Scooters are ubiquitous in India owing to their versatility. For starters, they are designed to be unisex, practical with a lot of storage, versatile and sensible. Hero MotoCorp has just launched its flagship scooter in India in the form of Xoom 160. For the Indian audience, Xoom 160 is not unisex and practical as it is the brand’s first non step-through scooter.
So, versatility is lower with Xoom 160 and one would think that it might not have a lot of takers. However, what Xoom 160 has working in its favour is desirability. We experienced Xoom 160 for around half a day in Pune city across multiple road surfaces and this is what we think about Hero’s first maxi-style and India’s first ADV-styled scooter.
Hero Xoom 160 First Ride Review
If you are wondering who the Xoom 160’s target demographic is, its people like me. I am a big guy and I love it when my scooter doesn’t look comically small under me. Xoom 160 doesn’t. I am in need of a motorcycle’s performance in a scooter format with underseat storage. Xoom 160 delivers. I need my scooter to be unique and not look generic. Xoom 160 stands out. I need something built to take on bad Indian roads and perform well on occasional highway rides. Xoom 160 fills the boots.
Hero MotoCorp is asking Rs 1,48,500 (Ex-sh) for Xoom 160 which undercuts its immediate rival, the Yamaha Aerox 155, by a margin of just a couple of thousand rupees. There are four colour options with Aerox 155 – Matte Rainforest Green, Canyon Red, Summit White and Matte Volcanic Grey. It has to be noted that Matte Rainforest Grey is the launch colour and Matte Volcanic Grey somewhat looks like Combat Edition colourway offered with other Hero products. Deliveries of Xoom 160 will start this month.
Design & Aesthetics
Where design is concerned, Hero Xoom 160 is a grand slam dunk. I think this is the best-looking mainstream Indian scooter on sale today. It grabs a lot of eyeballs and the general consensus would unanimously agree that Xoom 160 is a ruggedly handsome machine. Hero is offering chunky side guards, a taller windscreen and a rear luggage rack with top box, among others, to make it even more rugged.
We get a maxi-style bodywork which offers wind protection on high speeds. There’s a dual chamber LED headlight setup, a sleek LED tail light signature along with halogen turn indicators. As standard, there’s a decently-sized tinted windscreen, 14-inch alloy wheels, sporty bodywork, a central spine housing a 7L fuel tank, a chunky exhaust, integrated rear grab rails, aluminium swingarm and more.
The single-piece seat is large in size, which is accommodating for most body sizes at both rider’s and pillion’s ends. Because it is built as a maxi-scooter with long distance touring in mind, Hero has given Xoom 160 a wide handlebar (for scooter standards) and a versatile footrest area offering riders both centre-set foot position for city riding and then a forward-set and inclined foot position for highway rides. Seating position is upright and comfortable.
Features & Components
While the design of Hero Xoom 160 is sensational, features and functionalities are nothing to write home about. Sure, there are some features to boast about including the smart key fob with keyless go. It worked reliably and it will make everyday rides hasslefree. The keyfob even has buttons to release under-seat storage and then there are headlight button and a beep which will help in finding it in a parking spot.
Under-seat storage is around 22L and I was expecting more because the fuel tank has been moved towards floorboard. It did not accommodate my XL sized ADV-style full-face helmet, which is something I was hoping it would. There’s a LED boot light, which is nice. We get a fully-digital instrument cluster, same as Xpulse 200 and Xoom 125, which supports Bluetooth connectivity with turn-by-turn navigation.
There’s a parking brake, i3S engine stop / start feature and a single-channel ABS system working on front disc brake, while rear still gets a drum brake setup. We get a small glove box at the front with a USB Type-A port. 14-inch wheel design on Xoom 160 is similar to Xoom 125, tyres are not. For starters, Xoom 160 gets block-pattern tyres and they are much thicker. Xoom 125’s rear tyre (120-section) is Xoom 160’s front tyre and Xoom 160’s rear tyre is 140-section like on a sporty motorcycle.
ADV-Like Ride & Handling
Suspension is handled by 31mm front telescopic forks and rear twin shock-absorbers with generous amount of suspension travel. In typical Hero MotoCorp fashion, Xoom 160 gets the suspension setup right and Xoom 160 does not shatter your spine like its immediate rival does. Xoom 160 is very pleasant to ride around the city and on bad roads. The 14-inch alloys along with thick black-pattern tyres also boast rough road ability and some off-road ability too.
