TVS Ntorq 125 First Ride Review

Pros/Cons
+ Features, Performance, 3-valve engine
 -    Underseat storage, no linked brakes

The 100 and 110cc scooter market is flooded with options. At that price range, you can also get yourself a nifty electric scooter with more features than the Starship Enterprise, come Diwali 2018. However, the 125cc scooter market is a strangely barren one, with only Suzuki making hay while the sun shines. Honda has jumped in with the Grazia and has seen favourable numbers as a successor to the Dio, but TVS has also taken note that everyone who can’t deal with the impracticality of an Aprilia SR doesn’t have an option other than the Grazia. Enter the Ntorq 125, the first 125cc scooter from TVS. It has a host of features and tech that promise the owner a fun experience. 

TVS has been putting serious effort into making their products better, and the Ntorq is one of the new-generation products that reflect this approach. The body panels are of high quality, and the satin-finish paint grabs eyeballs. However, the sheer number of textures can be overwhelming sometimes – the black bits on the Ntorq consist of gloss black, matte black, and carbon-fibre finish. The LED running lamp and the tail-lamp also are high-quality LED units that impart a premium feel to the Ntorq. As with the other new TVS product, the Apache RR 310, the Ntorq attracts attention and it isn’t just because it is a bright yellow scooter; the fit is good but the finish could be better.

TVS Ntorq 125

• 124.8 cc
• 9.1 bhp
• 118 kg
;

Avg. Ex-showroom price

₹ 75,471

The Ntorq is a sporty scooter, and therefore it opts for the front-sloping seat. While this seat is great when you’re accelerating hard, the rest of the time the material coupled with regular denim pants makes you slide forward under braking. The Ntorq also feels a little cramped for plus-size riders; our test rider here is a large specimen, so there was just enough space for his feet on the footboard, and sitting where TVS intended the rider to be made his knees foul with the handlebar on most turns. Even the pillion rider slides toward the front under all circumstances except hard acceleration. This said, once you get into a comfortable riding position, the Ntorq is one of the better scooters in the market despite its sporty intentions.
It has all the practical touches one would expect from a scooter, too: underseat storage isn’t very large but a boot lamp and a USB charging port are present. The fuel filler is external, like modern TVS scooters, and two bag hooks are present at the front. The footboard isn’t the most spacious in the market but we’re willing to forgive it that because of its sporty intentions. The mirrors have been taken from the Victor and offer a good view of what you leave behind.

The Ntorq 125 has a 125cc air-cooled single cylinder engine with a three-valve head that generates 9.1bhp and 10.5Nm. It has the signature TVS bass-heavy sound at idle, and revs quickly. This three-valve engine isn’t a shy one; whack open the throttle and you’re treated to high revs and a surge of acceleration. This is certainly one of the quickest scooters, both in the race from rest as well as from city speeds like 30kmph or 50kmph. The speedo will show over 80kmph with two heavy riders, and a solo rider will get beyond an indicated 90kmph easily. The brakes are a standard front disc and rear drum. The front disc is a petal one, a first for a scooter and it carries over the Apache range’s disc brake design. There is just a single piston calliper, but it is adequate. The rear brake is a drum but the bite, feel and feedback is better than the front disc – but it is prone to locking up the rear wheel under hard braking. The TVS tyres copy the tread pattern of the Pirelli SL26 scooter tyres, themselves soft-compound performance tyres, and they help the scooter’s lively handling.
The Ntorq is always happy to play when you want to ride enthusiastically – this is one of the truly fun scooters available today.

The Ntorq has a bunch of things going for it here: first, the three-valve engine head is unique not only in its segment but across any of the Indian-made scooters. Second, the petal disc brake is also a unique thing, for scooters. The piece de resistance, however, is the instrument cluster. It is an LCD unit that displays more information than any scooter has in India so far. There are two main modes: ‘Street’ and ‘Sport’. There are also two more screens, the ‘Last Lap’ screen and the ‘Best Lap’ screen. Street mode displays two tripmeters, the odometer, a fuel gauge, and – in another first – an oil temperature gauge. A clock is always on display, which is nice. Oddly enough, a tachometer is left out. TVS’s standard ‘Eco’ and ‘Power’ indicators are also on the display. It also shows you the lap distance, lap time, average speed, top speed recorded and best 0-60kmph time.

TVS hasn’t managed to keep the weight of the Ntorq down – at 116kg, it is a full 13kg heavier than the Access – but it still manages to be a fun ride.

Our fuel run had the Ntorq deliver 45.38kmpl, which is on par with the Grazia. The Suzuki Access, the other 125cc scooter, is more efficient, but for the performance that the Ntorq delivers, we have no complaints. The company hasn’t released a figure for the Ntorq’s fuel efficiency, claiming that it is a performance scooter.

The Ntorq is a fun scooter that is aimed at the young buyer looking to upgrade from the Honda Dio. It tries to achieve that by being desirable on the looks and features front, and fun on the performance front. It does manage to do that, and more than the competition like the Grazia does. At roughly ₹59,000 it is priced the same as the Grazia.

The TVS Ntorq 125 has an uphill task, because TVS has not been known to be a premium brand. It is competing with a giant like Honda and the Grazia, which has already got steady sales that most 100cc scooters would be proud of. However, as sales of other TVS premium products like the Apache RR 310 pick up, the awareness of the premium scooter from the manufacturer should help it win a following.