Ather Rizta long term review, 2,300km report

Even in isolation, you’d be able to appreciate the niceties of the Ather Rizta, but having just come from my stiffly sprung Aerox, the effect was even more pronounced. This simple, no-nonsense e-scooter has been my daily commuter ever since Dinshaw and I swapped rides a couple of months ago, and for the most part, it has been a superbly pleasant experience. The performance is smooth, the ride is excellent, and it’s a very slick experience overall.

Despite this being the smaller 2.9kWh variant and me not having a home charging facility, the range has never been an issue. My daily commute is only a 10km round trip, and the 105km true range figure can comfortably get me through a week of commuting with enough to spare for detours and spontaneity. A once-a-week top-up at the office has been enough to keep the scooter juiced up, but charging rates could stand to improve – 0 to 80 percent takes upwards of 6 hours on this 2.9kWh variant, which gets a slow 350-watt charger.

The MagicTwist regen works well and is useful in city traffic.

As for the actual riding experience, it’s exactly what you’d want from a city-centric e-scooter. The throttle response is well calibrated and feels natural, but what I’ve found especially useful is the MagicTwist regen that allows you to stay off the friction brakes extensively. It’s well-measured and powerful enough to slow down for speed breakers and signals, resulting in an almost single-pedal-like experience seen in some electric cars – I only use the friction brakes 5-10 percent of the time on my commute and during emergency situations. Add to this the absorptive suspension setup and massive seat and boot space, and the end result is a slick and practical overall package. But it’s not totally free from issues.

Massive boot gobbles up vast amounts of luggage with ease.

The smaller issues are that the seating position is a bit knees-up and the self-cancelling indicators are quite hit-and-miss, but the bigger issue is the system glitches we’ve faced. On multiple occasions, the scooter has unexpectedly entered a limp mode, the display and headlight have cycled off and on while riding, the joystick and display have become unresponsive, and on one occasion, it just went completely dead while in motion.

The scooter has faced fairly major electronic bugs and glitches.

Every time, a simple key-off-and-on cycle has rectified this, but these bugs can become a major safety concern if they happen, for instance, while overtaking. These issues have persisted for some time, and we reached out to Ather regarding them, in reaction to which they took the scooter back and replaced the wiring harness to rectify the issue. However, the issues have continued even after the replacement, so a fix hasn’t yet been found.

Seating position moderately knees-up; so not the most comfortable.

This has put a black spot on what is otherwise a very satisfying, enjoyable and well-sorted experience. We have once again returned the scooter to Ather who is trying to find a lasting solution, so watch this space for future updates.

Also See: Ather Rizta long term review, 2,000km report

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