NTorq 125

Overview

The NTorq 125 is proof that a commuter scooter can be bought for how it feels rather than what it costs to run. The round headlamp, the flat bench-style saddle and the wide handlebar borrow retro mannerisms and rebuild them in modern materials, and the 124cc motor delivers its 10.8 Nm at just 4,000 rpm — so the gap to the next lane is there for the taking, and the scooter glides through traffic with a relaxed, old-style swagger the angular rivals cannot fake. Twisting the bar in first gear is the most fun to be had under ₹1,00,000 of two-wheeler money.

The ergonomics sell the same argument the styling opens. The bar is wide and the footboard is long, so a six-foot rider sits upright rather than folded, and at signals the scooter is easy to hold straight and even easier to drop a shoulder into a gap. The claimed 55 kmpl is genuinely achievable as a mid-40s daily number, and the disc variant with single-channel ABS stops the fun end of the price ladder at a figure that makes sense with the pace the motor encourages.

The retro-commuter compromise shows in the kilograms. At 121 kg it is the heaviest scooter in this whole group, which costs it at low speeds and on the stand, and the same width that makes it comfortable makes tight bumper-to-bumper filtering a negotiation. The base trim’s drum brakes understate a quick machine, the styling splits buyers once the novelty reads as costume, and the price band runs well above the sensible 125s — the NTorq is asking to be paid for twice: once for the engine, once for the attitude.

• Wide bar, bench saddle and 10.8 Nm from 4,000 rpm
• Retro styling that glides through traffic on presence alone
• Single-channel ABS on the front disc variant