[Sensible_Speed]

This post is my opinion on how to approach your first ever electric scooter purchase.

Why should I consider an electric scooter in the first place?

Costs: This is a major factor that influences any purchase decision. There are three costs to note. They are- cost of purchase, cost of maintenance and cost of running.

With the current pricing trends being what they are, it makes sense now, more than ever, to go electric. A 110cc scooter costs just under a lakh on road today, with 125cc scooters breaching that mark. 1 lakh rupees for a scooter! We live in weird times. But, when you look at it differently, electric scooters now only cost about 5-10k more than their IC counterparts. So buying them will not put as big a dent in your account as it would have a couple of years back.

Maintenance costs have been on par or lower than a regular petrol scooter as they are mostly software updates or bug fixes. The killer blow is the steep drop in the running costs, when compared to an IC scooter. In 2021, you'd have to cover approximately 60,000-80,000 km on an electric scooter to break even on savings. But now, with the increase in the price of ICE scooters, that number has dropped by half! You break even on savings after roughly 5 years of riding your electric scooter.

Running costs are a fraction of a rupee as electricity is cheaper than petrol. This is where most EV owners make a bulk of their savings.

Congestion: The city dwellers amongst us will understand this. How many times have we gotten stuck in traffic, surrounded by big cars and hundreds of scooters, pumping their noxious exhaust vapours into the air? Did you know, the ambient temperature of your surroundings can increase by upto 3 degrees in dense traffic? You can literally feel the heat of the vehicles around you as you ride through dense traffic. This, compounded by poor city planning, causes exhaustion and a myriad of lifestyle diseases that affect our quality of life.

While it may be true that EVs pollute just as much as conventional scooters when overall emissions are concerned, it doesn't add heat to its immediate surroundings. Using an EV and encouraging others in cities, can make your commute a bit more pleasant.

User Experience: Powertrain components are rotary in nature, which means there are no unpleasant vibrations from reciprocating masses. This makes for a smooth and silent start-up and operation. Gone are the unpleasant and noisy grinding of gears, pounding of the engine and buzzing of handlebars and footboard.

Some Pre-requisites to Buying an Electric Scooter

Charging Infrastructure: This is pretty much the only consideration you have to make before purchasing any electric vehicle. How will you juice it up? This is also the biggest stumbling block in the adoption of electric scooters in cities. Installing a charger in an apartment block can be an arduous task. Ensure the apartment electricals can take the load, get the approvals needed from your apartment management/ board. And finally, make sure you have ample options to charge up outside home if you run low on power. While public charging in cities is not an issue, home charging can be. If this requirement is sorted, you are pretty much set to buy an EV.

Commute Length: Make sure your commute is within the range of your ride. A typical electric scooter can do 60-80 km on a single charge, so if your commute is longer, you need to look for a facility to charge up somewhere in between. One can also adjust their riding style to extract the maximum range from their scooters.

Realistic Options to Choose From

When it comes to buying an electric scooter, you need to ensure you pick the right one. There are plenty of options available at every price point. Staying true to the title, I will only list the options that are a sensible replacement for the typical ICE scooter. Please note, this section is completely my biased opinion.

To begin with, I am eliminating the Ola Electric offerings outright here. While Ola might offer the most value on paper, their scooters are extremely compromised products and hence, cannot be relied upon. Initially, I figured these problems could be sorted with software updates, but as more and more issues come to light, one can easily figure out that Ola haven't done their due diligence in developing the product. The Ola S1 series, in my opinion, is an incomplete design and therefore cannot be recommended.

These are my picks from the current crop of electric replacements for a 110-125cc scooter:

• Ather 450 S/X: The Ather scooters are well engineered and make sense if you want a hassle free ownership experience. They offer good range, solid hardware and software that has been tested and proven to be amongst the best on offer today. If you can live with the stiff suspension and lack of legroom, this is the scooter to buy.
  
• TVS iQube (S): The iQube offers practicality and value for money. It is the no-frill choice if you need a proper commuter scooter. While it is low on power and features, the allround product is tough to beat.
  
• Bajaj Chetak: This revived badge didn't light up the sales chart as Bajaj might've hoped. But, it is still a solid buy with constant updates to the product and good build quality. Prices are also on par with the segment, but it is down on power even to the iQube. The feature list is also sparse.
  
