[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Hello everyone! I'm sure I'm a little late to the party with regard to Ather reviews, but I've noticed that there are a plethora of reviews on the Ather 450x, but there are hardly any on the 450 plus. So I'm here to give you a detailed review on the buying experience, the difference between the two variants, all the nitty gritties about owning an Ather (subscription plans and service etc. etc.) and my experience with owning it for about a month now.

The Reason for Purchase:

Right, so let me begin with why I chose the Ather. Rewind back to 2021, we decided to transition to EVs because of the rising fuel and maintenance costs. We decided to replace our two cars, a 2013 Verna and a 2017 Kwid. Long story short, we replaced the former with an MG ZS and were looking for a replacement for the Kwid. If you'd like to read more about the MG's buying and ownership experience, I'll link it below.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/elect...-450-plus.html (My transition to Electric Vehicles | MG ZS EV and Ather 450 Plus)

The Contenders:

Anyway, coming back to the Ather. Considering that I was the primary user of the Kwid and didn't particularly require a car, I wanted a two-wheeler that was cheap to run and maintain and have a decent amount of useful features. My commute was around 20 -30 kms every other day, and it would rarely exceed 40 - 50 kms. Hence, an EV was definitely in the books. I didn't consider the cheaper offerings because they seemed primarily targeted at the e-commerce segment and didn't really appeal to me. The main contenders were:

The Ather 450x or Ather 450 Plus




The Ola S1 Pro




The Revolt RV 400




The Ultraviolette F77




(Surprise Entry) The Odysse Evoqis





I'll keep this part brief; the Revolt didn't appeal too much because of the sub-par build quality, lack of proper service network and the small size for a motorcycle. I really liked the Ultraviolette, but there was no news about its launch, and I needed a replacement ASAP. A friend of mine had just recently purchased the Odysse Evoqis, and It looked from every angle like a Kawasaki Ninja. However, on doing some research, I found that it was just another cheap Chinese motorcycle that multiple small companies (*cough* Kabira Mobility *cough*) imported and claimed was their own. Although it looked so good, the build quality wasn't great, and I dropped the idea of purchasing it. The purchase window for the OLA S1 Pro was due to open only in January, and being a completely new product with no previous ownership reviews made me shy away. A good friend of mine had (and still continues to own) the first-gen Ather 450, and he seemed to love it. So I decided to go check it out. Here's a picture of his Ather 450:




The Buying Experience:

First, I decided to call up Bengaluru dealerships and inquire about the exact road pricing. I first called up Ather JP Nagar and requested the pricing, and the associate said she would send it immediately, but she never did. Disappointed with this, I decided to call up Ather Indiranagar, who immediately sent me the invoices. We went to Ather Indiranagar to physically check out the scooter.


Ather Indiranagar


The SA, Mr Akshay, explained everything about both variants and their related costs with great zeal. Definitely pleased with his whole method of handling the process. I'll give you a quick breakdown of both the vehicles. The Ather 450 Plus and the 450x are the same vehicles outside and even hardware-wise. The difference lies in certain features on the software side. Both the vehicles come with the same 2.9 kWh battery pack installed, but a slightly updated software helps the Ather 450x achieve a slightly higher range. The Ather 450x also gets a few additional features, such as BlueTooth support with call and music control, as well as the Warp Mode. Here's a link with the detailed information on the differences between the two:

https://assets.atherenergy.com/Ather...tionsSheet.pdf

The on-road price at the time (Including the FAME II Subsidy) was 1,29,301 Rs for the Ather 450 Plus and 1,49,000 Rs for the Ather 450x. I didn't need the call and music control, and the 20,000 Rs premium for the 15km extra range didn't matter to me, so I decided to book the 450 Plus. We booked the 450 Plus at the dealership and paid the whole amount later at home. I chose not to get the Insurance from Digit, Ather's provider and purchased it from HDFC Ergo instead. We were told that due to the semiconductor shortage, it would take up to 45 Days to deliver the vehicle, but they managed to deliver it in 30 Days. Here are a few pictures from the delivery:




Ownership Experience:

Right so it's been a little over two months since delivery, and I'm here to tell you about everything there is to know about owning an Ather. Unfortunately, I've only been able to clock about 60km because of Covid, but I have ridden it over all kinds of road surfaces at low and high speeds, so I'll give you an idea of what that's like.

