Hero Xoom 125

The sporty scooter formula is a hard one to crack. The scooter has to be fun, fast, handle well and by virtue of its design - be practical for the family as well. Hero MotoCorp now believes that they have done it right with the Xoom 125. It looks properly sporty, comes with a few first-in-segment elements, and is priced very competitively. That said, can it be fun to ride in our crowded cities while appealing to the sensibilities of a family?

• One thing that the Xoom does very well is grab attention. Despite there being a lot of sporty scooters out there with sharp design - the Xoom easily stands out as one of the best. The aggressive apron has a lot of interlocking panels with different colors which sit well with each other. The LED DRLs add to the modern appeal, and the 14-inch wheels enhance its sporty stance.

• Look closer and you will see that the LED indicators are sequential - which means they appear to move toward the indicated direction which looks very cool. This is the first time it is being seen in a petrol-powered scooter and is largely found on premium cars.

• Even from the side - the design has not been left bland. The cuts and creases are prominent, and the scooter looks fast even when standing still. At the rear - you just see two streaks of LED taillamps which look minimalist and super cool.

• The Hero Xoom 125 comes with a very refined engine. It could easily be one of the smoothest 125cc engines in the segment. The good thing here is that Hero has not had to sacrifice speed and acceleration in pursuit of refinement.

• Roll the throttle and the Xoom gets off the line with a good pace. In fact, Hero claims that this is the fastest accelerating 125cc scooter in the segment but we will test that claim when we get an opportunity to VBox-test it. Overtaking traffic is easy, and you can very well keep up with fast moving vehicles as well.

• What I especially liked was the throttle calibration and response. It's quick to respond to input changes but doesn't feel jerky or harsh at any point. The acceleration remains strong till about 70kmph, after which it starts to taper. The claimed true top speed is about 85kmph, which doesn't sound too exciting - but is enough for the city.

• On the highway - the Xoom 125 happily sits at 70-80kmph which should be enough for short stints - but a higher top speed would have been appreciated. 

• The Hero Xoom 125 is surprisingly stable. The large 14-inch wheels with good tyres help it feel planted on the road. Be it going fast, changing direction or cutting through traffic - it gives a good  sense of confidence.

• Now because of these large wheels, the Xoom doesn't feel as nimble as other sporty scooters do. Quickly cutting through traffic takes a little more effort, and that takes a bit of fun away from quick city rides.

• What is impressive, however, are the brakes. The Xoom comes with combined braking tech which ensures the scooter stops quickly. Moreso, it doesn't allow you to lock the rear tyre. While it is a great safety feature to have - a skilled rider will always prefer to have the control to himself and not be decided by the system.

• The Xoom 125 is a sporty scooter, and the suspension setup is kept with that in mind. While it feels stable at higher speeds, the rider can feel the harshness from bumps and potholes. The impact is reduced with weight on the scooter - which means if you are on the heavier side or have a pillion along - the ride will feel much better and more comfortable. 

• The Xoom 125 has sporty ergonomics as well. The rider sits upright with wide handlebars and because the console is so small - it hardly takes up any space from the rider’s POV (Point Of View).

• The pillion has a lot of space as well, with a wide and long seat. The pillion footpegs too are well designed and wont cause stress on the knees.

• The seat is on the softer side which will keep the two comfortable in the city

• The Xoom has its priority on being sporty, and that is why the underseat storage is quite average. You can keep a smaller full face helmet but it wont fit a full size laptop backpack. 

• However, the apron has two open storage compartments to keep additional knick-knacks. I would have liked it more if at least one of the two was covered so as to secure the phone or documents away from the weather - especially given that it has an inbuilt USB charger. 

• The floorboard is a bit small. While this won’t be an issue for even the taller riders, keeping a bag or an overnight suitcase will be a very tight affair.

• The Hero Xoom 125 comes fairly loaded with features. There are LED head and tail lamps, LED DRLs, sequential turn indicators and a boot light.

• What it should have had though is a better console. The current one looks quite dated and does not go with the overall appeal of the otherwise modern looking scooter. A TFT display could have surely spiced things up.

• The Xoom 125 does get Bluetooth connectivity with turn by turn navigation - but that too would have looked much better on a colour screen.

• If you are looking for a scooter that stands out from the crowd, and prefer performance over practicality - the Xoom 125 can easily be on the top of your consideration list. The refined engine and linear performance are the highlights, but the features and ride quality could have been better. Practicality too could have been better - but won’t let you complain either in most cases.

• At Rs 92,900 (ex-showroom) for the top variant, the Xoom is very well priced. And if you don't consider performance over everything else and are not ready to pay about Rs 10,000 extra for the TVS NTorq Race XP, the Xoom is an excellent all-rounder that you need to seriously consider.