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Ather Rizta Review

Ather Rizta Pros

• Widest and longest seat of any contemporary scooter
• Neutral looks coupled with strong build quality
• 34-litre underseat storage and an optional 22-litre frunk
• Features such as skid control, FallSafe, Google Maps, smartphone connectivity, ride modes, Twist regen, reverse gear, etc.
• Two battery options with adequate range for most commuters. 2,500+ fast charging points available

Ather Rizta Cons

• Performance is strictly commuter-oriented. Enthusiastic riders will be disappointed
• Quality of some of the plastics could be better
• Taller riders will find the handlebar fouling with their knees while turning
• Firm suspension may not be to everyone's liking

Introduction

Ather Energy is one of the most promising and technologically focussed EV manufacturers in India. It was founded in 2013 and currently manufactures electric scooters at its facilities in Whitefield (Karnataka) and Hosur (Tamil Nadu). At present, the two-wheeler EV market in India is currently dominated by Ola. Ather comes in at a respectable 4th place in terms of sales (Source (February 2024 Electric Car / Bike Sales & Analysis)).

With the increasing cost of petrol, the market for EV bikes has immense potential. One of the reasons why people have chosen to buy Ola scooters is storage space provided. The Ather 450, with its limited storage space of just 22 litres, was clearly outclassed by the Ola (36 litres). Ather is trying to pull customers away from Ola with the new Rizta scooter which comes with 34 litres of storage space under the seat and an additional 22 litres in the frunk. The frunk is an optional accessory that can installed in the front of the scooter and does not hinder leg room. The frunk is compatible with all Ather scooters.

Ather Rizta Price

The Rizta is available in 3 variants including Rizta S (2.9 kWh battery), Rizta Z (2.9 kWh battery) and Rizta Z (3.7 kWh battery) priced at Rs. 1,10,464, Rs. 1,23,188 and Rs. 1,45,458 (ex-showroom) respectively.

The S (standard) variant comes with a 17.7 cm (7”) DeepView display that provides turn-by-turn navigation. The Z (mid) variant has a 17.7 cm (7”) TFT display with Google Maps. The Rizta Z (top) variant gets a premium seat with a Pillion Backrest. The 2.9 kwh battery gives a claimed range of 123 km, while the 3.7 kwh battery provides a claimed range of 159 km.

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Design & Styling

The Ather Rizta does not have the radical styling of the 450 series. It has a very clean design that is pleasing to the eye. The intended market is middle-aged people like yours truly who need a reliable scooter to get to office and on the way back home, pick up some groceries:


The scooter is available in a lot of colours. I especially liked the "Pangong Blue" colour scheme. Here it is in the Cardamom Green shade:


The scooter weighs about 119 kg but it is easy to lift the rear wheel off the ground and move it around:


Both the levers get a "relief cut". In case of a fall, the lever will break at this weakened spot and allow you to continue your ride. Considering the amount of electronics on this scooter, it's a useful feature:


The clean design philosophy extends to the side stand as well. It completely folds into a neat slot with just a tiny lip exposed:




The pillion on any two-wheeler has to do a dance every time to get the footpegs out. Sometimes the footpegs are dirty and in some cases, stuck. With a rather clever design, Ather has completely eliminated this issue. There are no retractable footpegs because they are made redundant thanks to this design:


The rear wheel is covered on both sides. This design will save a lot of skirts. It will also trap all the dirt and keep the passenger's footwear much cleaner:

Build Quality, Fit & Finish

The overall build quality of the scooter is quite good. The paint is of high quality, but the plastics tend to get dirty quite fast. Everything fits very well and there are no ugly gaps anywhere. In fact, it's very difficult to see any of the internals of the scooter.

Features and Instrumentation

There are a bunch of very interesting features in these Ather scooters. These are accessed through the instrument cluster using a joystick located on the switchgear console on the handlebar.

There is navigation, which is as good as the Android Auto in my car. It is after all, powered by Google Maps. It shows nearby charging locations as well. To make full use of these features, it's important to connect your mobile phone to the scooter:


You can setup the brightness. The auto brightness was perfect on the slightly overcast day of the test ride:


Here are some interesting features:

• Twist: The accelerator also works like the brakes! By twisting upwards instead of downwards, the regen kicks in and the scooter slows down. I was barely using the brakes after getting used to this.
• Coasting Regen: As the name implies, this is to use the Regen while coasting.
• Auto Hold: Very useful when the scooter has stopped especially on an incline.
• Skid Control: They have added a speed sensor to the front wheel. This allows a very tight control on the speed of the rear wheel. It works like traction control. This is the #1 reason, why I would recommend this scooter for my dad. He uses a scooter and the only time he has ever had a fall was due to loose sand at a speed breaker. This feature would have completely prevented that.
• Auto Indicator: This should be made mandatory on all vehicles. Switch on the indicator, complete the turn and the indicator switches off automatically.

