[jaganm]

I've had an Ather 450 since early 2019 and have done close to 20000 km on it. It has been a revelation in most areas, the scooter still feels quite as good as new. However, the biggest bugbear is the battery range, a range of 55/65 is just not good enough for our current use.
.
I am tempted to upgrade to the 450X. It is a known quantity and I have complete confidence in Ather borne by over 4 years of ownership. However, I cannot help myself looking across the aisle towards the Ola S1 Pro.

Here are my thoughts about the Ola
- Better performance and specs
- Bigger storage and more comfortable ergonomics

The cons as I see it
- Worries about reliability, especially as my daughter will be the main user, I don't want to take a chance with things like front suspension and auto reverse that I've read about

- Build quality - the Ather looks good even after 4 years and has no rattles anywhere. The battery must have depleted but it still gives the same range as it did when new. Can I trust Ola to the same extent? I've seen videos where the long term durability seems suspect.

Am I correct in my thinking? Or are my feelings about Ola outdated and I really should be giving them a more thorough look?

[Axe77]

Whether the Ather 450X is upgrade enough from your range requirements I don’t know off hand but at this point in time, I’d anyday buy an Ather over an Ola, every day of the week. Ola is simply not confidence inspiring for me personally.

[Venky03]

Originally Posted by jaganm

I am tempted to upgrade to the 450X. It is a known quantity and I have complete confidence in Ather borne by over 4 years of ownership.

The 450X has matured significantly in comparison to the S1 Pro, and it's not worth compromising reliability for the sake of a bigger boot and increased performance(persistent overheating issues).

Without a doubt, 450X over S1 Pro.

[deep_bang]

I have an ola s1 and to be fair it's pretty good but does have some software niggles, but none that matter towards safety of the rider.

With the S1 air (if that's what you are looking for), the front shocks are also twin shocks like conventional scooters. So I think it's pretty decent for what it offers.

However, if I would have had an Ather, and liked it, I would blindly go for another Ather as long as price is not an issue. Reliability wise it's hard to beat at this point and all others will take several years to prove their reliability (Ola included).

[raptor_diwan]

Definitely Ather, it's not worth taking a risk on such a product, and you will definitely feel the difference once you switch to OLA. Product-wise, Ather is a complete, finished package, so without a second thought, go for Ather.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by jaganm

Am I correct in my thinking? Or are my feelings about Ola outdated and I really should be giving them a more thorough look?

Sir from our riding experience
Ather's handling is like a motorcycle that has its engine mounted at center & inspires great handling. We felt a little inspired to abuse Ather & felt it can still withstand them.

Ola on the other hand, nothing negative to comment, but certainly more than a few notches below at par to handle. We {Wife & I} felt the rear was a little heavier especially when doing hard turns & U turns {this is our experience riding Activa extensively & other motorcycles in 100/250 & 650cc}

While Ather was prototyped, designed, tested extensively & manufactured here, Ola was certainly prototyped & designed at Netherlands & have been tested & manufactured here. Ofcourse, I'm a little biased towards Ather for all the praises of it in here & over the Internet.

[shancz]

The perfect personification of the three, IMHO.

Credits to Providers :

YouTube : MotorInc

[ohaak]

Ather has issues regarding its naming schemes. In my family, we own two Ather 450X models, each having varying battery capacities and features. One would be the second-generation Ather 450X, while the other is the third-generation 450X, version 3.2. It seems the latter is now known as the Ather 450X Pro.

If you possess an older Ather scooter, including the 450X model, it's important to review the most recent model available on the market, along with its accompanying features and range capacity.

My vote is for the Ather 450X. It has good after sales service and the scooter has wonderful build quality and it lasts.

[Buzzaper]

Originally Posted by jaganm

However, I cannot help myself looking across the aisle towards the Ola S1 Pro.

The itch to seek a change is understandable, and the answer to your question would be revealed by taking multiple test drives of every suitable E-2W in the market currently (IQube, Vida V1, S1 Pro etc...). We have news that the new 450S is on the way so it will be better to stick on to see what it offers over other Ather models.

Regarding your concern with OLA, it is a hit or a miss to have a peaceful ownership with an OLA scooter. I have read so many horror stories online but my 7 months so far with the S1 Pro has been flawless. Same goes with the service experience. If you really want to try out OLA, it is better to lower your positive expectations on the experience but if it turns out to be good, consider it a bonus.

If we strictly speak about the product and it's hardware, OLA has a superior Motor output, battery capacity, head unit hardware(3GB ram & 32GB rom) and more features for a significantly lower price that Ather. It's like the experience you get with Xiaomi(analogous to OLA) and Apple(analogous to Ather); you pay more for the experience not the product. Cheers!

[MadRasTan4986]

Yours is a perfect case of the saying "the grass is always greener on the other side" :-D
As an Ather Gen1.5 (450) and having been using it since late 2019, I have been tempted to try out the Ola. But all the reliability concerns, lack of service centres/ touchpoints is a big concern. I have ridden an Ola S1 too for a good number of kms and honestly, thank my stars that I opted for the Ather.

I have had no issues or bugs with the ride till date. And the only think I can think of upgrading this is with another Ather. I just wish they start changing the looks at least. It's about time the vehicle got an overhaul in design.

But still my vote will be for the Ather anyday. The company has always been very transparent with their owners. That tells a lot and you can tell how well engineered the bike is, almost 4 years on and it has stood the test of time well.

[sreeharipv]

I have an Ather 450X and an Ola S1 Pro, my sister has an S1 Pro, two of my cousins have S1 Pros.

None of these vehicles had any issues so far. The reliability issues are a bit far fetched I feel from my experience. If I were to buy another one now, I'll only go with Ola for the following reasons.

