TVS NTorq 150 Review: Bigger Engine, Bigger Thrills?

The NTorq gets bigger – it gets a bigger engine, it enters a bigger segment. But can it make bigger waves in the two-wheeler market? Interesting time to find out. But before all of this, a small recap on what the NTorq 125 did for TVS and the scooter segment. It revolutionised the 125cc scooter market and went on to become the best-selling scooter too. Now, if you wanted to upgrade from a 125cc scooter to a 150cc+ scooter, you had no choice but to leave the brand, and that’s why TVS thought it was important to tap that consumer base and build on the NTorq 125’s success. 

TVS NTorq 150: Design

From the front, it looks like TVS took the NTorq 125 and the TVS-X and merged the two together to create the 150. That's quite evident from how the whole front end of this scooter looks like. The winglets look really nice and give it a real purpose and sporty credentials. I also  really like how the boomerang-shaped LED DRLs look. What I'm not too sure about are the headlamps. It gets four projector headlamps, but there's no covering. So in case it falls, something happens, it's going to be an expensive fix. Even the panel on top of the handlebar has been removed, and you get a small cowl ahead of the 5-inch TFT console. The base-spec variant gets the same split-screen TFT + LCD hybrid unit from the NTorq 125 XT. The switcher, borrowed from the Apache RTR 310, look nice. The adjustable brake levers on the NTorq 150 are a great touch, solidifying its sporty credentials.

When you see it from the side, you can see it's quite an NTorq, apart from the badging. The body panels are not exactly like the 125, but it's an evolution of the 125. Dimension haven't changed. It has the same wheelbase, the same length, the same width. The height is lower by 44mm, and that's because there is no body panel on the handlebars. The seat height has remained unchanged 770 mm and ergonomics aren't really that bad. I'm 5'11", I weigh 90kg, and I can easily flat foot right on the NTorq 150. There's a lot of amount of space for me to move around and be comfortable. Shorter riders also will not find an issue. 

At the back, it gets a slightly different design treatment for the LED tail lamps compared to the NTorq 125. It still has the signature T motif that you used to see on the NTorq 125, but it's a more evolved version, a more sporty version. Even the air vents on the back are pronounced and feel sportier than the 125. The indicators are different, but the biggest difference is the engine.

TVS NTorq 150: Performance, Braking and Handling

The NTorq 150 feels peppier than the NTorq 125, and that's quite obvious because this is a bigger engine – A 150cc instead of a 125cc. This 150cc engine produces 13bhp and 14.2Nm of torque. Now TVS has also given it the i-Go Boost Assist function that was also seen on the Jupiter recently. So this, with the Boost Assist, gives it 0.7Nm of torque. That means that the 14.2Nm of torque figure includes the i-Go Boost Assist feature. Without that, it makes 13.5Nm of torque. The NTorq 150 is peppy, lively and has good performance. You'll feel really happy on your commutes. It can easily do 80-90kmph without breaking a sweat. You can, in fact, take it for longer journeys outside the city too, because it can do decent highway speeds without any issue. 

The NTorq 150 makes the same amount of power as the new Aprilia SR 175, but the Hero Xoom 160 and Yamaha Aerox 155 make more. Torque figures on all four are around the same 14 Nm figure. TVS claims the NTorq 150 can do the 0-60 kmph sprint in 6.3 seconds, which is 2 seconds quicker than the NTorq 125 and you can really feel that when you twist the throttle. 

TVS didn’t migrate to a liquid-cooled engine as the NTorq 150 still gets an air-cooled mill. Despite this, the performance figures of both are quite impressive. Why does it still have an air-cooled engine? To put it simply, it was to keep costs in check. The NTorq 125 was always a sporty vehicle, and this one just builds up on those credentials. It's light, it's agile, it's very, very nimbl,e and it's going to be very fun.

We rode the NTorq around TVS’ test track in Hosur, so we can’t comment on the real-world performance. We’d wait to answer how it handles potholes, and does it feel zippy around town, till we do a proper road test.

The brakes don't have that immediate bite that you would expect from a sporty scooter, but it's really good. The braking power is really good too. Did TVS need to improve the brake bite? Well, not really because if it did, it would have toppled up the bike, it would have made it feel unsettled, which right now it's quite pliant.

Interestingly, it still gets 12-inch wheels front and back and everybody thought it was going to get 14-inch wheels. Well, should TVS have given it that? Probably, it would have made it handle much better, but this overall package right now is pretty sweet.

TVS NTorq 150: Price and Rivals

The 125 costs between ₹88,000 and 1. 8 lakh and the 150 is priced between ₹1.19 lakh and 1.29 lakh (ex-showroom, India). Is that a good enough upgrade? Oh definitely, and that’s because of the new design, new features and the extra power that you get. This makes the NTorq 150 the most affordable 150cc sporty scooter, with the closest rival being the SR 175. The Aerox remains the most expensive of the lot at ₹1.51 lakh. 

TVS NTorq 150: Verdict

The NTorq 150 was a long overdue upgrade for the NTorq 125 and it comes at a very interesting time. Hero has the Xoom 160, Aprilia has the SR 175 and Yamaha has the Aerox 155. How is it going to fare up with the rivals? That's going to be an interesting thing to see because the NTorq 125 was not just a good seller for TVS but was a good seller in the 125cc sporty scooter segment. Can the NTorq 150 replicate that? Only time will tell.