With my brother’s 2015 Honda Activa 3G getting longer in the tooth, the search for a new scooter began. Because Xoom 125 is a large scooter and weighed over 120 kg, we finalised a Hero Xoom 110. At the time of buying, there were a few factors that led us to upgrade to Xoom 125, which is a far better product and it probably is the most VFM premium scooter on sale in India. Let’s dive into details and see what’s what.
Hero Xoom 125 – VFM Quotient
My brother’s first choice was once again a Honda Activa. Because we already have a Honda Activa 3G and a TVS Jupiter 125 in the family, I suggested he look at Yamaha Fascino, RayZR, Hero Destini 125, Xoom 110 and Xoom 125. However, in Tier 2 cities, buying decisions often depend on availability of stock at the respective dealership.
For some reason, Yamaha dealership had only stocked up top-spec disc brake variants, which were high up the price ladder. Hero dealership in my city only had one Xoom 110 ZX Matte Abrax Orange (Rs 1.13 lakh), one Xoom 125 VX Metallic Turbo Blue (Rs 1.15 lakh) and a Xoom 110 Combat Edition (Rs 1.15 lakh) at a nearby location (all prices OTR, Karnataka state).
Where pricing is concerned, Hero MotoCorp’s Xoom 110 and Xoom 125 are absolute winners as the base Activa 110 STD variant (Rs 1.13 lakh) and base TVS Jupiter 110 Drum variant (Rs 1.14 lakh) emerged quite pricey (all prices OTR, Karnataka state). Especially considering both these variants came with steel wheels, drum brakes, halogen lighting and bygone era analogue instrument clusters and without any bells and whistles that Hero is offering at the same price point.
At the price point of Rs 1.13 lakh (OTR, Karnataka), Hero is offering LED projector headlights, LED tail lights, (although gimmicky) LED cornering lights, LED boot light, USB charging port, fully digital instrument cluster with Bluetooth connectivity, dual-tone alloy wheels, disc brakes with Bybre callipers and more. If you opt for VX variant of Xoom 110, it is VFM Pro Max as it costs Rs 1.05 lakh (OTR Karnataka) only, but was sadly unavailable in my city.
125 Over 110
During purchase, we noticed that the Abrax Orange colour on rear grab rail was significantly different when compared to side body panels. It ticked me and my brother off enough to discard it. Hence, the decision shifted to Xoom 110 Combat Edition (Rs 1.15 lakh OTR Karnataka) which they were arranging from a nearby location. In the meantime, I asked my brother to ignore the 120 kg kerb weight and try out Xoom 125 and compare it with Xoom 110 in real world.
He did just that and he concluded Xoom 125 doesn’t feel cumbersome in real life and is quite manageable. Also, Xoom 110 lacked external fuel filler cap and integrated boot release like Xoom 125. For us, the base VX variant was enough and we didn’t need the top-spec ZX variant.
I had experienced Xoom 125 at the national media drive in Delhi and returned quite impressed. The 125cc engine on this scooter first debuted in Destini 125 which I experienced last year at the national media drive in Goa. These 14-inch wheels unlock a new level of ride, handling and rough-road ability that 12-inch and 10-inch scooters can never match in a million years.
It is quite commendable that Hero MotoCorp is offering Xoom 125 base VX variant at around the same price point of 110cc scooter base variants from rival brands and still offer features like 14-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, LED tail light, LED turn indicators, LED boot light, fully-digital instrument cluster, external fuel filler cap, integrated boot release, stepped seat and more.
Purchasing & Showroom Experience
As a product, Hero Xoom 125 is quite good and the pricing and equipment is plain brilliant. But what is holding it back in achieving a revolution in sales is the showroom experience. In April 2025, Honda sold 1,94,787 Activas and 20,555 Dios, TVS sold 1,02,588 Jupiters and 25,383 Ntorqs and in the same month, Hero just sold 3,643 Xoom scooters. This is a premium, sporty and aspirational scooter that deserves to be sold via Premia showrooms to make any meaningful difference.
1. The dealership was only maintaining one unit of Xoom 110 and Xoom 125 just for the sake of variety. It would take over a month to get desired colour and variant.
2. Sales reps were not knowledgeable about these scooters and they didn’t know specs and features. One rep kept on calling Xoom 110 as ‘Xoom’ and Xoom 125 as ‘Xoom XTEC’.
3. I had to request 5 times to bring down Xoom 125 from the platform and place it beside Xoom 110 and they only did it after I got a bit irritated. Treating customers to not have knowledge about the two wheeler is not the right strategy to push sales.
4. Showroom did not have any accessories of this Xoom 125, except for ORVMs. Service people tried to install side footstep accessory, but failed after wasting 1.5 hours of my time.
5. Service is my biggest fear as the service centre was overrun by an ocean of Splendors and HF models. As per one service faculty, they were not trained to operate on scooters at all, which was concerning.
6. When asked for a ‘Glove Box Mobile Charger’ accessory which is listed on Hero website, the store manager said he was busy to search for its part number. He asked me to search and give him part number and then he’ll place an order.
7. Even though Activa is the best-selling scooter in India by a long shot, Honda was offering Rs 4,000 monetary discount. TVS was offering a Rs 2,000 discount on Jupiter. Discounts and incentives to push Xoom scooter sales by Hero were zero.
8. Me and my brother were not expecting nor offered any theatrics or confetti or a giant key for photo opportunities. But I can see how many prospective buyers would want this experience as this is a premium, sporty and aspirational 125cc scooter.
Most of these shortcomings would go away if Hero sold Xoom 125 via their Premia premium showrooms. A sporty, premium and aspirational scooter like Xoom 125 deserves more sales and selling them through Premia dealerships would offer prospective customers an experience they deserve. Also, this could be a high-volume offering for Premia dealers as well. As things stand, Hero Xoom 125 is sold through their legacy dealerships that are extremely comfortable in selling just the Splendors and HF.