Ather 450X

Visually, the Ather 450X isn’t any different from the now discontinued 450. But the introduction of new colours schemes somehow makes it even more appealing than before despite being a three-year-old design. The grey with yellow livery, basically the scooter we had looks particularly striking in my opinion. It’s subtle and fresh. You even have a Series1 Collector’s Edition on offer which uses translucent body panels finished in gloss black to highlight its beautifully designed trellis frame. Read more about it here.

The build quality, fit and finish levels are superb. If we had to nitpick it would have to be the quality of the switchgear, which could have been better. Also, I would love to see slightly longer rear view mirror stalks. The current design is a bit too short for my height (5’10”) and has me constantly slouching to see what’s behind me. 

Last but not the least, the headlight could do with better throw and spread. While it does a decent enough job during most occasions, it fails to light up dimly lit areas fully, which could be problematic for those whose own night vision isn’t that great.

Let’s get down to business. I’m sure most of you just want to read about the scooter's performance more than anything else. My time with the 450X was downright amazing. It fills you with a sense of thrill that no other scooter could offer. I’d even go as far as saying that you’ll forget about petrol powered scooters once you ride the 450X. I know this sounds like hollow flattery, but it’s true!

Still find it hard to believe? No worries, here are some numbers. It’s not only quicker from 0-80kmph than the older 450 but also faster than the BS6 Access 125, which happens to be among the quicker scooters we’ve tested. Also bear in mind that I’m about 9kg heavier than my colleague who tested the BS6 Access and the now-discontinued Ather 450. The BS6 NTorq simply pales in comparison in our acceleration test runs. 

You have four modes to choose from -- Eco, Ride, Sport and Warp -- each one of them getting progressively faster with a crisper throttle response. And if you aren't concerned about range, Warp mode is what you need to be in to get the most out of the scooter. It's warp speed in the literal sense. And you can actually feel the massive surge in torque once you switch modes.

Ather was able to achieve this feat by updating the firmware and tweaking the permanent magnet AC motor to generate more power and torque. The result is a bump from the previous 5.4kW of peak power to 6kW. Same goes for the torque which has increased from 20.5Nm in the 450 to 26Nm in the 450X. 

You could conserve the battery by switching to Eco or Ride, which limits the top speed to 55kmph and 60kmph respectively. We were able to extract about 91km in Eco in heavy traffic. Now you’re probably wondering how the standard 450 managed to deliver a better range than the 450X which features a bigger battery and an all-new Battery Management System (BMS). Well, it’s simply down to the rider. The rider who tested the older model weighed in at about 55kg. I, on the other hand, am a little over 20kg heavier, hence the deficit. There are also several other elements to consider ranging from riding style to traffic conditions. Ather customers, for instance, have managed to squeeze between 86km to 124km on a single charge. 

Now there are two ways to charge the 450X if you’re running low on juice. One could either plug it into your home charging station, which takes about a little over five and a half hours for a full charge from empty. Or you could direct yourself to the nearest fast charging station via the app and top up the scooter in half that time. To cite an example, it took me about 45mins to go from 23 percent to 92 percent while using the fast charger. That’s about the time you might take to have your lunch. 

Ather already has 7 strategically placed fast charging stations up and running in Pune, and intends to have 10 completed by the first week of January 2021. So range anxiety isn’t really an issue anymore unless you head out of the city.

The 3kg weight drop is immediately noticeable on the move. Couple this with its low centre of gravity and neutral weight distribution and you have a scooter that turns in almost telepathically. It's extremely flickable, which makes weaving through traffic a piece of cake. It's stable at higher speeds as well. 

The suspension setup is on the firmer side but it does a good job of flattening out imperfections on the road. I for one didn't find the tune of the suspension too bothersome. It worked perfectly fine for my weight (76kg) and even egged me to push harder on well-paved roads.

The 12-inch wheels shod with slim 90-section MRF tyres offer good grip and feedback. The only chink in the scooter’s otherwise perfect setup are its brakes. Don't get me wrong, the brakes have in fact been improved since the last iteration of the scooter, but they still tend to lock up under hard braking, especially the rear which locks and weaves to some extent. This can be quite alarming for newer riders who tend to rely on the rear brakes more than the front. Ather could probably solve this issue by offering an ABS as an option.

The 450X is a definite improvement over the standard 450. It gets better connectivity, Google Maps, an Android operating system instead of Linux, and more processing power thanks to the new Snapdragon CPU. We’ve already covered all the updates in our first ride review you can read about in detail here.