Words Lester Perry
Images Bevan Cowan
RRP $23,499 – KTM Macina Prowler Exonic | $17,499 – KTM Macina Prowler Prestige
Distributor Electric Bikes NZ

Although the familiar orange logo is shared between the moto and bicycle brands, since 1991 they’ve been two completely separate entities after the company was split into four individual companies: motorcycles; engines; bicycles; and radiators, leaving the bicycle company standing on its own two feet under new ownership. Nowadays, the brand has a comprehensive range, from high-end eBikes to Tour de France road racing bikes and even kid’s offerings. Unfortunately, only selected models are available here in NZ.

Having seen KTM eBikes on international websites and under a few E-Enduro World Cup riders over recent years, when the opportunity came up to throw a leg over one I jumped at the chance. Then the opportunity to ride one bike turned into the opportunity to ride two levels of the same platform, a real back-to-back comparison to see the difference between two similar bikes with a $6000 price differential.

We put two bikes to the test, the Macina Prowler Prestige ($17,499RRP) and the Macina Prowler Exonic ($23,499RRP). The bikes share a premium price tag (granted, there’s a chasm between the two values), and both share the same frame, handlebars, stem and tyres, but everything else is distinctly different.

First off, both bikes are stunning to look at. There’s a nod to their moto roots with long travel suspension (170mm rear; 180mm front) chunky tyres, mullet wheel setup (29” front; 27.5” rear), and, of course, their Bosch drive units. Paint schemes are distinct: the Prestige in its platinum bronze matte, and the Exonic in a translucent orange and black. Both bikes look slick, but the Exonic takes the cake in the right light, layers of carbon are visible through the paint and the sunshine really makes it pop!

Frame

Featuring a carbon front end, the lines are clean and lead the eyes back to the aluminium 650b/27.5” specific back end. There are bosses and space for a bottle in the front triangle – great! The frame features headset-routed cables and, being an eBike, there are a few tucked in there.

It’s a nice change to have the cables tucked out of sight instead of the commonly seen bird’s nest of cables some eBikes have. Headset routing of cables is a pretty polarising topic, although with so much going on with the bike in terms of cables, controllers, drive units, battery etc, this is not a cause for concern in my book as there’s lots going on elsewhere on the bikes, too.

The battery can be removed through the hatch along the top side of the downtube. It’s a slick operation, but if there’s a bottle cage mounted it could be fiddly as space will be limited to manoeuvre the hatch lid off.

Drive Units

Bosch has cemented itself as one of the top-performing drive units for the eMTB segment, and both our test bikes feature top-level units from the German powerhouse. The Prestige features the tried-and-true Performance CX Gen 4 motor, delivering 85nM of torque through its assistance levels; Eco, Tour+, eMTB and Turbo modes. Maximum assistance is 340% in Turbo mode.

Exonic-level bikes get the CX’s newer, more brutish sibling – the Performance CX Race – it’s about 150 grams lighter than its little brother and can deliver its power faster for less effort, getting you up to speed just a fraction quicker. It can crank out 600 Watts peak power – the same as CX but with up to 400% maximum assistance – in its Race mode. The Race motor shares the same lower three assistance modes as the CX, but trades Turbo for the full gas Race mode. The CX-level motor is great for a bike like this, but the Race motor is both figuratively and literally next level. I found I had to be on my toes when riding in Race mode; if I wasn’t taking notice or weighting the bike quite right, particularly while tackling a steep pinch, the power could easily spit me off the bike. The Bosch Flow app allows some customisation for how the power is delivered across assistance levels, and given some more time I might have tweaked the setup to not be quite so peppy.

It’s great to see the drive units specced with 160mm length cranks, anything longer on an eMtb is too long in my book! Prestige bikes get solid-looking alloy KTM E-TRAIL cranks, and Exonic bikes step up a notch to a swanky FSA CK-702/IS Carbon crankset – very nice indeed. Out on the trail, there’s no discernible difference, but I’d imagine the carbon cranks of the Exonic would be marginally lighter.

