2025 Ather 450X: First Ride Review

The Visuals

As I said, it looks the same since the beginning – sharp and athletic. The compact yet angular body panels speak of its sporty intentions and give away its playful character. While it still looks futuristic, we think Ather should’ve given it a minor nip and tuck to keep the visual freshness alive. Having said that, we’re glad Ather introduced two new colours with interesting names – Hyper Sand and Stealth Blue.

As always, it continues to boast impressive build quality and fit and finish. The quality of plastic is good, the paint finish is neat, and it’s deprived of uneven panel gaps. While the quality of switches and the panels around the console could be better, it’s not disappointing by any means.

The Package

To make the 450X safer while lending it some bragging rights, Ather has given it three traction control modes – Rain, Road, and Off-road. These modes deliver different levels of TC intervention while it can also be turned off completely. Ather’s regenerative braking system called Magic Twist has also trickled down to the 450X from the Apex. This is not only powerful enough to take care of some of your braking duties in traffic, it also improves the overall energy efficiency by 15 per cent, says Ather.

The most fascinating change has come in the form of a 24 per cent increment in the true battery range courtesy of the new MRF Zapper N e-tred tyres. Co-developed with MRF, these tyres deliver lower rolling resistance than before which has caused the range to go up from 85kms to 105kms (2.9kWh battery variant) and 105kms to 130kms (3.7kWh battery variant). Now, whether this has resulted in the tyre grip and feel taking a hit is something we’ll talk about in a bit.

On the software front, the new 450X also comes with new Atherstack 6.0 software (only available with Pro Pack) for the touchscreen display. The new features introduced with the updated software include a refreshed smartphone application, live scooter charging status notifications, WhatsApp on dashboard, auto-reply for calls, Alexa integration, live location sharing, and a scooter locating function.

What’s not changed on the 450X is the electric motor which makes a peak power of 6.4kW and a peak torque of 26Nm. The top speed still stands at 90kmph. It rides on 12-inch alloy wheels with telescopic forks and a monoshock while braking hardware comprises a disc at both ends accompanied by a combined braking system.

Without Pro Pack, you get a TFT touchscreen with all the crucial information but no connectivity features. Pro Pack also enables other features like Warp mode, Authold, call and music control, Google-powered navigation, document storage and more. Moreover, the standard 3-year battery warranty gets upgraded to 5 years with the ProPack.

The Ride

With no major changes to the overall hardware package, the 450X continues to ride the same as before. That’s good news considering it’s one of the few electric scooters you can truly have some fun on at a go-kart track.

It’s quick to change directions and leaning into corners doesn’t feel unnatural. Even if you go aggressive with your inputs, the scooter feels sure-footed and stable. Our doubt about the grip and feel from the new tyres was cleared within a couple of laps as there was no dearth of either. The tyres didn’t take too long to warm up and leaning the scooter into corners was confidence-inspiring with the tyres holding up nicely. Now, whether these tyres really deliver a longer range than before is something we can tell you only after doing a proper range test.

On the dirt track, the difference between traction control modes wasn’t really noticeable. It was only when I switched from Rain to TC completely off and vice versa that I felt some intrusion from the former. Having said that, these modes will undoubtedly be useful in the real world while riding on slippery surfaces.

As for the Magic Twist, while it initially felt too strong in the most intrusive way, it is easy to get comfortable with over time. When I got used to the sudden deceleration on rolling off the throttle, I started relying on it more than the brakes, which worked for me because I was taking it easy on the track. But the real benefit of the Magic Twist can only be reaped on public roads, especially in traffic. Besides, the scooter boasts an impressive setup with a strong yet predictable bite from the front disc and a decent stopping power from the rear.

I rode the scooter in Sport mode for the most part and the acceleration and throttle response felt apt for the track. While the scooter is undoubtedly quicker in Warp mode, the sudden pull made it difficult for me to maintain a constant pace while going around corners.

What’s admirable about the Ather is that the power isn't cut off abruptly when you start applying brakes, which is usually an issue with EVs that have poorly tuned accelerator and brakes. The overall action of slowing down by decelerating and applying brakes feels seamless, pretty much like an ICE vehicle.

Verdict

The Ather 450X continues to be a fun, involving, and effortless scooter to ride. It delivers brisk acceleration, shows good agility and composure around corners, braking power is adequate, there’s a host of tech, and it doesn’t demand a lot of learning for someone switching to it from an ICE vehicle. Even the fit and finish is amongst the best in the segment.

However, it has become quite expensive over time. For 2025, Ather has priced the 2.9kWh variant (with Pro Pack) at Rs. 1.64 lakh and the 3.7kWh trim (with Pro Pack) at Rs. 1.77 lakh, ex-showroom. That’s a hike of Rs. 6,500 and Rs. 2,000, respectively.

In terms of on-paper comparison based on specs, the Ather 450X seems like an expensive proposition over its closest rivals like the Ola S1 Pro and TVS iQube ST. However, when you consider the ease and fun of riding it, the seamless functioning of features, and the long-term reliability, this Ather is easily one of the best options out there.

Photography by Kapil Angane