Hero Splendor Plus XTEC 2.0 vs Bajaj Freedom 125: Running Cost Comparison

The Hero Splendor Plus is a bike that is well known and loved by Indians for its good mileage and reliability. The bike is India’s highest selling model and has retained the position for many years. 

With the launch of the Bajaj Freedom 125 CNG bike, it seems like the Splendor has some competition. We will be doing a deep dive into the running costs of each bike to find which one is cheaper to run.

Hero Splendor Plus XTEC 2.0

The Hero Splendor XTEC 2.0 is powered by a 97.2cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder engine which outputs 8.02PS and 8.05Nm. In our tests, the Splendor was able to return a mileage of 83.2kmpl in the city and 95.8kmpl on the highway. 

The bike has a tank capacity of 9.8-litres, and when taking Indian riding conditions into account we can say it will be able to return a range of 800km on a full tank. This is quite impressive and for most riders, it will be able to cover an entire month of travel. With petrol prices now averaging at about Rs 105 in Maharashtra, we were able to get a running cost per kilometer of Rs 1.28 on the Splendor.

Bajaj Freedom 125

The Bajaj Freedom 125, being the world’s first CNG motorcycle, comes with a 2 kg CNG tank and a 2-litre petrol tank. The bike is powered by a 125cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder motor that produces 9.7PS and 9.5Nm

Bajaj claims that the bike will be able to offer a mileage of 102km on CNG and 65km on petrol. We tested the bike extensively and were able to get a mileage of 95km/kg with the bike’s CNG mode and 60kmpl when riding in petrol mode. 

This brings the bike’s total range to 282km. Here in Pune CNG prices are around Rs 87 per kg, and going by this, the Freedom 125 is able to offer a per kilometer cost of Rs 1.23.

Verdict

When comparing both bikes, it is clear that the Freedom 125 is able to offer slightly lowered running costs. But the differences between the two are not massive and the savings will be marginal.  

As mentioned, the Freedom has a real-world range of about 280km while the Splendor has about 800km. Which means the Freedom will need to be refuelled more often than the Splendor; while the refuelling times are more or less the same, it’s the frequency of it. 

Another thing worth noting is that, the Hero Splendor, although a smaller capacity bike, is able to offer better performance despite what the power figures say. The bike has more torque and better acceleration, which makes it easier to execute overtakes in the city. We had recently ridden both of the bikes extensively as part of a comparison review and here’s what we thought about their real world performance.

The Bajaj Freedom 125 comes in 3 variants: NG04 Drum, NG04 Disc and NG04 LED Disc. But currently, Bajaj has only released the top-of-the-line NG04 LED Disc variant which starts at Rs 1,10,000 (ex-showroom). Compared with the Splendor Plus XTEC 2.0 it is Rs 26,536 more expensive! 

If you are looking to save money, going for the Hero Splendor makes more sense as the bike comes at a more affordable price. This will help you save more money today, than what you would be able to save 3-4 years down the line if you buy the Freedom 125.