An often-overlooked feature both motors share is the Extended Boost. When in eMTB or Race mode (where applicable), the motor continues to run on slightly after coming off the pedal power, continuing to deliver drive for a split second longer. This helps keep a consistent delivery of power, regardless of how bad your pedal stroke is, or having to stop pedalling to get through a technical section – think, a quick pause or half pedal kick while climbing a technical section to avoid clipping a pedal. The CX motor has the same feature, but the Race motor takes it up a notch giving a bit more of a kick. A subtle feature that I really dig.

Both systems share a 750w/h battery, offering riders great range. Of course, this also comes with a bit of a weight penalty over smaller batteries, but is well worth it in my book.

Suspension

The Prestige features a 180mm FOX 38 Float 29” Performance eBike edition fork – simple and effective; while the Exonic runs a 180mm FOX 38 Factory Float FIT4 Kashima eBike edition. The Exonic gets the premium gold Kashima coating on its Factory stanchions, as well as dials for a 3-level compression adjustment: Open mode compression adjustment and obligatory Rebound Damping dial.

Although the Prestige’s Performance Elite fork simply has a compression lever with three positions, and a rebound dial, it’s still a top performer and is honestly so simple you can just jump on it and go – sometimes the extra adjustability of a fork like the Factory Fit4 can take a bit more effort to set up properly. Both forks are fitted with the sweet Fox-specific bolt on the mud-guard. Between the two bikes, I really like the simplicity of the Performance Elite fork – just dial in the air pressure, hop on and ride! Out the back, we find the FOX DHX2 Factory 2Position coil-sprung damper on the Exonic, and a FOX DHX2 Performance Elite 2-Position on the Prestige. Both shocks are a great option for a bike like this.Providing an exceptionally plush 170mm of rear wheel travel, the Factory level shock has just a little more of a buttery feel thanks to its Kashima coating. With high- and low-speed adjustments on compression, and rebound on both shocks, there’s plenty to twiddle with. Both shocks also have a lever to firm up the compression which, once flicked, calms the shock down while climbing. It’s not a lockout as such, but does heavily damp the compression of the shocks. I’m not entirely sure the nuances of the tuning will be that noticeable when you take into account the large tyres and the weight of the bike; some adjustment is good, but more doesn’t mean ‘better’ in all cases. Although, if you’re keen on a bit of tuning – and happy to spend the time – the results should be stellar.

The back end of both bikes perform equally well, with a good amount of support on offer and, even on the heaviest of flat landings, there’s no feeling of a harsh bottom out. Being coil-sprung, the back end is far more supple than a more commonly found air shock and thus tracks super well, keeping the wheel glued to the ground and holding its line across rough terrain. Between the two shocks, the difference when out riding is negligible and, if blindfolded, I doubt anyone could feel the difference between the two models. Depending on rider weight and preferred rear suspension feel, it’s likely a different spring may need to be fitted to achieve optimal performance – not quite as easy as just whipping out a shock pump.

Drivetrain

KTM knocked it out of the park when selecting drivetrains for these bikes. The Exonic gets a top shelf SRAM AXS XX T-type derailleur, chain and cassette. On the Prestige, we get the SRAM GX AXS T-type derailleur, chain and cassette. Both these drivetrains are ideal for an eBike; with their pin-point precision and ability to shift under power, nothing comes close to how positive they feel out on the trail and I’ve been happily snapping through gears whenever I felt the need. Handily, both bike’s derailleurs are powered by the bike’s battery, rather than the normal AXS batteries. The downside is, if the bike isn’t turned on the gears won’t shift, so should something go drastically wrong, you’ll be single-speeding home. The gear range is ample; there’s no need for any lower gears, and there are more high ratios than anyone would ever need, particularly as pedalling any faster than the 32km assistance limit is a total chore and this limit is met with two to three gears remaining, depending on your cadence.

Dropper Posts

A 150mm dropper post on a Large bike? You read that correctly. Both bikes have a 150mm dropper fitted. The Exonic gets the slick RockShox Reverb AXS, and the Prestige – a FOX Transfer Performance level post. Both are great units, the Reverb AXS gets my vote between the two, with its AXS button actuator mirroring the AXS XX shifter pod. A click of a button makes it all very easy to use. A tall rider will likely want to put a longer drop post on the bikes, but for shorter-legged riders like myself, options will be limited by the frame’s 450mm seat tube length. I found this a bit of a pain, as I’d really like a 170mm drop at least and may struggle to find one to nail my optimal saddle height without interference from the frame’s seat tube.

