Hero Xoom 125R First Ride Review: TVS Ntorq’s Nemesis?

Hero MotoCorp has been the king of the Indian two-wheeler market for decades and dominated proceedings in the motorcycle segment. But despite its dominance, there has been a chink in it’s armour and it’s scooters. The brand has been trying very hard over the years to make a breakthrough and has been unsuccessful, however, it feels,the Xoom 125R has the potential to be the game changer it has been waiting for. The new Hero 125 scooter looks sporty, claims to be quick and comes with a bunch of features, will these be enough for it to be a serious contender in the competitive 125 cc segment? Well, let’s ride and find out! 

Styling 

The biggest talking point of the new Hero Xoom 125R is its styling. The scooter looks sporty, edgy and very modern, something that one doesn’t normally associate Hero products with, but then again the company has been trying hard to change this image. 

You get a LED projector headlight in the centre flanked by long LED DRLs. The apron is very angled and the use of sharply designed panels gives the scooter a very aggressive face. The stance of the scooter is enhanced by the 14-inch alloy wheels, which makes the Xoom 125 look very premium. The tail section is minimalist with split LED tail lights and I liked the exhaust muffler design too. 

The Xoom 125R also debuts new switchgear and the quality felt solid in first impressions. Talking about quality, the panel gaps are tight and consistent, and there were no rattles when we rode the scooter over rough roads, however the weld quality on the exhaust could be better. Overall styling of the Xoom 125R is modern and very unique, and we feel it’s its biggest USP. 

Performance

The other key highlight of the Xoom 125R is its engine and while it doesn’t have segment leading numbers (9.8 bhp/10.4 Nm), Hero claims it’s the fastest accelerating scooter in its segment based on their internal testing with a 0-60 kmph timing of 7.6 seconds (TVS NTorq 125 is 8.9 seconds). 

Honestly, the acceleration didn’t feel as brisk as the numbers claim to be. What I liked though are the refinement levels, you can do speeds between 70-95 kmph and there’s hardly any vibes. Only when you roll-on you can feel a bit of vibes on the footboard, but those are very minor. An interesting detail is that this engine still comes with a kick start, a feature which is getting rarer on modern scooters.

Overall performance feels up to the task, but a bit more thrill would have been welcome and also a bit more engaging exhaust more. Hero hasn’t claimed any fuel efficiency figures, but my guess will be around 35-40 kmpl depending on your riding style. But that’s something we can only confirm post a road rest. However the 5 litre fuel tank is quite low in capacity compared to its rivals. 

Convenience & Features 

The Xoom 125R comes with a good bunch of features, starting with the LCD instrument cluster of which I am not a big fan of. The screen size is too small, the layout is very boring and on an otherwise modern scooter, the console is a misfit. However, it does offer you data such as real-time fuel efficiency, average fuel economy, range, call/sms alert and turn-by-turn navigation. 

The Xoom 125R also gets the i3S start/stop system which is a useful feature to extract more fuel efficiency. Then there’s the fuel filler cap alert, which activates a buzzer if you forgot to close the fuel filler cap and try to ride the scooter, a clever addition we feel. It’s also the first scooter in its segment to get sequential winkers in the LED turn indicators. There’s also a dangling USB charger underneath the front apron which looks like an afterthought and very poorly executed. 

Talking about convenience, the underseat storage is good enough for a locally built full-face helmet and there’s a boot light as well. At the front you get twin cubby holes in which you can store some knick knacks. 

Handling, Comfort & Braking

For any performance scooter, the fun quotient is very important and the Hero Xoom 125R has a few tricks up its sleeve. It’s among the few scooters on sale in our country to feature 14-inch wheels on either ends and the rear tyre is pretty wide at 120 mm. So when you enter a corner fast and hard, the scooter feels very stable, confidence-inspiring and it’s fun. The chassis balance is so good that despite weighing 121 kg, you hardly feel its weight while cornering fast or squeezing past traffic. The Hero 125 cc scooter also feels pretty stable at high speed as it has a long wheelbase of 1,327 mm.

The suspension setup is the segment template - telescopic fork and a monoshock unit. The ride quality is fine for post parts, but on rough roads, the rear suspension does feel a bit firm. I think the large 14-inch wheel also plays a part in the suspension dynamics. So while the Xoom 125R isn’t the comfiest 125 cc scooter out there, but for its sporty DNA, the ride quality is fine. 

The top-spec variant gets a disc brake at the front and while the brakes offer decent stopping power, a bit more bite from the front pads would have been welcome.

Verdict 

The Xoom 125R is available in 2 variants - Xoom 125R VX is priced at  ₹86,900, whereas the ZX variant will lighten your wallet by  ₹92,900 (both prices are ex-showroom, Delhi). Among the two, our pick will be the top-end variant as you get a front disc brake, better features and more colour options.

The Xoom 125R is an impressive scooter and the USP of the scooter is its styling, it looks sporty, has a modern vibe and will attract attention wherever you go. The handling too is engaging, making it fun to ride. Yes, the engine doesn’t feel too peppy or exciting, but the refinement levels of the scooter make up for it. 

Talking about shortcomings, the instrument cluster should have been bigger, the fuel tank capacity is small and the kerb weight is high. So as you can see, the Xoom 125R has its own set of flaws. But if you’re looking for a sporty 125 cc scooter, you can’t dismiss the Xoom 125R. Hero finally has a strong contender in the sporty 125 cc segment and I wouldn’t be surprised if it manages good sales, especially among the younger audience.