The Scooter and its Features:

Firstly, coming to the build quality, absolutely no complaints. The scooter is exceptionally well put together. There have been no unwanted creaks and vibrations from any part on both good as well as bad roads. The ride quality is slightly on the stiffer side, and this does show on bad stretches of roads, but it does provide phenomenal handling dynamics, and it is ridiculously easy to just chuck it into a corner without worrying about it. It is an exceptionally well-balanced scooter and is great for zipping through traffic (The Ather is one of the few vehicles in India with a 50-50 weight balance. Plus the low centre of gravity helps xD). The boot space is more than adequate and fits my full face (Size Large) helmet, a copy of physical documents, the helmet sleeve, a microfibre cloth and a pair of riding gloves. It also has a very nice LED Light, which illuminates the space.


The Boot LED Light


The brakes are great, although I do wish that the Ather had ABS because if you do brake really harshly, the rear wheel tends to lock up, but it isn't an issue for the most part. (The Ather has a Bybre Combined Braking System or CBS, which essentially means that when you pull the left brake lever, it activates both the front and rear brakes). The performance is absolutely excellent, it flies upto a speedo indicated 90 kmph on Sport mode. I also love sound that the motor makes (sounds like a spaceship to me)

Now coming to one of Ather's USPs, the dashboard. It is a 7-inch touchscreen system that is based on Android. It is very smooth to use and works well most of the time. It comes with a 4G sim embedded. I'll run you all through it in detail.



This is the main dashboard screen. It displays (from the top left, clockwise)
the menu shortcut,
the 4G Signal Strength,
the time and any warning message from the sensors (I'll come to this in a bit),
the navigation shortcut,
the estimated range on different modes (this adapts based on your riding aggressiveness. (I'll again elaborate on this in a bit),
The mode on which you are currently riding,
the speedo,
the park assist shortcut,
The Odo with the trip information.


The scooter has a plethora of sensors (43 to be exact) that monitor everything from battery temperature, health and charging to even whether the side stand is open. The following two pictures are the sensors indicating that the side stand is open and the kill switch is engaged. The motor will not turn on under these circumstances, and even if it is already on, it will shut off when the side stand is opened.




The navigation is powered by Google Maps and is great for the most part. You can also send the navigation data from the Ather App on your smartphone to the scooter.




The menu has four main sub-menus.
General, which displays the scooter info such as the VIN Number, Registration etc.
Settings, where you can adjust screen brightness (I just leave it on Auto), the theme, you can turn off the indicators' sounds and the reversing sound. You can toggle the Auto Indicators, Guide me home lights, Realtime Efficiency, and go Incognito, which basically means that the scooter won't track any data.
Errors, which will display messages if sensors detect a fault in the scooter
Documents, where you can store images of your DL, RC and Insurance or any other document you wish to carry




There is a difference between shutting down and turning off the scooter. Turning off is what you do when using the scooter every other day. Shutting down is when you aren't using the scooter for an extended period. This completely turns off all sensors that normally monitor the battery's health when the vehicle is turned off and the SIM.

The scooter also has a park assist feature wherein the scooter assists you in reversing (limits the speed to 2kmph) and can go forward up to 5kmph. The reverse feature is an absolute boon, and I use it all the time.


The Lights:

The lights are great, they are all LED units, and they illuminate the road very well. They also look really good, in my opinion.




Headlight Spread


Charging, Range and Running Costs:

You have two home options to charge the scooter, the Ather Dot, which is a wall-mounted waterproof charger, and the Portable Charger. They both charge at the same speed, but the Ather Dot is mapped to only your scooter, meaning it cannot charge any other Ather, but this is not the case with the portable charger. I chose the portable charger. It will connect to any 15 amp or 5 amp socket. It takes a little over 5 hours for a 0 - 100 charge, and you can monitor the charging status from the Ather App on your phone. The charger will Auto cut off during voltage fluctuations, and once it reaches 100% so you can leave it overnight without worrying. The charger also locks into place when charging, and you cannot remove it. You also have fast chargers around the city, which you can find via the onboard navigation or the Ather App.


Portable Charger



Charging Case

The 450 Plus gives pretty much 70km on a full charge on an average, but the scooter adapts over time, based on your riding aggressiveness as well as via software updates. Because of this, some owners have also been able to get 100+ kms of range.

