The Ather 450X has been one of the most competent electric scooters on the market for quite some time now. But slowly and steadily, competitors have caught up with the Bengaluru-based start-up, and in the realm of range figures, many had surpassed the second-generation 450X. Indeed, one of the limitations of the scooter was an 85km ‘True Range’ figure – enough to get the job done, but not enough to completely leave range anxiety behind.
For the 450X Gen 3, Ather is offering a larger battery pack (up from 2.9kWh to 3.7kWh) and so the real-world range claim has gone up from 85km to 105km. Having had a chance to test the Gen 3 scooter in the real world, we were able to put these figures to the test.
Ather 450X Gen 3: range testing format
Our range testing routine starts with topping up the battery and ensuring that the scooter is running the manufacturer-recommended tyre pressures. The 450X is then ridden within the city, simply riding naturally and keeping pace with the traffic around us. Our route includes congested inner city streets, more open and faster-moving stretches as well as numerous flyovers, giving a decent variety that’s representative of most people’s daily commute. We tested the 450X’s range in not one, but two of its modes.
Ather 450X: real world range
First up, we tested the 450X in Sport mode, where performance is quite zippy. This is the mode that you’re likely to use if your daily commute isn’t very long, and you can afford to enjoy the scooter’s brisk performance without having to worry about range. Even in this acceleration-oriented mode, the scooter managed to get very close to its ‘True Range’ claim, managing to cover 98.2km before running dry. By comparison, on the Gen 2 scooter, we only managed 74km in Sport mode before running out of charge, which translates into a range increase of over 30% on the Gen 3 scooter.
Battery topped up once again, we set off in Eco mode this time – the one where you will get maximum range. The scooter not only met but also surpassed the range claim, managing to run for 115.5km before running out of juice.
As has always been the case, the 450X’s range readout remained extremely accurate throughout the test, giving us the confidence to take it down to the last mile in a predictable fashion.
To find out if the Gen 3 updates have helped the Ather 450X once again reign supreme in the electric scooter space, we tested it against the Ola S1 Pro, Bajaj Chetak and TVS iQube. Check out our comparison here. You can also check out our video comparison here.