an attractive 10 paise or even less. The battery is supposed to last 3 years but they play safe with the warranty - that will last only 6 months. Now for the test-ride itself: The 2km stretch close to the showroom wasn’t the velodrome where I’d have preferred to check it out, but it showed up the flaws pretty well. The brakes are terrible, the centre of gravity is dicey which leaves the rider feeling a bit wobbly (guess the skinny tyres contribute a bit to that, too) and the accelaration is just about enough to help you overtake the fastest cow on the road. But, to be fair, this thing was built for economy, not performance. That said, the distinctively Chinese feel to it (kinda like the cheapo toys they make) makes one wonder about the dealer’s claim that it’s manufactured in - hold your collective breath - the US of A! So, fine, could we check out their assembly plant? Nah, the guard goes up and one finds out that the security there would make the Pentagon look like a public park in comparison. So, what’s the great stuff they do at this assembly facility in the heart of Bangalore that one can’t penetrate? Oh, they just screw on the front wheel and the handle-bar! Wow, now there must be some rocket science that goes into the steering of this thingy. Or is it some drive-by-night technology that will make navigating Bangalore’s potholes less suicidal? My guess is this is some fly-by-night operation that may not last long. Although these guys seem to have done some PR and got some column centimeters in the local press, the picture remains a bit foggy. The price too at 31k is a bit on the higher side. Oh, and if the electric motor burns out (you are verbally assured it won’t), it costs a mere 2000 to replace. Then why does the whole thing cost so much? Well, no easy answers there. In fact, no answers there.