Ather App Dashboard



Efficient Riding



Aggressive Riding

Coming to ownership costs and a comparison with an ICE Scooter (I've taken the Honda Activa 6G here), I've worked out the cost for 5 years (600 km per month or 7200 km per year). Over the course of five years, the Ather will cost 11,000 rs for a total of 36,000 Km whereas an Activa will cost around 75,000Rs for the same distance.


Subscription Plans - Additional Cost (Optional):

This is where things get a little dicey, but I'll tell you how to work around it. Ather has a subscription model for both data as well as service. I'll start with data. Ather offers two plans, Connect Lite and Connect Pro. They include the following.



For service, they have the Service Lite and the Service Pro:



If you absolutely want to get the features that Connect Pro offers (it is free till May 2022 for all users), then you will have to shell out 700Rs per quarter. If you're like me and are not too concerned about them and just want navigation and OTA updates, I'd get the Ather Connect Lite. With regard to service, you can purchase either one of the plans (I'd again recommend the Lite plan unless you absolutely cannot take the scooter yourself to the service centre) just before the 5000km mark, essentially making the service cost only 800Rs. If you don't want any connect features, you can do that too and use the scooter as a regular scooter.


In conclusion, It's a fantastic scooter, and I absolutely love it and can't wait to go on longer journeys with it. I hope I've helped you make your decision if you are considering one of these vehicles. Cheers!

[thallipolivandi]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyTangoFox

Now coming to one of Ather's USPs, the dashboard. It is a 7-inch touchscreen system that is based on Android. It is very smooth to use and works well most of the time. It comes with a 4G sim embedded. I'll run you all through it in detail.

I'm now curious. Why did you say it works most of the time? Have you run into bugs in the system? If you did, how bad/inconsequential were they?

Thanks for the post. It was very helpful.

[Lobogris]

Thank you for the extremely detailed review. This would help a lot of people in deciding between the Ola and the Ather. You didn’t state why you rejected Ola and chose Ather.

[Sk8r]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyTangoFox

The 450 Plus gives pretty much 70km on a full charge on an average, but the scooter adapts over time, based on your riding aggressiveness as well as via software updates. Because of this, some owners have also been able to get 100+ kms of range.

Lovely informative review. Can you elaborate a bit more on the quoted part. I'm eager to understand how the scooter " adapts" to it

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Originally Posted by Sk8r

Lovely informative review. Can you elaborate a bit more on the quoted part. I'm eager to understand how the scooter " adapts" to it

Thanks! Right, so the scooter is constantly gathering data about your way of riding (unless you turn on incognito mode). So, over a period of time, the scooter is able to project a higher range or a lower range based on how you ride it. You'll be able to view this data on both your Ather app as well as the monthly ride log that is generated on the Ather portal.



This image is from another Ather user where he has a very efficient riding habit, so the scooter predicts that with such riding, it will be able to achieve 150km of range (Ather's TrueRange is 85km and ARAI Cetified Range is 116km, so this owner has surpassed both of them)

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Thank you for the extremely detailed review. This would help a lot of people in deciding between the Ola and the Ather. You didn’t state why you rejected Ola and chose Ather.

Thank you! I wasn't really awestruck by most of the features that Ola showcased. For example, the scooter is essentially a city vehicle,, things like cruise control make no sense for city use. The integrated speakers on a scooter also wasn't really a great idea in my opinion and the lock and the lack of a physical key for the scooter wasn't something I was a fan of either. In terms of range, yes the Ola does give a realistic range of 116 - 135 Kms but to be honest, does it matter? Sure there are some people who's commute is greater than 70 or 80 kms per day but majority of the people in the city don't cross 40 - 50 km per day. So the Ather's range was just fine. This and the fact that Ola is a completely new company and when I was booking the Ather, Ola hadn't started deliveries yet, didn't help. However, Credit where its due, the Ola does have some nice features like User Profiles and the Hill Hold feature which would've been nice here too, but I think that can be achieved via software.

Originally Posted by thallipolivandi

I'm now curious. Why did you say it works most of the time? Have you run into bugs in the system? If you did, how bad/inconsequential were they?

Thanks for the post. It was very helpful.

