2026 Ather Konarc: First Ride Review

The Visuals

Design-wise, Ather has gone for a contemporary design language for the Konarc, which makes it instantly recognisable as a conventional family scooter rather than an EV. And this is evident from its large proportions, chunky front apron and large side panels, giving it substantial road presence. This is also the first Ather scooter to get metal body panels to lend it a sturdy feel.

Now underneath, the Konarc gets a tubular unibody steel chassis instead of the aluminium frame seen on the Rizta and 450X. The idea was to build a rugged and hardy scooter that can deal with the broken Indian roads while still offering good build quality and comfort.

Coming to its quality levels, the paint finish, fitment of panels, and the overall fit and finish levels are quite good. Even the switch cubes operate with a good tactile feel, and the overall build quality does not feel cut-price or flimsy. However, I would have wished that the side stand would have been finished elegantly and neatly integrated, as we have seen on the Rizta or the 450X.

Ather has not revealed the seat height of the Konarc, but once you are seated, it is fairly accessible, and I can easily place both my feet on the ground considering my 5 ft 7 in frame. The rider’s triangle is quite comfortable, but the handlebar is slightly lower set, and on full lock-to-lock turns, it fiddles with my legs. Apart from that, the footboard area is sufficiently large, and even large individuals can easily place their feet on the footboard.

Even the seat is long and wide, and it can easily accommodate two large individuals. And then, it also has a small backrest that offers decent support for the pillion rider. So overall, you can spend long hours commuting in the city or even on the highways.

The Package

The Ather Konark is also big on practicality. It has a cubby hole at the front to stow your phone, and a luggage hook for loose bags. However, its biggest highlight is 31- litre boot space, which can easily accommodate a large bag or even a full-face race helmet.

It is fairly equipped with a good amount of features. You get full LED lighting and an LCD instrument cluster with Bluetooth connectivity, call, SMS and music alerts, and features like auto hold. But the highlight of this S variant is the AirWalk feature, which uses some amount of assistance from the electric motor, which allows you to essentially walk the scooter, just like how you would walk your dog in the park. It's there to make life easy in situations where you need to squeeze the Konarc into a tight parking space. Or you could just demonstrate the feature to your friends for the sake of bragging.

Besides this, the Konarc also packs in some genuinely useful features. There’s FallSafe, which can detect a crash and send an alert to your emergency contacts, while Reverse Assist makes parking and manoeuvring in tight spaces easier. The connected features also let you remotely check the charging status and get theft and tow alerts. And then you have turn-by-turn navigation, ride statistics and OTA updates, along with a 450W on-board charger.

Ather will also sell you an optional 450W or a 900W charger, which can increase the charging output by up to 1350W, thereby reducing the charge times. That said, this S variant misses out on features like MagicKey, AutoPop and an optional Adjustable backrest, which is offered on the Z Line.

The Ride

The Ather Konarc S variant that we are riding is powered by a 4.7kW electric motor, and it offers a peak torque output of 16Nm. It also gets a 3.5kWh battery pack that offers an IDC range of 161km. There are two smaller battery sizes available to buy as well, with claimed ranges of 100km and 125km. Ather will also introduce a 200km IDC range Konarc next year, which should cost north of Rs 1.5 lakh. That’s for later, because we’ll now move on and discover the performance of the Konarc.

The electric motor delivers power in a very linear fashion, and even the throttle response is well judged, and it doesn't feel jerky. Now, you won't get the instant surge that is associated with electric scooters, and that is actually a good thing because for first-time buyers or for inexperienced riders, the instantaneous power delivery might feel a bit too intimidating. Overall, the Ather Konarc won't wow you with its performance, but it is more than enough for an entry-level family electric scooter.

Apart from that, the Konark is available in three ride modes – Power, Eco and Smart Eco. As the name suggests, the Power mode is the most powerful mode, and it is the ideal mode to use. But for range-conscious buyers, the Eco mode will offer the highest range. Especially if you intend to commute from point A to point B. And then, there's the Smart Eco mode, which is basically the Eco mode, but it offers slightly more power to make quick overtakes on the go.

The Konarc’s handling is more about stability and confidence than outright agility. Its 1,352mm wheelbase is the longest in Ather’s line-up, while the 14-inch front wheel and 12-inch rear wheel give it a planted feel, particularly when riding over broken surfaces. The scooter isn’t as quick or eager to change direction as the 450-series scooters, but that’s not an issue considering the Konarc’s family-oriented character.

It feels predictable when changing directions, and remains composed when you pick up the pace. Meanwhile, the suspension setup feels compliant over potholes and road undulations without unsettling the chassis. However, it feels marginally firm for my liking, and I would’ve preferred more give from the suspension. Overall, the Konarc strikes a good balance between comfort, stability and ease of handling.

The braking performance on the Konarc feels well suited to its character. The front disc offers good bite and progression, while the rear drum complements the front without feeling too grabby. It doesn’t feel overly aggressive while offering enough stopping power for everyday riding. Overall, the brakes feel predictable and easy to modulate, which is exactly what you expect from a family-oriented scooter.

Should You Buy One?

So, that’s a wrap on the new Ather Konarc S variant. And as far as first impressions go, there are quite a few things that work in its favour. It has a nice design with substantial road presence. The build quality is quite good, and even the ergonomics are well sorted. It is also a fairly equipped scooter, and the motor performance is enough for its intended purpose.

That said, I wish the suspension could’ve been slightly more pliant, as it still has a firm edge to it. And then, at Rs. 1.45 lakh (ex-showroom) for the 161km variant, it is still expensive. The base variant, at Rs. 99,999 is pretty barebones, and the 200km version and the Z Line variants, due in 2027, will be priced north of 1.50 lakh. Ather should’ve priced it more aggressively. But, all in all, it’s a very likeable scooter and does deliver on quite a few parameters, which should make it an easy choice for first-time EV buyers, especially from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.