Ever met that one guy who arrives late to the party but somehow ends up being the life of it? For me, the Hero Xoom 125 had the potential to be just that. The TVS NTorq 125, Honda Dio 125, Suzuki Avenis 125 and the Aprilia SR 125 are not bad or dull scooters, but come on, they have been here long enough, and some have just replicated the successful formula of others. But Hero MotoCorp? It didn’t do that.
And the Xoom 125’s design made that pretty evident, too. Perhaps, that’s one advantage of arriving late — people notice, turn heads — that’s exactly what the Xoom 125’s presence did. Sure, the whole idea of the front-apron-mounted headlight, edgy side panels and split tail-light design is not exactly new, but the way Hero executed these made it a little more appealing. Or maybe it was the thing very few, or rather just one, experimented with in this segment — 14-inch wheels.
The bigger wheels and fatter tyres equals sporty, isn’t it? After all, most maxi-scooters and bigger sporty ones use the same wheel setup. This not only amped up the aesthetic appeal of the Xoom, but also made it a confident handler. Whether it was holding a line through the corner or making my way through traffic, the Xoom never disappointed. It was almost as good as riding a small commuter motorcycle. What made things tricky were the mirrors; the small stalks meant my arms took up most of the real estate of the mirrors.
The Xoom’s handling abilities was supplemented by its engine. The 124.6cc engine’s 9.8-bhp power and 1.03 kgm of torque isn’t really segment-leading, yet Hero claimed Xoom to be the fastest 125cc scooter to accelerate from nought to 60 kph. Though I couldn’t test the 7.6-second claim for this sprint, it definitely is surprisingly quick. In fact, the scooter relentlessly went all the way up to 70 kph, tapering afterwards and managing a top speed of 89 kph. There were barely any vibrations for most parts, and the one on the handlebar was something I could easily live with.
What I felt was difficult to deal with was the suspension. The ride quality was firm, which is expected from a sporty scooter, but on the Xoom, it felt a bit too much. It could handle the minor bumps and undulations fine, but a big pothole or a bad stretch of road transferred impact to me. Thankfully, brakes were a saving grace in these situations. I found myself slowing down a lot more than what I would have preferred. The brakes have enough stopping power and the combined braking system made it impossible to lock any wheel despite my attempts.
For a scooter that looks good, handles well and has enough performance, the Xoom’s console was a big letdown. The simple LCD screen didn’t look like it belonged to the Xoom 125 or even this decade. A reverse LCD or even a colour LCD like the Raider’s would have looked better.
The Hero Xoom 125 surely took its own sweet time to come to a segment that accounts for half the scooter sales in the country. At Rs 86,900 (ex-showroom) onwards, the Xoom isn’t a bad deal, either. It has combined the good bits from almost every scooter in the 125cc segment and presented it in an affordable package. That said, the late arrival of the Xoom should have translated into a scooter that would leave everyone awestruck. Instead, the scooter turned out to be ‘just’ a good scooter… which most of its competitors already are.
