My thoughts on current Electric scooters - Ola, Ather, River and TVS

Athers software is the best in the game basically, google maps is more reliable, things just work, and it also has the charger gun lock, so people cant remove the charger from your scooter.

BHPian AgastyaXV recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hey guys,

So for context, I currently own the s1 pro gen 2, and I've driven the s1x/x+, River indie, Ather 450x and apex, and Chetak, yet to drive the Rizta.

OLA:

So first things first, ola is the cheapest, but the biggest problem is the customer support is EXTREMELY BAD. Trust me on this, my scooters body panels retention clips just broke on its own (within 2-3k km of driving), olas service centre is always full, and when i managed to get an appointment, they woudnt claim manufacturing defect for the body panel, and literaly superglued it. So if you want a reliable scooter, dont get the ola, it CAN leave you stranded, died on me once, had to fix it myself by unplugging wires.

The ola has cable drum brakes, which honestly are WEAK, and the accelerator is VERY laggy, once you let go of the accelerator, it still pulls for half a second, regen isnt refined, so i would refrain from purchasing the x/x+/air due to these reasons. The olas seat height is also very high(im like 5'10 ish, i can flat foot when i sit on it, but to make the boot bigger, they made the seat wide, so when im in a comfortbale seating position, i am on my toes, this will be exaggerated for shorter people/women), and its heavy, and the power cuts if you touch the brake, so thats another point to note. Since it has cable brakes, sometimes the lever doesnt return to its position, so the scooter thinks youre perssing the brakes due to which your accelerator will not work. So that is dangerous+ you can just search ola s1x/x+ system issue. You'll find plenty of scooters and service centre doesnt even fix them.

Ola does have the most agressive pricing though, so if you still want a scooter, go for the x (key varient). All the features of the x+ will come to x, while the advantage is that since the x is key unlock, you dont have to fiddle with the password keypad, and the locks are mechanical too, (this will help, as if the ola dies, and your steering is locked, as in the x+, you will be stuck, while x has mechanical locks, so you can still push the scooter)

Thats it for the Ola, if you go with it, you're basically playing a game of luck.

ATHER:

As for the Ather, ive driven the 450x and apex, the Riztas midframe/front is shared with the ather, The ather is definately more comfortable, the 450x being sporty was WAY more comfortable than the Olas, also its much more maneuverable than the ola, so better oriented for city use. The Ather's seat is also longer so thats better. Athers software is the best in the game basically, google maps is more reliable, things just work, and it also has the charger gun lock, so people cant remove the charger from your scooter. You also get option to slow charge which will improve the battery life. The Ather has front hydraulics, which imo should be considered, as it drastically reduces the braking distance. It also basically gets skid control, so that can be helpful, as evs have all the power from the first second, so its much more easy to spin the wheels. The accelerator tuning is far better, zero lag, the autohold is amazing, it works even on flat grounds, doesn't need to be on an incline for it to be triggered and is overall a better scooter compared to the ola.

River:

I've taken TD of the river indie too, the river is basically if the ola was a pickup scooter. The rivers suspension is hard, it will not soak up bumps, and didnt exactly feel confidence aspiring if you tried to plough through bumps as instead of it absorbing it all, it transmits it to the chassis and you, so you do feel it, but it has the most storage, most leg area. The accelerator response is like athers, good amount of torque down low, trails off in the mid range.

The rear cbs brake basically has the best feel/response out of all the scooters. Front is good too, but less bite. As for turning, the river wants to resist being thrown into corners, its more of a cruiser in that regards, so incase theres a pothole, dont expect to be able to avoid it, but rather plough through it. If theres a long continous gradual turn, the river will hold its line, just doesnt want to be thrown quickly into corners.

TVS iqube

Tvs iqube is basically a family scooter. It doesnt have the most power, most range, most features, but it is just meant to be a direct easy swap for a traditional ice scooter.

It does have front disc brakes, so far better than the ola s1x's drums, the accelerator response is also better, as it doesnt have the weird lag, but its down on power. The suspension is a lot more soft and just more of a normal less techy scooter in that regard.

• If you want the best handling scooter, go for the ather 450x
• If you want the most power/fastest scooter, go for the ola s1 pro (btw it doesnt get 11kw power, or the updated motor)
• If you want the most space, go for river indie
• If you want the most comfortable scooter: (tvs iQube is there, I haven't driven the rizta so cant comment, but if the rizta is as comfortable as the tvs, go for the rizta, as you get a lot more tech, much better motor and accelerator control, more range, and you get the ability to fast charge it)
• If you want a reliable scooter, dont go for the ola at all

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