Despite its power advantage, the Ola is known to be sluggish off the line. Can the Ather, with its instant responses, capitalise?
Published on May 30, 2023 11:57:00 AM
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The Ola S1 Pro is the company’s flagship offering and comes powered by a mid-mounted motor rated at 8.5kW (peak) and 58Nm. These figures make it the most powerful electric scooter in the country, but when we last rode it, we still felt that its initial response off the line was quite sluggish, even in its quickest Hyper mode. And it's also 13kg heavier than the Ather.
| Ola S1 Pro vs Ather 450X Specs | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ola S1 Pro | Ather 450X | |
| Motor | Mid-mounted, permanent magnet motor | Mid-mounted, permanent magnet motor |
| Power | 8.5kW | 6.2kW |
| Torque | 58Nm | 26Nm |
| Gearbox | Single-speed | Single-speed |
| Weight | 121kg | 108kg |
| Power-to-weight | 70.25kW per tonne | 57.41kW per tonne |
| Torque-to-weight | 479.34Nm per tonne | 240.74Nm per tonne |
Though it became slightly more powerful with its Gen 3 update, the Ather 450X, at 6.2kW (peak), is still down compared to the Ola. But accelerator response is crisp and it zips off the line exactly like you’d expect from a sporty electric scooter. So it should get the early advantage, but will it be able to protect and maintain that lead over a quarter-mile drag race?
As we expected, the Ather gets the jump on the Ola off the line. It actually manages to build itself an appreciable lead, but once the Ola gets going, it’s no match. By about 60kph, the S1 Pro begins to reel the Ather back in, and it then goes on to reach its GPS top speed of nearly 100kph, while the 450X tops out at 80kph. All this means that the Ola continues to grow the gap all the way to the line, eventually beating the Ather by over 2 seconds in both the races we conducted. Timings for the Ola were 19.163secs and 19.283secs, while the Ather managed 21.769secs and 21.553secs.
| Ola S1 Pro vs Ather 450X Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ola S1 Pro | Ather 450X | |
| Race 1 | 19.163s @ 98.92kph | 21.769s @ 80.33kph |
| Race 2 | 19.283 @ 99.43kph | 21.553s @ 80.66kph |
We race the scooters twice, swapping the riders between races to ensure that rider weight does not influence the results, even though we choose two riders that are nearly identical in weight. The results you see here are the quickest elapsed time only. Elapsed time is the duration each scooter takes to get from the start line to the finish line. We don’t consider reaction time since it could skew the result due to human error. Our drag races are conducted on closed stretches of road, in a controlled environment and the scooters are driven by professionals. We urge you to drive safely and responsibly, and not indulge in racing on public roads.
Of course, reading about a drag race is one thing, but to really appreciate the thrill of it, you can check out our video of the drag race here.
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