Despite establishing itself as the most reliable premium e-scooter manufacturer, Ather Energy happens to have fallen behind in sales when compared to its direct rival – Ola Electric. In the month of June this year, Ather sold 3808 units while Ola Electric managed to sell 5,874 units. Ather’s sun is still on the rise, having witnessed 800% growth in sales since last June, yet despite having no software glitches or powertrain errors – two areas Ola is famous for, the brand’s flagship couldn’t surpass the S1 Pro in terms of sales. Of course, that isn’t to say the demand is low. Quite the opposite as Ather continues to be embattled by the ongoing chip shortage and a general supply chain crunch.
It looks like Ather may have addressed the issue with the Gen 3 450 X. On the surface, it’s really no different than the current-gen 450 X. Ather’s opting for the “why fix what isn’t broken?” philosophy and keeping the visual changes limited to a larger set of rear-view mirrors, a redesigned side-step and a few other removable accessories that improve storage. The big changes lie inside, as Ather clearly felt compelled to address the power deficit that lies between the current 450X and the S1 Pro.
The new 450 X boasts of a larger battery, more power, improved thermal management and a smoother user interface – all in a bid to make it the best performing e-scooter in the country, which, via several metrics, it already is. So the key question that the 450X must address is – is it an idealised version of its former self?
The 450 X Gen 3 ditches the old one’s 2.9 kWh battery for a larger 3.7 kWh one, giving it 25% greater capacity, according to Ather Energy, and increasing its real-world or “TrueRange” (a term trademarked by Ather to differentiate between ARAI and real-world range) from 85 km to 105km. Ather has also changed the tyres, using a new compound co-engineered with MRF that offers 25% greater grip, according to the brand, thanks to a wider rear profile resulting in a greater contact patch.
In fact, candid as ever, Ather Energy’s CTO, Swapnil Jain revealed that the rolling resistance with the new tyres is actually higher, however, the added power levels ensure that this doesn't affect the range of the scooter. As for better thermal management, Ather won’t reveal just what tricks it has up its sleeve, but it’s clear that temperature control is now an inalienable part of EV marketing briefs.
Sure enough, the added power makes itself apparent fairly quickly. That artificial electronic whistle kicks-in and the 450X gathers pace in a brisk-yet-composed manner. Connect the scooter to your phone via Ather’s native app and you quickly see telematic essentials along with your playlist and mapped route flashing on the large touchscreen centre console.
The scooter’s onboard SIM is what makes uploading this possible. For SatNAV, the destination must be selected via the app and then transferred to the onboard display of the scooter. If the onboard SIM is facing connectivity issues, you’re out of luck. Fortunately, it wasn’t and so Ather’s claims of a smoother user interface were validated. The brand’s also thrown in 2GB of RAM, which it claims will be utilised to its fullest with future over-the-air updates.
OTA updates have become another marketing pillar upon which the EV sits, since no ICE vehicle can claim to get better over time. Not unless you customise one heavily. With an EV, it boils down to simply hitting the “download” button. Ather claims that features such as offline maps, voice commands and crisper graphics are all possibilities in the near future, thanks to the added RAM.
The main query still remains unanswered. Is this an empirically better scooter than the one it replaces? Particularly in ways that the city-based commuter would come to appreciate. Let’s start with its new “SmartEco” mode, which according to the brand, does all the range management for you, so you won’t have to. This includes limiting the speed to 45kph – pretty standard across all Eco modes, except this mode is a bit more intuitive. Ride it hard on an incline and speed is further curtailed to 25kph, making the SmartEco mode a more layered version of the standard Eco mode, which it replaces.
Power is managed better at both ends of the spectrum though, with “warp” mode allowing you to hold higher speeds for longer periods and climb inclined surfaces with greater ease. This was immediately put to test near Bengaluru’s Nandi Hills, surrounding which is a ribbon of crisp, winding tarmac.
Instantly, the 450X’s aluminium chassis comes into play, allowing you to throw the scooter into sharp corners with utter abandon. These tyres certainly offer greater adhesion as compared to the last one, enhancing the scooter’s dynamism which makes perfect sense from a city-riding point of view. Good sense continues to prevail at Ather’s product development department with the Gen 3’s top speed continuing to remain capped at 80kph.
If you’re building a city scooter, why endow it with senselessly high speeds just for greater brochure appeal? Nonetheless, the Gen 3 is noticeably quicker off the mark, and that’s all that really matters. E-scooters are relatively new forms of technology and deliver power far quicker than ICE scooters, until they become the norm (Ather expects the breakthrough to happen around 2027) power and performance levels should remain responsibly curtailed.
So, better performance, better range and better storage – is it enough to qualify it as a new scooter? Ather is aware that the minimal cosmetic changes may disappoint some but if the original design is so future-proof, surely this isn’t a major setback. Bottom line is that Ather has spent years torture-testing its flagship scooter. Where the govt mandated AIS-156 test mandates 9 tests at battery pack leve, Ather has subjected the 450X to over 203 tests. This is a product the brand stands by because of the incredibly long and arduous gestation period where it was fine-tuned for city riding. It’s fundamentals are so solid, it doesn’t need to resort to gimmicks to enhance the appeal of the 450 X.
Instead, Ather has taken a calculated, methodical approach to better the riding experience with its growing tribe of users. With more converts, and standing-in line, Ather’s biggest concern should be ramping up production to meet the demand. Because with Gen 3, it’s going to grow even more.
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