• Vida V1/Pro: Hero Motocorp's electric offering is a strong contender. While it may be priced high compared to the others, it offers the convenience of removable batteries. This solves the charging problem for those living in apartment complexes. But, for the price, it isn't as fun to ride, nor as well finished as the others listed above.

[v4run]

Great write up! You literally summarised what I thought about the 2W EV space. I own a Vida V1 pro and yes the finish quality isn’t up to the mark but in 4500 kms of very rough use it still holds up. Spares are dead cheap and are in stock. With the current price drop/offers they are giving it away for, I feel this is most value for money. But Ather has won my heart and there’s no doubt about it. It is simply just better in every way. And you are spot on about Ola. One test ride reveals a myriad of issues.

[derthom]

Your analysis is accurate and free of biases. Ather does stand out as an overall well rounded product, and now with the price slash for the 450S, it can be a lucrative buy.

I'm in the market for EV too, and Ather just launched a special edition called APEX, its a stunning machine, but the price tag is 1.97 on road - bangalore. My bigger question is how the after sales would work for special edition bikes.

Bangalore traffic and general rider mentality is borderline reckless and i don't want to end up scratching and scuffing a good looking scooter. I'm torn on what to get.

A normal black no frills Ather 450S or the fun & exciting but prone to damages Ather Apex

[shyampsunder]

Originally Posted by Sensible_Speed

While it may be true that EVs pollute just as much as conventional scooters when overall emissions are concerned, it doesn't add heat to its immediate surroundings. Using an EV and encouraging others in cities, can make your commute a bit more pleasant.

Appreciate the write up but let's not normalise anti EV myths.

There is no way that an electric scooter pollutes as much as it's ICE counterpart when you consider well to wheel emissions.

All the ICE emission numbers you see is when it's tested as a brand new vehicle. As it ages it only pollutes more. Other factors like altitude and temperature can also result in dramatic increase in emissions.

In 2022, solar + wind + nuclear made up 92% of the new energy generation capacity added to India's grid. Source

Every year an EV dramatically becomes greener while ICE vehicles only pollute more.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by Sensible_Speed

In 2021, you'd have to cover approximately 60,000-80,000 km on an electric scooter to break even on savings. But now, with the increase in the price of ICE scooters, that number has dropped by half! You break even on savings after roughly 5 years of riding your electric scooter.

Lovely write up but I believe this is where the problem persists for few folks like myself. I have owned an Activa 1st gen bought in 2002 by my father and ridden daily until we moved to the outskirts of the city in 2012. Even with daily, and what I'd categorize as extensive usage, we only managed to put 50,000kms on the clock. The Kinetic Honda my dad bought over a decade earlier ended up having only 40,000kms on the clock when we got rid of both the scooters in 2012. Both of these scooters were ridden extensively and even taken on small trips. Infact I have friends that own 10 year old scooters with only 20,000kms on the clock and one friend even has an activa 3g that has only run 12,000kms. The way I see it, only a delivery boy or someone who uses a scooter for their work and daily commute, thereby risking range anxiety after a couple years of ownership, can break even within 5 years. The rest of us folks who use scooters strictly for short trips probably within 5kms, would take a long long time before we put 30,000kms on the clock to break-even not to mention the opportunity cost lost by not being able to invest that money elsewhere for be it 3 or 5 or god forbid 10 years.

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

Appreciate the write up but let's not normalise anti EV myths.

There is no way that an electric scooter pollutes as much as it's ICE counterpart when you consider well to wheel emissions.

I think it is important to be transparent and not blindly believe that one technology is magically greener than the other. You seem to do a lot of research so I am sure you are aware of the ecological impact caused by lithium mining and battery production. Moreover the lifecylce of the batteries practically stripping an ev of any residual value post 5 years and forcing users to buy an all new vehicle not simply as a tax write off but as a necessity if they want to stick with EVs

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

In 2022, solar + wind + nuclear made up 92% of the new energy generation capacity added to India's grid. Source

The key element of that statement being "energy generation capacity added" I wonder what percentage change that equates to in terms of total energy generation in our country. At the end of the day sustainability is not a joke it is more than just an industry shift to lithium battery operated vehicles, away.

[Sensible_Speed]

Mod note: Back to back post, please use Multi Quote [Quote +] instead of this. Also please avoid quoting entire large post, instead trim them inside the quote tags. Thanks.