Wheels

Wheels on eMTB are generally not something to sing about but, in this case, we see a couple of solid and distinctly different options. The Prestige has a pair of KTM E-Team Trail rims (made by DT-Swiss – and they appear to be the same as one of their downhill models) on DT 350 Hybrid hubs. The Exonic gets a pair of very swanky, carbon DT Swiss HXC 1501 SPLINE rims on DT 240 Hybrid hubs. Both wheelsets are very stout and, as you’d expect, the Aluminium rim of the Prestige gives a bit more forgiveness. But, with its faster-engaging rear hub, stiffness, weight, and overall swag-factor, the Exonic’s carbon wheelset gets my tick. The only question mark is, being carbon, does the longevity of the rims come into question – particularly if you love bashing rocks? Fortunately, DT Swiss has a good warranty policy!

Brakes

The combined weight of an eMTB and its pilot travelling at speed is a lot to slow down. KTM have specced great brakes on both bikes, but a bit of an oversight sees them both let down in the braking department. Prestige has the tried-and-true Shimano Saint 4-piston downhill brakes; they bed in quickly and offer consistent power and performance. The Exonic level gets a set of Magura MT7 HC3 4-piston brakes; they have great adjustment and, once set up, they feel nice, solid and consistent; the levers feel comfortable and ergonomic once the multiple adjustments are dialled in. Both bikes get a 203mm rotor up front which is great and offers enough bite and overall power for any scenario. Unfortunately, both bikes have just a 180mm rear rotor, simply not enough to effectively slow the momentum of bike and rider. During long steep descents the rotor overheated and the brake just lost power.

Geometry and Handling

The head angle sits at 64.1 degrees, pretty normal for a bike with 150mm of travel. The upside of this is it keeps the bike nimble in most scenarios, even on mellow or flat trails. The bikes climb well, their shorter reach and comparatively long stem (50mm) help keep weight on the front and keep the wheel on the ground.

Thanks to a high anti-squat, the bike sits up in its travel while climbing steep sections. In scenarios like this, when there’s high torque through the drivetrain, a lower anti-squat would see the suspension being sucked into its travel – not something to worry about on these bikes though. Once accustomed to the weight, jumping the bikes was fun and you’re able to use a bit of body language to float sizable jumps and make sure of smooth landings. Nothing strange stood out while hitting take-offs, but it does take a little to adapt to the weight.

Overall, the bikes excel on flatter terrain; shining on slower, technical trails more than wide open, fast and chunky steeps. I found the bike easy to corner and quick to change direction, thanks to its short wheelbase and mullet wheels; but on steep, rugged trails, I couldn’t get confident – likely a combination of the underpowered rear brake, short reach and longer stem than I’m used to.

Overall Thoughts

“A mixed bag” is how I’d sum up the Macina Prowler Prestige and Macina Prowler Exonic bikes. Outside of a couple of minor things, the component package on both bikes is solid. It does feel a little like KTM has taken the geometry of a shorter travel eBike, aimed at trail riding, and stretched the travel out to that of a heavy-hitting all-mountain bike. A bike with 170/180mm of travel would normally have longer, slacker and lower geometry than we see here. The downside is that a bike with that geometry wouldn’t be as good as the Prowlers are on mellower trails, or for ‘touring’ style riding where there’s as much climbing and flat as descending. So, where does that leave us? These bikes are perfect on what I’d call the ’middle ground’ of trails: not the flat, smooth trails of one end of the bell curve, or the steep, rough technical trails at the other end of the scale, but right in the middle; the riding a majority of us spend most of our time doing, pure trail riding. Rolling trails, some technical, some rough – but not extreme.

If money was no object and I wanted a top specced, high end eMTB with the best drive nit money can buy, then I’d jump on the Exonic. If my budget couldn’t quite stretch that far then the Prestige bike is an exceptional alternative.