If you were to buy a new 125 cc scooter today, there isn’t exactly a dearth of options. The more stylish ones are the TVS NTorq 125, Honda Dio 125, Suzuki Avenis 125 and the Aprilia SR 125. The only thing is that while they aren’t bad scooters, the segment could do with some freshening up. What we probably need is something that’s out of the ordinary, something that doesn’t just follow what others have done and, more importantly, something that’s a bit of a dark horse. Hero wants to make us believe that the new Xoom 125 is all that. We try to find out if this all-new scooter can be the scooter of choice in this space.
It’s pretty late to the party, but I think that’s almost a conscious decision — arrive late and make people notice your presence. Plus, if the strategy wasn’t going to work for some reason, the Xoom 125’s distinct design would do the heavy lifting of garnering everyone’s attention. With the design, Hero hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel — albeit they’ve used larger 14-inch ones, setting the Xoom apart from its rivals. The light is mounted on the front apron, and the scooter benefits from sharp styling everywhere you look, from the side panels to the split taillight. None of that hasn’t been done before, but Hero has certainly done a great job without changing the formula.
What powers it?
Powering the Xoom is a 124.6 cc engine, which makes 9.8 bhp and 1.03 kg-m. Now, these aren’t segment-leading figures but with a claimed 0-60 km/h of just 7.6 seconds, Hero proudly calls it the quickest scooter in the segment. We couldn’t find out if the scooter delivers on that claim but in practice, it feels impressively quick. It keeps accelerating till 70 km/h, after which it tapers before achieving a max speed of 89 km/h. Even as the speeds rose, the overall vibrations continued to be well-contained, and it was only through the handlebar that I could feel some.
How does it handle?
The Hero Xoom 125 gets a wheel setup shared with some maxi-scooters and even the sporty ones. The large wheels are complemented by fat tyres, which means that it’s not just great to look at, it’s also a good handling scooter. It turns out that the Xoom’s setup works flawlessly. From filtering through traffic to actually attacking a corner, it never felt out of place. I will go as far as saying that the Xoom felt nearly as good as a small commuter motorcycle, and you don’t usually get to hear such praise about a scooter.
Given its sporty intent, it’s no surprise that the ride quality was firm but it was overdone on the Xoom. While minor bumps and undulations weren’t an issue, show it anything like an uneven stretch or a big pothole, and it wouldn’t shy from transferring the impact to the rider. While that was a big downer, the Xoom’s braking abilities must be appreciated. Thanks to the combined braking system, I could slow down well in time so as not to hurt my back on bad roads, without even locking up.
Style, speed but… An LCD screen that looks outdated and certainly out of place on something as stylish
| Photo Credit: Kaizad Adil Darukhanawal
Another thing that didn’t particularly sit well with me was the scooter’s instrument console. It’s a good-looking scooter that’s also quick and handles well too but its LCD screen looks outdated — and certainly out of place on something as stylish. I wouldn’t mind a cool reverse LCD or even a colour unit as seen on the Raider. The mirrors too present a slight issue; the stalks are small, which means your arms will end up obstructing your view.
Priced ₹86,900 (ex-showroom) onwards, the Hero Xoom 125 might have been a little late but it presents itself to be a worthy addition to the 125 cc scooter segment, which is responsible for half of the overall scooter sales in India. So, if Hero gets it right, it won’t struggle to achieve big sales numbers. Has it got it right, though? My take here is pretty straightforward, and that is the Hero Xoom 125 is a good scooter with many things working in its favour, especially its looks, handling, performance and even the price tag.
Making a late entry to the space did give Hero some additional time, and what they’ve come up with is a scooter that can be best described as good but not exceptional, just like many of its existing rivals. A bit more would’ve definitely made it worth the wait.