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

Appreciate the write up but let's not normalise anti EV myths.
======
Every year an EV dramatically becomes greener while ICE vehicles only pollute more.

What you said is true, except EVs require component changes too down the line. I am not entirely certain about the specifics of a battery swap, but if done, will drop the electric scooter back down the 'green' ladder. While it is undeniable EVs are greener now by a small margin, we cannot predict they will be so over their entire lifecycle, especially at the end. Just like an IC vehicle, end of life handling remains a big problem, if not bigger, what with the spent rare earth elements and potentially toxic compounds, and all that. Disposal and responsible recycling is not something we humans are good at. Look at the plastic problem for instance. But lets hope for the best!

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Lovely write up
=== to break-even not to mention the opportunity cost lost by not being able to invest that money elsewhere for be it 3 or 5 or god forbid 10 years.

You make a very good point. But luckily, depending on where you live, a decent new electric scooter shouldn't cost all that much more than a new 125cc scooter. As a comparison, let's take the Ather 450S and the Suzuki Access 125. A brand new Ather 450S with the Pro Pack costs about 127,000 INR on-road in Bangalore today, while a new Suzuki Access 125 with the disc brake costs roughly 115,000 on-road Bangalore. So even if your running is low, you should still recuperate the premium over the Access within a year of running. This calculation is why most people seriously looking for a new scooter should atleast consider an electric scooter.

[Sri Vathsa]

Originally Posted by Sensible_Speed

You make a very good point. But luckily, depending on where you live, a decent new electric scooter shouldn't cost all that much more than a new 125cc scooter. As a comparison, let's take the Ather 450S and the Suzuki Access 125. A brand new Ather 450S with the Pro Pack costs about 127,000 INR on-road in Bangalore today, while a new Suzuki Access 125 with the disc brake costs roughly 115,000 on-road Bangalore. So even if your running is low, you should still recuperate the premium over the Access within a year of running. This calculation is why most people seriously looking for a new scooter should atleast consider an electric scooter.

I was looking forward to pick Ather 450X but a recent video in YT changed my mind, in the video the owner of Ather had some battery failure in 2nd year of ownership and he got the vehicle back after 45 days (no charges to him as the vehicle was in warranty), he was sharing the actual cost incurred by the company to replace the battery (~45k) but if the vehicle is Out of warranty (i.e. after 5 years) it costs 90,000 Rupees, the prices was mentioned by the Ather service representative.

If you maintain ICE vehicle it will last for at least 12+ years without any major repairs (activa, access 125 etc). 90k for battery is steep and will negate whatever advantages you have of an EV and unfortunately no matter what you do, battery will go bad.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by Sensible_Speed

You make a very good point. But luckily, depending on where you live, a decent new electric scooter shouldn't cost all that much more than a new 125cc scooter. As a comparison, let's take the Ather 450S and the Suzuki Access 125. A brand new Ather 450S with the Pro Pack costs about 127,000 INR on-road in Bangalore today, while a new Suzuki Access 125 with the disc brake costs roughly 115,000 on-road Bangalore. So even if your running is low, you should still recuperate the premium over the Access within a year of running. This calculation is why most people seriously looking for a new scooter should atleast consider an electric scooter.

Wow thanks I actually had no idea that the difference in cost was so little I actually thought it was more around 50k difference. I myself am in the market for a new scooty and was almost certain I'd buy a Yamaha Ray but I guess I still have some more research left to do. If an Ather is indeed hardly 20k more expensive then perhaps the only thing I need to be worried about is battery degradation after 3-5 years and whether the scooty will still provide any utility post warranty.

[bijims]

Despite all the hate towards OLA, they have captured one-third of the 2W EV market, and that is mainly due to their aggressive pricing, availability (online) as well as experience centers and features (on paper) at least. Moreover, although niggles persist, OLA has learned a lot from their Gen1 scooters and improved on many aspects in Gen2. Moreover with aggressive pricing (who else sells a 3kwh (100km+ realistic range) electric scooter with adequate features for Rs.89,999 ex-showroom, they are the only electric two-wheeler manufacturer to see any growth post the festive season.

I am not an advocate for OLA, but their aggressive marketing has captured the public and customers despite all the negative publicity that used to and still exists.

