2025 Ather 450X first ride review | Best gets better?
For 2025, the Ather 450X gets a bunch of trickle down updates from the 450 Apex and the Rizta along with two new colours. Is this enough to keep the 450X relevant in the new year?;
Launched in early 2020, the Ather 450X was one of the first electric scooters that started to change the mindset of people about electric scooters being a viable replacement to an ICE scooter as a dependable, clean, green and affordable daily runabout. With stellar build quality and class leading features, the 450X quickly rose to fame. But now, nearly 5 years on, things have remained largely unchanged barring the colour and feature updates it has gotten like it has for 2025. Is this enough to keep it going or is it time for a makeover?
2025 Ather 450X design
The 450X for 2025 retains the same design that we all know and love, but for the new model year, there are two new shades to choose from. One is called Hyper Sand and the other is called Stealth Blue. Both colours look ace with the former giving proper desert racer vibes and the latter resembling a colour that comes on the Rizta. My pick of the two will definitely be the Desert Sand with the orange accents. Aside from this, Ather seems to be a staunch believer of the “If ain’t broke..” metaphor.
2025 Ather 450X features and updates
For 2025, the updates to enthusiast scooter are primarily in the features department with Ather Stack 6 finally making way to the 450X. This means features like WhatsApp access, live location sharing, fall safe and a bunch more that are enabled by Stack 6 are present on the 2025 450X. According to Ather’s internal research and metrics, these features are used by customers at quite a large scale. The conditions of our testing didn’t allow us to fully make use of all these features and the impact of this integration can only be verified when we spend a longer period of time with the scooter. The features that we could test on ground were Magic Twist and the multi-mode traction control system. Magic Twist works in the same manner as it does on the Apex and Rizta and in most cases (as Ather suggests) it does work as a good alternative to use the traditional brakes. You have to calibrate your riding style accordingly but this also goes some ways in improving the efficiency of the battery.
The multi-mode traction control system is new and improved over the relatively basic one that debuted with the Rizta. On the 450X you get three modes — Rain, Road and Rally, four if you count off as well. As the names suggest, each mode changes the level of the intervention from the system and allows for more slip by the time you get to the Rally mode. The dirt section of the track allowed us to test the efficacy of the system and it does work. Yes, the debate as to whether or not you need traction control on a scooter of this calibre remains but it is a neat feature to have nonetheless. The final change to the scooter is the new bespoke MRF Zapper-N E-Tred tyres. These have been developed with the scooter’s performance in mind while also improving on efficiency. To that end, Ather claims that the True Range of the scooter has gone up form 85km to 105km on the 2.9kWh battery pack variant and from 110km to 130km on the 3.7kWh battery pack variant. This is reflected in an increased IDC range figure for both variants as well. How much it translates to in the real world will be verified with our long term test. Features like the new tires and multi-mode traction control have also made their way to the range-topping Apex which also benefits from the near 20 per cent increase in efficiency as well.
2025 Ather 450X performance, ride and handling
To test the 2025 iteration of the 450X, Ather had set up a track attack event at the Aruani Grid in Bangalore. The track was sprinkled with obstacles, a see-saw, and even a dirt section to allow us to test out the multi-mode traction control system. Since nothing has changed in the ride and handling and performance department I’m not going to bore you with specifics, instead just remind you that the 450X remains one of the best handling and most enthusiast focussed electric scooters in the market right now. The new tyres offer the same levels of grip and braking performance and leave nothing to be desired.
2025 Ather 450X verdict
With the sprinkling of updates that the 450X has received it has become dearer than before. Prices ex-showroom (without Pro Pack) are ₹1.47 lakh for the 2.9kWh battery pack variant and ₹1.57 lakh for the 3.7kWh battery pack variant. These prices replace the ₹1.41 lakh and ₹1.55 lakh (2.9kWh and 3.7kWh) that the 2024 450X models retailed for. For all the goodies now packed in the scooter (with the addition of the Pro Pack) I believe that the price hike is more than justified. Plus now more than ever before, with the launch of the Rizta, there is a clear demarcation of performance and practicality and someone who loves and believes in the brand isn’t forced to choose a performance-oriented scooter over a family-oriented scooter just because of brand loyalty. There are two competent offerings for both parties. That being said, should Ather have revamped the 450X given how long it has been out? Yes it could have. But are these updates enough to keep it relevant for 2025? I believe it is.