Ather 450 – The Future is Here
Electric scooters, as we know them, have not been perceived very well in the Indian market. A decade back, some manufacturers worked on their toes to introduce electric mobility. However, back then, the lack of charging infrastructure, a bare-bones design and a disgraceful speed limit kept buyers from switching to these products. But times have changed, as a Bangalore-based start-up Ather Energy had launched two electric-scooters in 2018 – Ather 340 and Ather 450. Our Ather 450 review further reveals… Barring a difference in performance and riding range, the Ather 340 and 450 are near identical to each other. But since we rode only the 450, we’ll be focussing on that. The idea behind the Ather 450 was to make a clean scooter. And I must say, Ather has done their homework very well. The design is nice and very well-balanced with a touch of sportiness all around. The sleek LED headlamp, taillamp and the 12-inch wheels look elegant and futuristic. There are some nice design bits like the flush-side stand, integrated pillion footrest and seat hinge finished in green that really works well with the design. Moreover, there are no vibrant or loud paint schemes, and the Ather is only available in White. The area where the Ather 450 feels more futuristic is the dedicated 7.0-inch touchscreen instrument cluster. The touchscreen packs a raft of electronic features such as on-board navigation powered by Google Maps, a document reader and a reverse assist. The reverse assist, as the name suggests, lets you reverse out of a parking space at 2km/h.
The Ather 450 comes packed with a 2.71kWh battery pack that is mated to a 5.4kW brushless DC motor. It simply means the Ather 450 is good for 7.2bhp and 20.5Nm of torque. Unlike other electric scooters, the Ather 450 gains momentum like a conventional scooter. The mid-range and the flat torque curve of the electric motor are simply impressive, and the Ather rides very easily in town. There are two riding modes on offer – Ride and Sport, although an Eco mode will be added later. Sufficed to say, both these modes feel exactly identical in acceleration till 40km/h, and surprisingly, it’s like you’re riding a different scooter altogether post the 40km/h mark. The suspension is set on the stiffer side, and the handling is sporty and super flickable in city. To sum it up, Ather has really upped the game with the Ather 450. To read our comprehensive Ather 450 review, be sure to tune in to autoX.