However, when we delve deep into the sales of Electric two-wheelers it becomes evident that Ather is slowly losing out to the well-established Two-wheeler manufacturers like TVS and Bajaj and over the last couple of months, they have been selling more than Ather. Hero with its Vida has been a hit during the festive season due to the deep discounts offered as well, but once the offers were cut, sales fell as well. Now they are back to offering up to 34k offers again!

[vamsi.kona]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

Moreover the lifecylce of the batteries practically stripping an ev of any residual value post 5 years and forcing users to buy an all new vehicle not simply as a tax write off but as a necessity if they want to stick with EVs

I am not sure the battery life of popular EV 2 wheelers being sold now is just 5 years or that there will be complete degradation immediately after 5 years and requiring a replacement. The warranty given on most vehicles may be 5 years but that doesn't mean they need to be replaced or degrade sharply. In fact Ola is now giving 8 years warranty as standard on most of its models.

And contrary to the popular opinion, they have indeed addressed majority of the shortcomings that their vehicles had initially. Are there still a few niggles, yes. But most of them are minor software related and the OS4 update should address them. The reason why they are able to be the top seller of EV 2 wheelers is because the niggles, apart from a few exceptional cases, don't hinder the regular usage of the vehicle. I am telling this based on personal experience over 7 months and 8k plus kms. So, any one who keeps in mind that they may face such niggles can still purchase Ola as they offer best value for money right now. We have both Ola S1pro Gen 1(Own) and Ather 450s (Cousins) in our family.

[moto_rrevver]

Hello Bhpians,

On 6th October 2024, we brought home our first electric two-wheeler, the Ather 450S. Yes, I opted for the most budget-friendly model in Ather's lineup, as per my use case. I’ll also discuss my delivery experience and how I filtered out other competing EV two-wheelers from my consideration list before finally choosing Ather.

We didn’t have any two-wheeler in our family, and we were relying entirely on our car for every small errand and long trips. We are a family of three adults, and since we travel together about 50% of the time, that’s not an issue. However, for other scenarios like small trips to the market, grocery shopping, and office commutes, we faced a lot of difficulties. We needed a two-wheeler for these purposes, preferably an electric scooter, so it would be accessible for my family and economical as an electric vehicle.

Options considered in order of preference:
1st Preference: Hero Vida V1 Pro

Reasons to consider:

a. Removable 4kWh battery, so I can charge at any friend's place or if I’m stuck somewhere, as not everyone has electric sockets in their parking.
b. Support for Ather Grid charging stations.
c. More than sufficient power and acceleration.
d. Decent boot space—not huge, but it fulfills my requirements.

Things that set me off:

a. The switchgear was unresponsive, and so was the touchscreen.
b. Exposed wires were visible from a huge distance.
c. The battery is inside the boot, and I doubt how they managed the thermals there.
d. Some panels were very flimsy, almost like a toy.
e. Known issue of water getting into the boot space.

Don't get me wrong, Hero Vida is a very capable competitor and will surely bounce back with their next iteration of scooters. Their drivetrain issues are minimal, but for now, they weren't quite there.

2nd Preference: The newly launched Ather Rizta S

Reasons to consider:

a. Support for Ather Grid charging stations.
b. Sufficient power and acceleration.
c. Reliable.
d. Spacious seat and boot.

However, the bulky look and not-so-good dynamics due to that bulk, along with the heaviness felt on the handlebars while turning (compared to the 450 series), set me off from buying it.

The 450S wasn’t even in my consideration list initially, because during my research, I found that it is very sharp, and the ride quality is good only on smooth tarmac. Also, it seemed overpowered for family usage. But when I test-rode it while I was at the Ather Space for the Rizta's test ride, I was amazed.

Other competitive scooters like Bajaj Chetak and TVS iQube were also out of my consideration, primarily because of the lack of a fast-charging network. This was important to me because sometimes I like to go to the outskirts of Pune during the monsoon, and a fast-charging network enables me to do so without range anxiety. I even did a Pune-Mumbai-Pune trip on my Ather 450S, more on that in another post.

