Ather 450

A lot has changed in the auto scenario over the past few years. It is expected that the coming years will be crucial for vehicles of personal mobility and the two-wheeler segment will grow. The Ather 450 is tested by experts in many places of India and is suitable for short distances and for meeting personal needs and family errands. The Ather 450 is an electric scooter from the Bengaluru-based two-wheeler brand, Ather Energy. The e-scooter is packed with modern features and it gets a subtle yet stylish design that should appeal to the Millennials.

How is the design of Athur 450?

The Ather 450 packs a dual-tone finish that comprises white base paint along with black panels on the front apron. There are two recent colour options for the electric scooter and they are matte grey and mint green. Ather 450 production has now been discontinued. The highlight of this electric scooter is its sharpness in styling. There are bold LED lamps including headlamp, taillamp and indicators. There are LED pilot lamps too. One would appreciate the agile look of the scooter. There is a design that makes side elements taper back towards the rear making it appear sleek and sporty. There is 22-litre under-seat storage and it’s one of the key features of this scooter. There is a concealed hook at the front that is a novelty. The styling is further enhanced by highlights on the side panel, rim stripes, and the exposed frame under the seat – all finished in a shade of green.

The Bluetooth-enabled touchscreen display, on-board navigation, digital document storage, 24X7 connectivity with an in-built SIM, reverse mode, telescopic front forks, rear mono-shock, disc brakes on both wheels, and a combined braking system.

How does the Athur 450 ride?

The scooter is all-electric and has sporty look. The Ather 450 is not compromising on anything like traditional electric scooters. It uses a larger lithium-ion battery with a range of 55-75 km on being fully charged after 5.25 hrs, powering a rated powerful 3300 W motor power. The Ather 450 has a low centre of gravity and a zero lateral offset that is aimed to provide greater agility for the city riding conditions.

The Ather 450 features a hybrid chassis, made of aluminium and steel. The battery pack is neatly stacked under the flat floorboard. Because the battery pack and electric motor are stacked ‘symmetrically,’ there’s virtually no lateral offset, like in a conventional scooter. As a result, the weight distribution is nearly 50:50. This also frees up enough space in the under-seat compartment for a full-size helmet.

How comfortable is Athur 450?

The Ather 450 features a 2.71kWh (2.4kWh usable) battery pack, coupled with a 5.4kW brushless DC motor. In brake horsepower, this is equivalent to 7.2bhp. Torque is 20.5Nm, which is higher than most 150 – 200cc bikes.

With a pair of front telescopic forks and a rear monoshock and 12-inch alloy wheels fitted with MRF FG tyres, the scooter is pretty sporty and quite agile in traffic. The front-end is light, the handlebar is placed high, and it steers confidently even around corners.

The ride is relatively smooth. Also, with a pillion on-board, the ride quality changes dramatically – it settles down and becomes more compliant.

How’s the tech?

The electric scooter is powered by a BLDC motor that makes 20.5Nm of torque and a peak power output of 5.4kW (7.24bhp). The 0-40kmph acceleration takes 3.9 seconds while the top speed is rated at 80kmph. The electric motor is fed by a 2.4kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The range depends on the selected mode. The Eco mode can deliver up to 75km/charge, while Ride and Sport are claimed to return 65km/charge and 55km/charge, respectively.

Charging solutions include Ather Grid, a comprehensive infrastructure installed by the two-wheeler brand. Ather Energy also offers Ather Dot home charger. The battery pack can be recharged up to 80 per cent at the rate of one km/minute through the fast charger. The home charger, on the other hand, can fully recharge the battery in five hours and 15 minutes. The electric scooter also comes with a portable charger that can be used to recharge the battery pack through a 5A socket.

How’s the mileage of Ather 450X?

Ather 450 runs on a lithium-ion battery that can be removed and recharged. It runs for 75 km in one charge.

It’s much more affordable to run in the long run. The running cost of the Ather 450 is 0.30/km, as compared to that of a petrol scooter, which is at 1.8/km.

So, if your average run is 30 kilometres daily, you’ll end up saving nearly Rs. 45 every day. If you ride for 25 days a month, that’ll translate to around Rs. 1,100 in fuel savings. Over a year, you save Rs. 13,000.

In addition to this, there are no maintenance costs. Ather is offering a free first-year subscription, which means that you don’t have to pay for your electricity bills or data plan for connectivity features either! If you work that out, within two years, you’ll recover the extra money spent at the time of the purchase. Plus, don’t forget that it’s a more advanced scooter.

How’s is the battery life of Ather 450 X?

The battery lasts for five years.

The battery pack for Ather 450 will probably need replacement after 50,000 kilometres. And if you go by the above-mentioned calculations, the battery pack will last you 5 - 6 years.

How is the performance of Ather 450 X?

The performance of this scooter is much better than before. Compared to the 450, the new X now uses a larger lithium-ion battery pack producing 2.9 kWh, while the electric motor now develops 6 kW (up from 5.4 kW), equivalent of 8 bhp and 26 Nm of peak torque.

How is the performance of Ather 450?

Unlike other electric scooters, in which the motor is directly connected to the wheel, the Ather 450 uses a unique two-step arrangement. The motor is mounted in the frame, and it’s connected to the wheel via a belt drive. This increases the motor’s efficiency, as the system reduces transmission losses and improves heat management. At the same time, the acceleration isn’t low either, which means that the 450 picks up speed like a conventional scooter. It takes 3.9 seconds to reach 40km/h from a standstill, which is very similar to a conventional 125cc scooter. 0 – 60km/h takes 8.3 seconds, which is slightly slower though. However, in roll-on acceleration from 20 – 60km/h, the Ather’s performance is phenomenal - over half a second quicker, at 4.04 seconds.

There are two riding modes – Ride and Sport. and there’s a remarkable difference between the two. In Ride mode, the Ather 450 is programmed to deliver the best performance and range. Its speed is just slightly short of 70km/h, well in the range of 65 kilometres.

However, in Sport mode, the motor unleashes its full power, as a result, the top speed achieved is 80km/h.

Is the Ather 450 X a good value?

The Ather 450, even though not cheap to buy, is surely much affordable in the long run. At a running cost of around 30 Paise /km, as compared to the contemporary petrol scooters.

To add to that there is no immediate maintenance cost except for the electricity charges for charging the battery. In the long run, the e-scooter pays for the purchase price by saving on the price of petrol which can be recovered within two years.

Using the home charger that comes with the scooter, you can charge it from 0 to 100% in about 4 hours, although charging the battery to 80% will take just 2 hours 40 minutes. Ather has also set up fast-charging points at public places, called the Ather Grid – where you can charge the scooter at the rate of 1km/min. In Bangalore, Ather has over 30 such points, and according to the company you’re never more than 2 kilometres away from one.

Looking at the above advantages from the sales and ride experience to connectivity features, everything about it is unique.