• Guide me home lights: Lights remain on for 20 seconds after the scooter is switched off.
• Optimized Charging: Charging a battery to 100% every time has a long-term detrimental effect. So a lot of battery devices have this option to limit the charge to about 80% or so. My Samsung mobile, for example, calls this "Battery Protect".
• FallSafe: The natural instinct to pick up a fallen scooter is to lift it using the handlebar. If the scooter has fallen on its left, the rider will typically hold the accelerator and twist it. This is the subject of many crazy videos of the bikes going crazy. With FallSafe, when the scooter falls, the motor switches off, so that holding the accelerator due to habit will not result in a safety hazard.

Quickly check your WhatsApp messages on the scooter console, after stopping your scooter in a safe location:

Wheels & Tyres

The Rizta comes with MRF Zapper-N tyres. The tread on these tyres looks nice. They provide enough grip for the performance on offer.

12" wheels shod with 90/90 section tubeless tyres at the front...


...and 100/80 at the rear:

Ergonomics and Comfort

The Rizta's seat is comfortable. There are no ergonomic issues and it feels comfortable enough. I rode the Rizta for ~60 km and at no point did I feel tired or uncomfortable. The only issue is that the legs get stuck if the handlebar is fully turned in either direction.

I am just about 5'10" in height with a proper dad body. My knees got stuck under the handlebar. It's impossible to ride this scooter while sitting too close to the handlebar. So no sharp cutting, which is fine. But you also need to be careful when navigating in very tight places:




Seat is really really big. The rider and pillion can carry almost the entire month's provisions between them:

Storage

One nice aspect of the seat is the angle at the pivot point. So even if a mobile phone is kept leaning towards the seat, the angle pushes it back safely:


My full face MT Helmet in the underseat storage with room to spare. You can easily fit two half face helmets inside the boot:


Underseat storage compartment has an accessory power outlet. This is meant for charging the new Halo Helmets by Ather. Ather also sells an accessory to adapt this for charging USB devices:


Retractable hook under the seat for hanging some lightweight bags. It has a max weight rating of 3 kg:

Battery Capacity, Range & Charging

Ather claims that under Indian Driving Conditions (IDC), the 2.9 kWh battery gives a range of 123 km, while the 3.7 kWh Battery gives a range of 159 km.

I rode the 2.9 kWh equipped scooter. If you want range you need to be in the Smart Eco mode. While the Zip mode lets you quickly speed up to the top speed of 80 km/h, the Eco mode tries to give you maximum range and hence, limits the top speed and dumbs the acceleration.
This scooter is great for people whose commute is under 50 km before they need a charger. Since most people live less than 10-20 km from their places of work, it will work for them.

The charging port is very easily accessible. A small flap keeps it protected:




Once the charger is connected, it cannot be removed without the key. This prevents some vandal from messing with the scooter as it charges in a parking lot:


0-80% charge takes 5 hours 45 minutes for the 2.9 kWh battery, and 4 hours 30 minutes for the 3.7 kWh battery:

Standard & Extended Warranty

The Rizta comes with warranty of 3 years or 30 000 km, whichever comes earlier. Ather provides a battery warranty of 3 years or 30 000 km, which can be extended to 5 years / 60 000 km with Ather Battery Protect. The portable charger has a no questions asked warranty of 3 years.

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Riding the Ather Rizta

The Ather 450 series are known for their very quick acceleration. The Rizta, however, is a lot more relaxed. In the Zip mode, it does move fast to get into the 60's, but it's not a sprinter. The focus of the scooter is more on its "load" carrying capacity of passengers and groceries. But, it is in no way a problem. The scooter carried my 100+ weight quite comfortably.

The performance is irritating only while riding in the Eco mode as the full focus is on squeezing out as many kilometres as possible. I would use this mode only if I am far away from a charging station and have no other option.

During the early morning ride, there were a lot of stray dogs roaming around in packs. In one particular instance, one of them broke loose and decided to have some fun with me. The dog ran beside the scooter and I pushed down on the accelerator. Then it felt like I was in a slow-motion movie with the scooter taking its own sweet time to accelerate. Luckily the dog was just having fun. But I did not go back to the eco mode after this. Two-wheelers are literally at the bottom of the traffic hierarchy. Giving up the ability to quickly accelerate is a handicap that I am unable to live with.