What tempted me to go for the 450S:

a. Decent true range of 90km, with a pillion rider, it’s 80km. These numbers are not just on paper; they are achievable with some control over throttle input.
b. Very agile and fun to ride (especially in sports mode) due to the forged aluminium frame and powerful PMSM motor.
c. Good battery thermal management. Theoretically, if the battery stays cool, it will last a very long time. Ather uses a jelly-like chemical inside the battery pack that restricts the battery temperature from rising too high, and there are aluminum fins below the battery something like the fins on air cooled IC bike engines to help with cooling efficiency.
d. Feels light. My wife mentioned that she is more comfortable riding this than the heavier Rizta.
e. The 450 model has been in production since 2018, so they’ve already figured out most of the issues and fixed them, making it one of the most reliable options.





Cons:

a. Motor thermal management is good but not perfect. On highways, the motor reduces power if it's running constantly over 80 km/h for more than 10-15 km in sports mode. It never slows down below 75 km/h, so it’s not a huge issue, but it leaves a sour taste when you want that extra 15 km/h and don’t get it.
b. Smart Eco mode is inconsistent. To deliver the true range, it can cut off power at any moment, even while overtaking. I suggest forgetting about it and using the Ride and Sports modes instead. If you give controlled throttle input, you'll still get a range of over 90 km in Sports mode.
c. The new switchgear in the 4th-gen Athers is good, with the joystick integration and all, but the reverse and power-on buttons tend to get stuck in the pressed position about 1 out of 5 times, especially after rain or a wash. I’m forced to pull the button back manually, which should happen automatically with the spring. I’ll raise this concern at my first service and hope they’ll fix it under warranty.
d. The new display (non-touch, segmented LED) is good, but some Bluetooth connectivity features aren’t unlocked yet. I hope this will happen via OTA updates in the near future.
e. Navigation from MapMyIndia is not great. The turn-by-turn directions are fine, and you’ll get used to them, but the map itself is almost useless. It often directs you to take motorways and bridges where two-wheelers are not allowed. I had to pay a ₹500 fine for entering an over-bridge in Mumbai meant only for four-wheelers. After that incident, I don’t trust the map completely. It also forces you to take the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, where two-wheelers are restricted.
f. The home charger provided with the lower-range models of every Ather is very slow.
g. The boot space is smaller compared to the competition, but it’s enough for my needs.

Delivery Experience and Accessories Opted:

The delivery experience was good. They were offering a discount of ₹8,000 at the time of my purchase. The on-road price in Pune was ₹1,36,500, and I got it for ₹1,28,524. However, Shaw Ather Kharadi insisted that I take insurance from them, as they were offering a better discount. I didn’t mind, so I went along with it.

I opted for a few Ather accessories, as I found them to be of very good quality:

Rear left-side step for women wearing saree - ₹1,999
Bodyguard (with installation) - ₹1,699 (This is a thick, transparent rubber compound, similar to a PPF, which is applied to all the areas that might come into contact with the road in the event of a crash.)
Floor mat - ₹599
Seat cover - ₹999
Handle grip - ₹299
Total: ₹1,34,119





Home Charging Setup:

Fortunately, I have reserved underground parking for my car in my rented apartment, and it is not very far from the meter room. So, setting up the charging station was not a problem for me.

I bought a lockable box with a 16A socket and an MCB inside, to securely connect the charger without worrying about interference. This cost me ₹1,779 from Amazon.
I also purchased a 7-meter, 3-wire cable (2.5mm each) at ₹80 per meter, which amounted to ₹560.
Additional small items, such as a 1.5mm wire for proper grounding and a few clips for wire management, cost around ₹200.
The electrician's labor charge was ₹550.

Total for home charging setup: ₹3,089



Recommendation:

After riding it for more than 1,300 km and a long ride from Pune to Mumbai and back I would surely recommend everyone in the market for an electric scooter to go for a test ride and decide for themselves. The Ather 450S still offers tough competition to other players in the market, especially in terms of reliability. For those who need a better Google Maps experience, I think it’s worth paying a bit extra for the 450X, if you’re okay with the price tag, you’ll also get the extra sporty Warp mode, but otherwise, everything else is more or less the same between the 450S and 450X. One can also opt for the High Range model of 450x if your requirement is such, as it will provide 30 more km of True Range that is 120 km, and it also comes with a home fast charger which reduces the charging time significantly. If you will always be carrying stuff, opt for the Rizta, but don't go for the Rizta only for the bigger seat as 450's seat is also very comfortable for 2.