1. Quieter ride especially at slow speed. Ather has an annoying belt noise.
2. More storage space
3. More range
4. More features like cruise control
5. #EndIceAge mission
6. More value for money

Early Ola issues are mostly the results of them being overly ambitious and swinging for the fences a little bit. Things have improved a lot over the months.

Other options like Chetak and iCube are underwhelming in everyway.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by sreeharipv

None of these vehicles had any issues so far. The reliability issues are a bit far fetched I feel from my experience. If I were to buy another one now,

Right. As an Ola S1 owner, I too agree with this assessment. Especially the motor control part of it has been bullet proof over the last 3 months/1500kms for me.

Where I do still see niggles is:
1. GPS unit does not work always. Have taken it to the service center twice with both times the issue having been resolved but came back up after a few days. Figured out that a reboot resolves the issue - and I can just do that instead of taking it to service center.

2. UI got hung once during which the motor control was perfectly fine. A reboot resolved it.

So, as a summary, the value that Ola offers is more, as long as you also prepared to go with some of the niggles. Think of it like Windows a few years ago vs Mac.
Over time, the reliability should improve as they fix more issues and updates are supplied. Just like Windows 7 is as bullet proof as a Mac today.

However, if you want a no nonsense, no niggles 2 wheeler, then Ather it is.

Also, one reason we went for Ola is that Ather is a little small for taller folks with the knee hitting the handle during sharp turns. Ather is just a little too small. Ola is more comfortable that way.

[ghtg1]

Being an Ola S1 user for almost a year and had clocked some 8K kms on it, I can confirm the ride is better than Ather. Buit quality is strictly average and two notches below Ather. Service is horrible in remote areas but if you are in metro area that shouldn't be that bad for you and low purchase cost should compensate bit premium service costs. For past 8k kms I have incurred zero service costs and it has been maintenance free to date. The recent batches are mostly niggle free and well sorted compared to batches of initial six months. I can have my entire laptop bag in the boot comfortably and no two wheeler can match that boot space. Range for S1 would be 70-80kms in normal mode with average 50km speed and S1 Pro would be 100-110kms per charge. Issues like auto reverse are resolved by software update long back and unheard since long. Either way both products should serve well for your use case.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by jaganm

I am tempted to upgrade to the 450X. It is a known quantity and I have complete confidence in Ather borne by over 4 years of ownership. However, I cannot help myself looking across the aisle towards the Ola S1 Pro.

Couple of days ago, I took a test ride of the Ather 450X, Ola S1 Pro (Gen 1), Bajaj Chetak and TVS iCube. Between the Ola and Ather, the Ola was better in almost all aspects except the Touch Screen and Charging network. The major cons of the Ola are Quality Control, Touch Screen, Limited Charger network and not so professional dealerships. Now the Ather is also a fantastic product. The only cons I see are the smaller form factor (not an issue if your daughter is riding), lower range (sort of taken care by the Ather Grid) and confusing subscription plans.

Originally Posted by Axe77

I’d anyday buy an Ather over an Ola, every day of the week. Ola is simply not confidence inspiring for me personally.

Same thoughts here.

Originally Posted by deep_bang

I have an ola s1 and to be fair it's pretty good but does have some software niggles, but none that matter towards safety of the rider.

2 of my neighbours have an Ather and an Ola S1 Pro. Both students and both are pretty happy with their bikes.

With the S1 air (if that's what you are looking for), the front shocks are also twin shocks like conventional scooters. So I think it's pretty decent for what it offers.

I'd say, stay clear of this bike. The original S1 pro was designed by Etergo and was a fantastic design. It might not have been perfect for Indian conditions but rather than doing some R&D to improve it, they chose the roadside mechanic approach of putting telescopic shocks and a local workshop fabricated style swingarm.

However, if I would have had an Ather, and liked it, I would blindly go for another Ather as long as price is not an issue. Reliability wise it's hard to beat at this point and all others will take several years to prove their reliability (Ola included).

Reliability wise Ather is the best.

Originally Posted by sreeharipv

I have an Ather 450X and an Ola S1 Pro, my sister has an S1 Pro, two of my cousins have S1 Pros.

None of these vehicles had any issues so far. The reliability issues are a bit far fetched I feel from my experience.

Good to hear that.

If I were to buy another one now, I'll only go with Ola for the following reasons.

1. Quieter ride especially at slow speed. Ather has an annoying belt noise.
2. More storage space
3. More range
4. More features like cruise control
5. #EndIceAge mission
6. More value for money

Except for No.5, I agree. The #EndIceAge presentation was so pathetic. Bhavesh was talking like a guy at a local bar blowing his trumpet about all the hard work they put in. I also lost count of the number of times he started a sentence with "Okay" or "Alright".

Early Ola issues are mostly the results of them being overly ambitious and swinging for the fences a little bit. Things have improved a lot over the months.

True but they have not totally fixed everything. I'd still say, if buying an Ola stick to the Gen 1 S1 Pro.

Other options like Chetak and iCube are underwhelming in everyway.

Chetak was actually not bad. If you can live without the touchscreen and lack of fast charging, it's really nice.

[jaganm]

So, after test riding the latest versions of both Ather and Ola, I decided to go for the Ola. It is a decision driven purely by product comparison, as a product, I found Ola to be superior and the Ather is just a bit better than the 450 that I have from 2019.

I also think Ather has regressed a bit since the first version. They no longer offer the various packs like connect and service.

Of course the actual experience between the two brands is night and day, Ather feels like walking into an upmarket mall whereas Ola felt like I took the 342 bus to Kalasipalayam!

Delivery happens in December and I’ll post my ongoing ownership of the scooter.