The Ather 450X has been one of my favourite e-scooters, and though I have had fun in the city with it, never had I imagined riding it on a track. Though it was a go-kart track, it was just perfect to have fun with the 2025 Ather 450X… and well, test the updates, of course. And the way folks at Ather altered the track, there wasn’t much choice, too.
Remember the Magic Twist throttle that first made it to the 450 Apex, and later to the Rizta? Well, now even the 2025 450X has it, but unlike the Rizta, there are two levels: Low and High. Though I tried the Low mode for a while, I found myself enjoying the stringer regen of the other mode on the track. Ather claims that this along with a few other internal changes has bumped up the real-world range from 85 km to 105 km on the 2.9 kWh variant while the 3.7 kWh version benefits from a 25 km range boost, coming to 130 km! I couldn’t test that, but given Ather’s history, the actual numbers won’t be far off.
And to complement this, Ather has co-developed a new tyre with MRF. Now, it looks the same as the one on the previous model, but the Zapper N e-tred tyres feature a different construction, and have low rolling resistance. Though the company informed that the grip may take a hit, it never felt so on the track.
The first couple of laps were to get acquainted with the flow of the circuit, but soon after, I was in Warp mode, scraping the sides through every corner. But then, I had to test the updates, too, right? So, the next few laps were done without using the brakes, with the MagicTwist helping me shed speeds. Soon enough, I was relying only on the reverse throttle to slow down and it worked brilliantly.
Ather also equipped the 450X with three-level traction control: Rain, Road and Rally. Well, the third setting had me in splits. Even in the Rizta, I found it useful in very specific scenarios, just like I did that day on the new 450X. In loose sand or mud the traction control will be definitely helpful for new riders, but then again, how often are you gonna encounter such terrain?
And it’s important to understand whether you’ll be actually needing the traction control or not, because the standard variants are priced ₹ 16,000 to ₹ 20,000 more affordable than the ones with the Pro Pack. Unfortunately, even the MagicTwist is part of the Pro Pack, but for the standard models, Ather has a coasting regen.
Though the Ather 450X continues to be an entertaining and engaging e-scooter, it is about time we get a facelift or a comprehensive update, isn’t it? A bit more performance, more accommodating for taller riders is all it needs, right?