For such a technically advanced scooter, I felt the key looked very boring:


Keyhole already had a lot of scratches around it. It will only get worse with time. Seat's locking mechanism is also controlled from here. The scooter will show all sorts of information like the side stand has to be brought up before the scooter can be started:


Riding position lets the rider sit with a straight back, which is the best position:


On the left-hand side, you find the switches for toggling the high and low beam, joystick control for managing the various menu options, turn-indicators and finally the horn. The horn's loudness is adequate. All the buttons have tiny tactile bumps. I have no idea why they are needed, but they are there:


On the right-hand side is my favourite button - the reverse gear. This is so cool. I wish every scooter has this feature. The speed in reverse is understandably quite limited. The second button is for toggling between the 2 riding modes - Zip for normal riding and Smart Eco for when range is extremely critical. The Eco mode severely limits both the top speed and acceleration:


The mirrors are good in providing coverage, but there is a lot of distortion in the corners:




The grooves for the rider's legs are nice, but the panels get dirty. I purposely rubbed my dusty shoes on it and the stain looked very bad. This scooter will need regular cleaning:




The belt drive is very silent and gives a comfortable ride:


The mandatory stop in front of a petrol bunk and smirk with my newfound love for the environment:

Refinement & NVH

Electric vehicles are super silent. There are zero vibrations when the motor is idling. You literally have to look at the console to see that the "Motor is on". A slight twist of the accelerator and it moves forward with a barely audible whine. On a completely empty road, I had to take off my helmet to actually hear the engine. I am not even sure if I should call this an engine. It is a motor and it spins. But there is definitely a connection between the scooter and the rider. It certainly has a soul and lends itself to a connection that we all yearn for from our vehicles.

The refinement is top-notch. If you want to feel nothing but the wind, this certainly pulls those strings in your heart.

Suspension and Handling

The Rizta comes with a telescopic fork suspension at the front and a monoshock at the rear. The setup is on the firmer side. It handled most speed breakers and potholes well, but being a scooter, the Rizta is not meant to take them at anything more than 15-20 km/h.

On very bad potholes or improperly designed speed breakers, there is rough, bouncy feel. The monoshock quickly smoothens things though. Overall, The scooter is very well-balanced and the tyres provide a good amount of grip which improves control. The tyres and suspension are able to fully dampen the vibrations from the road. Since there are no vibrations from the electric motor, the comfort level is further enhanced.

Telescopic fork suspension at the front:


Tyres provide sufficient grip:

Braking

The Rizta comes with a disc brake at the front and a drum brake at the rear. The setup works well and the scooter stops without fuss. The skid control feature allows you to brake on any kind of surface without any drama. The scooter held its line even under harsh braking on a very sandy stretch.

That being said, with the "magic twist" feature, I hardly bothered using the brakes for slowing down. Simply twisting the accelerator in the upward direction which causes the regen to kick in and this rapidly slows the scooter down.

Disc brake at the front:

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Final Thoughts

Ather has some very nice scooters and the 450 series (especially the 450 Apex) has set a very high standard in performance. With the Rizta, the company wants to tap into the family scooter market. The scooter ticks a lot of the important requirements. The seat is extremely wide and long, which provides enough space for a couple to sit very comfortably and even keep a decent number of bags with them.

The storage bin under the seat allows two helmets to be stored comfortably. Features like skid control and SMS alerts are very useful and with the increased focus on safety, we can call them game changers.

The top speed is limited to 80 km/h. My father rides a scooter on a daily basis. He almost never goes over 40 km/h. Most people who will use this scooter will find the speed adequate. The scooter is not intended for "speed" and the target audience will not mind that.

The Rizta looks very neutral. It does not get eyeballed like the 450 series, but it's definitely not a bad-looking scooter. I would even go as far as saying that this is a very handsome scooter.

I suggest everyone take a test ride of any of these new EV scooters, be it Ather, Ola or even the radical River Indie, just for the experience. They may or may not be the future, but they are a great choice for short city rides.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Rohitthebest]

Thanks for the nice detailed review.
Absolutely agree with you on one point that for city commute EV two wheelers are simply terrific. We've been using Ather 450X for almost two years now, saved so much on fuel and service cost but the best part is saving time in queuing up in fuel stations and hassle of filling up every 4-5th day. On top of that the pick up, silence, ease of use, big boot, reverse gear, safety etc are too good features.
The only grudge is that they still aren't making ABS as mandatory on these, once that is done, they will become unbeatable.

[bijims]

Absolutely wonderful review, although a bit pricey with the PRO PACK, the Rizta ticks most of the boxes for the common man, be it space or features but performance is clearly lacking when considered with the competition. Moreover, with the competition taking the game to the next level with varied features and price points, the Rizta is not the only plyer out there which provides a practical option for a family-oriented scooter. The iQube is a serious contender now with the revamped lineup including the ST 3.4 kWh and ST 5.1 kWh variants, the OLA S1 X series is also great VFM, the Hero Vida V1 Plus is also a great offering with added advantage of removable batteries. So, the competition is fierce, and it is definitely a great time to consider an Electric scooter as your next 2-wheeler purchase.