The floor board shape allows for an inclined forward-set foot area, which is comfortable on long hauls. Handling is quite sorted too. The larger 14-inch wheels are slightly slow to steer, but not significantly worse than 12-inch wheels. The ADV scooter has commendable handling characteristics, allowing you to carry higher speeds in corners. Braking is handled by front disc and rear drum config with single-channel ABS. Breaking performance was respectable as well.
Performance
The main highlight of Xoom 160 apart from its brutish handsomeness is its powertrain. It comes with a new 156cc single-cylinder SOHC 4V/cyl liquid-cooled engine which is capable of generating 14.6 bhp at 8,000 RPM and 14 Nm at 6,500 RPM, mated to a CVT gearbox. One thing you would notice immediately is how refined the new engine on Xoom 160 is at both idling speeds and on higher RPMs.
One thing that caught me off-guard was the really long throttle. Like, really long. Much longer than the already long throttle on Xoom 125. To pull throttle all the way, one has to do hand gymnastics. The chunky exhaust lets out an appealing and bass-y exhaust note, which is likely to appeal to most buyers. Hero claims a 0-60 km/h sprint in 6.5 seconds and a 0-100m sprint on a 15-degree incline in 15.5 seconds.
Because of the 142 kg kerb weight, straight line stability is excellent at highway speeds. It does cross 100 km/h with ease and is more than happy to hold speeds for longer. I was sceptical about the 142 kg weight, but Xoom 160 masks its heft quite nicely. It didn’t feel overtly heavy even while moving it around in the parking lot. The smooth engine ensures less fatigue and no tingling sensation on your wrists. I could see myself willing to go long distances on Xoom 160.
Some Reservations
When Hero showcased Xoom 160 at 2023 EICMA Show, I was quite interested in this scooter. The launch price, however, is Rs 1,48,500 (Ex-sh), which I would be more than willing to pay if the company loaded it with features and equipment that much more affordable Hero products get. Our reservations with Xoom 160 are:
1. Cornering lights feature on Xoom 110 was gimmicky for a scooter of its class, but it would have made sense on a touring machine like Xoom 160.
2. Xoom 125 gets swiping LED turn indicators, which are far more premium than Xoom 160’s halogen bulbs.
3. Xoom 125 gets projector headlights, while Xoom 160 is reflector only.
4. Hero Glamour X, a budget commuter, gets cruise control. But the Xoom 160, a touring machine, misses out on it despite the premium pricing.
5. There’s no hazard light function on Xoom 160, which the Glamour X gets.
6. A budget commuter like Glamour X gets Type-C USB port, while premium flagship scooter like Xoom 160 still gets Type-A USB port.
7. Hero offers a modern colour LCD instrument cluster with Glamour X for just Rs 89,999, but Xoom 160 gets the much older cluster.
8. An ADV scooter like Xoom 160 should have come with knuckle guards, but it doesn’t, even as an accessory.
9. Like every other Hero MotoCorp ICE product I reviewed and Xoom 125 I own, I couldn’t get the app to connect with the cluster for Bluetooth and navigation features.
10. Just like Mavrick 440, Xpulse 200 Pro and Vida VX2, I had issues with Xoom 160’s ORVM where it would flop around on its own.
With the equipment it has now, Xoom 160 should have launched in 2023 and it would have been okay. But it is launched in 2025 when rival brands have upped the game in features and equipment. Hero MotoCorp could have made a significantly better version of Xoom 160 with parts and components already lying around in the company’s parts bin, taking features from already launched products.
Should You Buy One?
Hero MotoCorp is known to offer exceptional VFM propositions by significantly undercutting rivals. I recently purchased a Xoom 125 at a price point where rival brands were selling base variants of 110cc scooters (OTR, Karnataka). This VFM ethos I saw in Xoom 125, is missing in Xoom 160. Hero should have either crammed everything they can in Xoom 160 for the price, or priced it more competitively. Sadly, neither is the case.
That said, I would still consider the Xoom 160 as it offers an experience that no other mainstream scooter in India currently offers. I think this would be the perfect scooter for tall riders like myself who need a motorcycle’s performance with an under-seat storage and an ADV’s bad road ability (mostly). Even the powertrain is significantly more refined than its just launched rival. In my books, Xoom 160 is a proud notch in Hero MotoCorp’s premium lineup belt and it should be high up your shortlist.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
