Hero Xoom 160

Waiting! That’s a part of life that almost everyone dislikes. And, as automobile journalists, the curiosity we had around the Hero Xoom 160, was pretty high. Afterall, this was the first maxi scooter by an Indian manufacturer. We've waited and waited for months, but we finally had a chance to test the scooter. And after spending considerable time with it, we have an answer to whether or not the wait has been worth it.

The Hero Xoom 160 cuts a rather handsome figure amongst scores of scooters that dot our roads. Hero has given it an adventure-bike inspired design and that’s evident in the design of the front apron, with a short beak. In fact, the twin-LED headlights and the tall windscreen give it a very characterful face that won’t look out of place in the ‘Transformers’ series of movies.

The side and tail sections of the Xoom 160 are neatly designed as well and I like the entire flow of it. What also helps the design is the size and proportions of the scooter. No wonder then that it attracted a lot of attention on our roads.

To me, the design of the Xoom 160 is one of its strongest attributes and it will influence the buying decision. However, I wish Hero had lavished some more attention to quality and detail in some areas.

The blacked plastics are a little too scratchy and are beginning to fade a little. And the rear brake lock on the lever is too crudely finished to belong to a scooter in this segment. Speaking of, the TVS Ntorq 150 and the Yamaha Aerox 155 are better finished scooters and the Xoom 160 has a little catching up to do in this area.

All that size that the Xoom 160 boasts of translates to spacious seating. At 787mm, the seat height is also pretty accessible for riders of various heights. In fact, for my 5ft11in frame, there was plenty of room to be seated comfortably, with my legs stretched in a relaxed position on the long footboard. There’s generous amounts of room for the pillion as well.

The seating, however, is just one part of the factor that defines a scooter’s comfort. It is the way that it rides that also matters, and in this aspect, Hero has done a good job.

The telescopic fork has enough damping to absorb undulations and potholes, but more importantly, it doesn’t bottom out. This is especially true while hitting steps in the roads that are a result of poor civic body repair work. Even the rear shock absorbers do a commendable job of isolating bumps, except for the harshest of them. Nevertheless, the Xoom 160’s ride is good and far better than the Yamaha Aerox 155.

This scooter is powered by a 156cc, liquid-cooled, single cylinder engine that makes 14.6bhp and 14Nm. While the power and torque figures are in the same ball park as the competition, it also has to lug around 142kg.

Keeping that in mind, the performance of the engine is quite good. It isn’t sprightly off the line but it is no slouch either. So, getting up to 50-60kmph in the city is quick and even sustained highway speeds of 80-90kmph are done without the Xoom breaking a sweat. In fact, it doesn’t mind sitting at 100-105kmph, so if you were thinking about touring on the scooter, go for it!

Engine refinement too, is top order and Hero, of late, has been nailing this aspect about their scooter, another case in point being the Hero Desini 125.

Complementing the performance is the sure-footed handling. Those 14-inch wheels and wide tyres offer good high-speed stability, cornering ability and overall sense of plantedness. Moreover, it feels natural to tip into corners and that’s something that new riders will appreciate.

While the above mentioned aspects make the Xoom 160 capable of handling the demands of riding on the highway or mountain roads, the scooter is also easy to maneuver through traffic. That's because it has a tight turning radius to weave through traffic and even the weight balance is on point, so crawling at low speeds doesn’t require you to make too many handlebar corrections to stay in line.

The scooter’s brakes are also quite dependable especially with its well calibrated ABS. Despite a front disc-rear drum brake setup, the scooter stops quickly and without losing composure. That said, a sharper initial bite would’ve been welcome.

The Xoom 160 has a decent set of features. An LED headlight and tail light is present and these are quite bright and effective. There’s a rear brake lock to securely park the scooter on a slope. You've got keyless lock/unlock, ignition and boot release.

There's generous amounts of underseat boot space as well and it can easily swallow a half-face helmet and other items.

As for the LCD instrument cluster, it is detailed, legible and features Bluetooth connectivity as well as Turn-by-Turn Navigation. Hero should’ve added a TFT display for the tech-savvy youth. Although, I didn’t really miss it after a few days with the scooter.

We subjected the scooter to BikeWale’s standard city fuel-efficiency test loop. With traffic density varying from medium to heavy, we managed to extract 39.5kmpl. With a 7-litre fuel tank, one can expect a range of approximately 280km.

The Hero Xoom 160 is late to the 150cc-160cc scooter party but it has arrived with the fundamentals in place. Whether it is the looks, the comfort, the performance or handling, the scooter checks all boxes firmly. All of this at Rs 1.41 lakh, ex-showroom, which is a few thousands less than the Aerox. So, the product is up to fight with the competition.

If Hero can improve their service experience to match the premium positioning of the Xoom 160, they’ve a formidable player in the segment.

Photography by Kapil Angane