Thanks! Nothing major, its something that any connected vehicle will mostly face. The embedded sim sometimes (rarely) doesn't get Signal and this affects the navigation. Also at times the Ather doesn't sync with the App so the ride data doesn't show up. However, a quick reboot fixes it. Kudos to Ather's back end team though, they promptly reply to my emails whenever I have an issue and help out however possible. The Ather forum is also great, because owners and the Ather team can communicate and address common issues.

[Arjun Bharadwaj]

Going slightly off topic, it makes me think that Ola and some other electric 2 wheeler brands came just to make us realize how "valuable" Ather is. On paper Ola's numbers looked great and we heard a lot of big talk while Ather is silently delivering. No wonder Hero is betting their money on Ather.

[hemanth.anand]

Congratulations WhiskeyTangoFox on your new vehicle and welcome to the EV bandwagon.

Nice review 👌🏼. If one is sure that they'll not need anything more than 50kms of range the 450+ is a better choice than the 450x. Both vehicles have 2.9kwh battery but 450x has 90% of it as usable capacity. The 450+ has 77% of it as usable capacity. The remaining is kept as a buffer at the top and bottom ranges. The higher buffer in the 450+ will be better for the longevity of the battery.

Of course one misses out some of the additional features in the 450+ but if you ask me personally they are all nice-to-have features only.

Having owned a 450 since 2019, I'd like to tell you to keep an eye on the boot light. They are known to turn yellow after some time.

Enjoy your ride and wish you happy ownership

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Originally Posted by Arjun Bharadwaj

Going slightly off topic, it makes me think that Ola and some other electric 2 wheeler brands came just to make us realize how "valuable" Ather is. On paper Ola's numbers looked great and we heard a lot of big talk while Ather is silently delivering. No wonder Hero is betting their money on Ather.

Hahahaha yeahh I agreee xD

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Congratulations WhiskeyTangoFox on your new vehicle and welcome to the EV bandwagon.

Thank you! Does the light itself turn yellow or does the cover for the light turn yellow? Does this impact anything?

[Jesse_Mach]

Congratulations on your purchase WhiskeyTangoFox . Many will relate to the thought process which you have put while selecting the vehicle. And you are also right about the EVOQIS . Looking at the vehicle I had almost made up my mind but then it all went downhill after that.

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Hey Guys!
I just had a few queries with regard to my Ather and i was hoping some of the owners here could answer them.

1) Has anyone been able to find a mobile phone mount for the ather?
2) Does removing the saree guard void the warranty?
3) Has anyone upgraded the tyres on the Ather to a bigger size? If so how much did it cost?
4) Any long term reviews? 1+ years

Cheers!

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by WhiskeyTangoFox

4) Any long term reviews? 1+ years
!

This may help you, a five star owners experience thread.


https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/motor...her-450-a.html (An 'e-motion'al connect - My Ather 450)

[Sebring]

RAM Mount has two solutions. One is to unscrew the left mirror and use their screw type. You will have only the right mirror. Second is to fix it to the mirror stem itself

Originally Posted by WhiskeyTangoFox

Has anyone been able to find a mobile phone mount for the ather?

[saisree]

Just booked a Ather 450 Plus. Waiting for the delivery around end of June.

One quick question, What is the service intervals? and what is the general opinion on Service quality?

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Originally Posted by saisree

Just booked a Ather 450 Plus. Waiting for the delivery around end of June.

One quick question, What is the service intervals? and what is the general opinion on Service quality?

The Service Interval is every 5000 kms. I have heard mixed reviews about the quality

[ss11011988]

Hi WhiskeyTangoFox,

Thanks for the detailed and insightful ownership review, this was quite helpful. I am relocating to Bangalore, and I would be needing a two-wheeler for my daily commutes and in-city rides. I've been seriously considering Ather's options and your take on choosing the 450 Plus over the 450X was indeed eye-opening. My only concern and query are about the housing societies' negative attitude towards charging setup, so I'm wondering how owners get by if they have to live in such a society and are not allowed to install the home charger? Ather grid has not covered every nook and corner of the city, if I'm not wrong. Otherwise, I've nothing wrong against going for an EV scooter.

Would you care to clarify my concern please?

Insights and replies from other Ather owners would be most welcome too, thank you.