[sirius]

Originally Posted by bijims

it is definitely a great time to consider an Electric scooter as your next 2-wheeler purchase.

After experiencing a few electric scooters in the last few months, I regret buying a Honda Active for my father last year. Ather 450's Suspension, features, and refinement are very good. Activa looks very crude, outdated, and not worth 1L for what it offers. I guess Rizta would've suited him very well, but the only catch is service options in suburban areas.

[Rocketscience]

Originally Posted by bblost

Ather Rizta Review

Attachment 2609667

It seemed like an ideal alternate to TVS iCube and even Activa, seemed like a good family scooter and knowing Ather should be relatively free from bugs and well engineered, however, this picture makes it look like a dealbreaker to me. It is shockingly disproportionate!
I mean the rear part when viewed from the side is huge with the bottom portion making it look like chicken legs on a bodybuilder.

Also, pardon my ignorance, but what's with the mixed communication in this review on calling it a scooter and bike interchangeably, ideally it should be one or the other and preferably a scooter, when did we start to call a scooter bike?

[bblost]

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

It seemed like an ideal alternate to TVS iCube and even Activa, seemed like a good family scooter and knowing Ather should be relatively free from bugs and well engineered, however, this picture makes it look like a dealbreaker to me. It is shockingly disproportionate!
I mean the rear part when viewed from the side is huge with the bottom portion making it look like chicken legs on a bodybuilder.

It looks pretty balanced when you see it in person.

Also, pardon my ignorance, but what's with the mixed communication in this review on calling it a scooter and bike interchangeably, ideally it should be one or the other and preferably a scooter, when did we start to call a scooter bike?

Very sorry. Now that you mention it, I realize the same.
Am so stuck in my bike world, the scooter word became synonymous to me.

EDIT: I have updated most of the occurrences of bike with scooter. Thanks.

[darkgamer]

Originally Posted by sirius

After experiencing a few electric scooters in the last few months, I regret buying a Honda Active for my father last year. Ather 450's Suspension, features, and refinement are very good. Activa looks very crude, outdated, and not worth 1L for what it offers. I guess Rizta would've suited him very well, but the only catch is service options in suburban areas.

Activa tbh is an extremely overpriced product which hasn’t changed meaningfully in last 20ish years.

I got my Activa 125 for ~67k including accessories in 2017 and I never thought it was worth the money compared to my older access 125. It routinely has issues with push to start even with a couple battery replacements and service visits to no avail, unless I use it regularly. Recently got to know they’ve hiked the price by over 50% now with zero appreciable change in the product itself.

It's honestly so sad that the market isn’t punishing such a sad uncompetitive product, and Honda is rightly milking the Indian consumer.

[PreludeSH]

Been using 450X for close to 2 years for short commutes. Its very easy to maintain since it does spend more amount of time at home and can be charged. Never charged outside.

Maybe for people who use it as part of their job, charging might still be a hassle. Else, scooters are apt for converting to electric before anything else.

[abaliga]

Rizta looks like a product that will win a lot of customers, I hope it is very successful and eats into the Activa pie. In my opinion, Ather Energy is poised to be one of the most valuable startups in the country and I am not talking about valuations, I was listening to the podcast of ICN on Youtube where the CEO speaks about the company's evolution, this is a company lead by level headed founders who are in no rush to increase valuations but focus on the product, this quality and product focused mindset is going to take Ather places! I hope they can eventually think of getting into cars/SUVs as well, though 4 wheelers are much more complex than scooters, I feel the company has what it takes to be a pioneer in the EV space (Tata of course has made great strides and I was impressed with the Punch EV), if China can have so many successful first time car makes (Especially EVs), we can have at least a couple of new entrants besides Mahindra and Tata.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with any of the Automobile manufacturers, I just want to see some homegrown startups that dish out quality products succeed.

[brownkaiser]

Some might say I'm wrong, but the car reviews have become kind-of standard, and even using the same sentences altogether sometimes. However, this was refreshing

Thank you for a wonderful review. Loved the vehicle and I hope it becomes a success.

[SithDefender]

Originally Posted by bblost

With the Rizta, the company wants to tap into the family scooter market. The scooter ticks a lot of the important requirements.

Top-notch review! Was eagerly waiting for this, and seems Ather has done their research well and brought out a darn good scooter considering the family market.

I especially like all the thoughtful features like skid control, relief cuts on the levers, etc. And that "Cardamom green" color is fresh and minty!

By the way, do you have any picture of the optional frunk for reference ?