I love using my Suzuki Access to bop around the city. It’s comfortable, practical, frugal and zippy. So much so that I haven’t ever found myself wanting another commuter. That was until the Ather Rizta entered our long-term fleet. Ever since it arrived, my Access hasn’t seen much action, and in the month that I’ve spent with the Rizta, I’ve covered more than 500km. Two things that have made a positive impression on me in these early days are its enormous boot and intuitive regenerative braking.
The 34-litre boot here isn’t the biggest in the e-scooter game, but it’s almost double the size of the one on my Access (and most other ICE scooters). I’ve managed to fit in my fully packed Kriega sling bag and the bulky charger supplied with the Rizta, with room to spare. This is also the only e-scooter (besides the River Indie) that can accommodate an ECE-certified full-face helmet, which I think deserves praise.
The trouble is that when I need to open the boot, it doesn’t unlock with just the twist of the key. I need to press down on the seat exactly where the locking mechanism is located with the key in the unlock position to get it to release every single time. This isn’t a big negative, but it is one of those things that gets mildly irritating with time.
Another positive here is Ather’s Magic Twist feature, wherein the regen progressively slows you down when you twist the throttle backwards. This has proved to be quite a treat in Mumbai’s typically staccato traffic. At speeds below 40kph, with a bit of planning, I didn’t have to use the brakes and relied solely on the regen to stop.
But there is a problem here. Locking the rear wheel up is all too easy when you’re coming to a halt hurriedly. Part of that blame must be attributed to Mumbai’s atrociously slippery concrete roads, but Magic Twist and the rear brake working in tandem seem to enhance this tendency. This has forced me to actively pay attention to how much pressure I apply on the brake lever. Either that, or I avoid using the regenerative braking when coming to a halt quickly, using only the brakes. Barring these irritants, it has been smooth sailing with the Rizta, and I’m looking forward to adding more digits to the odo reading.
Nevertheless, the biggest advantage of any EV has to be the beautifully low running cost. Per my usage, I spend around Rs 1,000 on fuel every month with my Access, but using the Rizta, that number drops to roughly just Rs 120!