Ather 450X Long Term Review: City Report

The Good Things

Right off the bat, the Ather 450X is a looker and draws attention from bystanders, be it at traffic lights or on the go. It may range from someone genuinely interested in the scooter, to being amused by its silent nature, or even for its petite-looking yet sporty appearance. It indeed does command eyeballs.

We also liked the compact nature of the 450X. That, along with the monocoque chassis and the 12-inch wheels, make it quite flickable, and filtering through traffic and narrow by-lanes of the city is as easy as running a hot knife through butter. Moreover, if the scooter is parked on an uneven surface or at an angle, you can engage the reverse mode to come out of such a situation.

Moreover, the 26-litre boot space is practical enough to gobble up a week’s worth of groceries. And, when subjected to the customary mall trip, the floorboard area easily took the shopping bags. What also comes in handy is the ‘Find My Scooter’ feature, when it comes to searching your 450X in a large parking lot. Of course, you need to have the Ather app installed on your phone. Another thing we liked about the 450X is the inbuilt GPS navigation. Once connected to a phone, we can send the map on the scooter’s screen, which makes intra-city commutes stress-free.

Besides that, what you’ll also like about the 450X is its silent nature. There’s no mechanical clatter whatsoever, all you can hear is the muted noise that comes from the belt drive. Then there’s the smooth throttle response. It’s quite likeable. It might not be the quickest in Eco mode, but in Sport and Warp mode, the response is immediate. And it is far from being jerky or abrupt.

Coming to its performance, the Ather 450X packs 8bhp and 26Nm. The Eco mode has enough power available to commute within the city. It’s only when you want to make a quick overtake or are riding with a pillion that you’d require the Ride mode. That said, the Sport and Warp modes are the most engaging to ride, and will plaster a wide grin under your helmet. The Warp mode is plain ludicrous, and will turn your mundane traffic-light starts into a local MotoGP every time you whack open the throttle.

The Not So Good Things

The 450X offers good performance, but the ride is anything but plaint. Agreed, the ride is smooth on well-paved roads, but you can feel even the slightest of surface undulations. And the jolts that are transferred from the rear suspension, make everyday commuting a chore. Sure, riding with a pillion makes the rear suspension a bit more pliant, but the ride continues to be uncomfortable.

The seating triangle isn’t the most comfortable either. There are two issues here. One, the floorboard is high, so you always sit in the knees-up position. What this does is that the handlebar interferes with your thighs (rider height - 5’ 7”) every time you take a tight u-turn. And two, the seat is narrow and raked at an angle. So, it doesn’t offer enough support, and you’d find yourself sitting a bit ahead, which increases fatigue.

Another pet peeve we have is with the mirror adjustability. Now, something as common as adjusting mirrors has been made counter-intuitive. For starters, the mirror housing can only be adjusted horizontally, and if you have to adjust it vertically for height, you have to move the mirror stalk up and down. This is an unnecessary two-step adjustment, which could’ve been avoided. What’s more, the mirror design is such that even after adjustment, it doesn’t offer the best view of what’s behind you.

One of the biggest shortcomings of owning an EV is the limited charging infrastructure. And it’s somewhat similar when it comes to Ather. For instance, Ather Grid only has three charging stations in Navi Mumbai, where I work. And the charging station nearest to my home (Panvel) is about 16km away. This makes taking the 450X to the Ather Grid quite a task. Further, there’s no charging point in my housing society, so I have to travel another 3-4km to my parent’s place where I have a dedicated 16A charging setup available. Which again, isn’t the most convenient thing to do.

Now, we haven’t spoken about the riding range of the 450X. And that’s because we will have a separate report that will cover the range and charging times in detail. But, just for reference, the Ather 450X gives a range of anywhere in between 50-75km, depending on the mode selected and throttle modulation. And this also accounts for the usual battery drain when not in use. The usual battery drain amounts to 8-9 per cent over 24 hours when the scooter is not in use, and around 3-4 per cent over a week even after completely shutting-down the scooter.

What's Next?

In the next report, we will talk about the Ather 450X’s real-world riding range, which will include testing the 450X in its various riding modes across road/traffic conditions. We will also report on the charging infrastructure, the various options available, and the exact time taken to charge the scooter.

Vehicle Log

Odometer – 591km

Km this month – 342km

Real-World Range – 50-75km (depends on the mode selected)

Charge Times

Ather Grid – 2.5 Hours (0-100 per cent)

Home Charging – 5.5 Hours (0-100 per cent)