Ather Rizta vs Honda Activa e: Buy Or Hold?

The recently unveiled Honda Activa e is the first electric scooter from the Japanese manufacturer. This upcoming electric scooter also goes up against the Ather Rizta. If you are someone who is looking to buy a family-oriented electric scooter then you might be confused between the two. 

We will be presenting what each of the two has to offer and try to answer the question, should you get the Ather Rizta today or wait for the Honda Activa e?

Ather Rizta

The Rizta is a family-oriented electric scooter from Ather, and is also a sharp departure from the sporty EVs they have been making. The Rizta should appeal to families with its spacious nature and overall boxy profile.

It is offered in 3 variants, but for this comparison, we will be taking the Ather Rizta Z 2.9kWh variant into account, as it is the closest one to the Honda Activa e.

The Rizta Z 2.9kWh as the name suggests, gets a 2.9kWh battery pack which offers a claimed range of 123km. The e-scooter is powered by a 4.3kW motor which offers it a claimed top-speed of 80kmph.

It has a 7-inch TFT console and offers smartphone connectivity and related features such as call/SMS alerts, and full-fledged navigation via Google Maps. What really makes the Rizta special is the massive 36-litre underseat storage which is the largest in the segment.

This variant is available at an ex-showroom Bengaluru price of Rs 1,26,499 (including PM E-Drive subsidy). 

Honda Activa e

The Honda Activa e is an interesting electric scooter and one which will be trying to recreate the Honda Activa magic but in an electric package. The scooter offers a similar silhouette as the Activa, but incorporates a lot more modern design and styling elements.

The e-scooter will be powered by a twin 1.5kWh swappable battery setup, offering a claimed range of 102km. The swappable battery setup will help reduce range anxiety once the Honda battery swap stations become more widespread.

The motor powering it will offer a peak power output of 6kW and 22Nm. In the real-world, this translates to the scooter being able to do a claimed 0-60kmph sprint in 7.3 seconds and a claimed top speed of 80kmph.

It also features a 7-inch TFT console with features such as turn-by-turn navigation, call/SMS alerts and music controls on offer. But for it to be a good family-oriented electric scooter, one of the things it has to offer is good storage space. 

In this regard, the swappable battery setup, which is placed in the boot, has taken up most of the available space. So the Honda Activa e is nowhere close to the Ather Rizta in this regard.

We expect the Honda Activa electric to come at a price that is around the Rs 1.30 lakh mark (ex-showroom).

Verdict

The Honda Activa e and the Ather Rizta both shine in two different aspects. The swappable battery setup will help in reducing range anxiety, provided Honda’s swap stations are set up in more cities down the line. So as a commuter electric scooter which you can take to the office or use for similar daily commutes, the Honda Activa e will be a good choice.

That said, the e-scooter will take some time to get to the market, with its launch happening in early 2025. The deliveries of the e-scooter will start by Feb-2025, and only in major cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, and Delhi. So if you are willing to wait, you might have to wait for quite a while to get the scooter.

But if you are someone who is looking for a family-oriented electric scooter that can handle most of your household needs, then the Rizta will make more sense. The high underseat storage space it has to offer will make quite a difference in terms of practicality. As Ather has a larger presence across the nation, getting a Rizta today is much easier.