Ather Rizta Electric Scooter Review: One For The Family?

Does the Ather Rizta have what it takes to take on the TVS iQube as well as TVS Jupiter and Honda Activa?

There is a new family scooter in town, and no, it is not from Honda or TVS, but from Ather Energy, an EV maker that excels in sporty scooters like the Ather 450X and 450 Apex. After years of leading the path with the most exciting and sporty electric scooters, the Bengaluru-based manufacturer is now set to shake up the game in the family scooter market with the Ather Rizta, and we are ready for it.

Design

The Ather Rizta is positioned as something that everyone in a family will ride, which is why Ather has taken a different approach with its design. So instead of the sporty and sharp styling like on the 450X, the Rizta gets a more industrial and ‘boxy’ design language. Now, looks are subjective, and some might not find this scooter too attractive. But with its slightly quirky design elements, the Rizta can stand out in a crowd of two-wheelers especially in the brighter colour options. Indeed, the Rizta’s pastel colour options are pretty unique in the Indian scooter market.

Engine, Mileage & Performance

Being that it is positioned as a family scooter, sporty performance is not at the top of the list. This can be a letdown for the enthusiasts who see Ather as a sporty EV brand. The Rizta's motor has a peak power output of 4.3kW, which is significantly less powerful than the 450X. This has resulted in the Rizta having considerably lower performance than the 450X.

While it functions as well as any 110cc petrol-powered scooter would, the Ather charm is lost. One thing that was an issue was that on inclines, in the Smart Eco mode, the scooter struggled to climb and maintain speeds. Now this has a lot to do with how the Smart Eco mode is tuned and can easily be fixed via an OTA update. So to ride up inclines you will have to switch to Zip mode for now. This isn't something expected of Ather, especially when the Smart Eco mode works perfectly on the 450X.

The Ather Rizta also gets the Magic Twist throttle, a sort of equivalent of engine braking on EVs. Now there’s already coasting regenerative braking (batteries start charging as soon as the e-scooter starts coasting without throttle input), and that works pretty well, but the Magic Twist (debuted on the Ather 450 Apex), essentially opposite throttle movement, is even more interesting. It gives you the ability to reduce speeds in a more controlled manner without really using the brakes, and it works like a charm. With its really smooth calibration helping you easily bring the scooter to a halt, you won’t feel the need to apply brakes at all in a lot of situations. 

We only got to ride the 2.9kWh version of the Rizta Z, which offers an IDC (Indian Driving Cycle) range of 123km. So in the real world in the Zip mode, it could give you roughly 80km of range or less. And because of that, most folks might consider the 3.7kWh battery variant with 159km claimed IDC range, just to have the peace of mind for longer commutes.

Handling & Ride Quality

Even though it is bigger and less sporty than its sibling (the Ather 450X), the Ather Rizta offers pretty agile handling. It is easy to make quick turns and shift lanes, and it does not feel lazy or heavy while riding, even at slow speeds. This means it will be quite enjoyable and pretty easy to manoeuvre, both in city traffic and at higher speeds.

The ride quality is on point too. While the 450X had a more firm and sporty suspension setup, the Rizta goes, well, the more family-oriented way. The long and well-cushioned seat, coupled with the softer suspension setup, makes for a pretty plush and comfortable ride. And, of course, one of the highlights is the seat being long, so a conventionally tall  pillion rider, even with extra luggage, will be happy and overall comfy.

Features

In addition to the whole suite of connected features you get on the Ather 450X, the Rizta flaunts a bunch of safety features as well. The one that catches your attention the most is the new Skid Control, which detects if there’s a sudden difference between the front and rear wheel speeds (basically what happens when the scooter skids), and accordingly regulates the power to the rear wheel to stop any kind of wheel slip. The interesting thing, however, is that there is very little possibility of wheel slip happening from the get-go on this scooter because of its gradual power delivery.

There is one thing that needs to be addressed, though, the console and the new UI on the Rizta are easy to use and seem pretty intuitive as well. However, the scooter that we were testing had a prominent delay in its functioning. Thankfully, this was not the case on all the scooters, and we were told that it won’t be the case with customer models either. The 34-litre underseat storage is good enough for stowing groceries and other items. You can read more about its variant-wise features here. As for the colours, Rizta S will come in 3 monotone colours: Siachen White, Deccan Grey, and Pangong Blue. On the other hand, the Rizta Z will be available in 7 colours which include 3 monotone and 4 dual-tone colours (Siachen White, Deccan Grey, Pangong Blue, Deccan Grey dual-tone, Pangong Blue dual-tone, Cardamom Green, and Alphonso Yellow).

Should You Buy The Ather Rizta?

With the Rizta, Ather has ventured into a whole different territory: from being an enthusiast EV maker to catering to a larger audience. Naturally, that transition has demanded some compromises in performance and sportiness, which might not be appreciated by the hardcore enthusiasts. That said, the Ather Rizta is definitely an interesting product and could attract a lot of family-oriented buyers looking to shift from petrol scooters to electric ones, particularly the 2.9kWh Z variant, priced at Rs 1.25 lakh (introductory, ex-showroom Bengaluru including EMPS or Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme).