The Indian Maxi-scooter market is all set to get heated up, with launch of Piagio’s all new Aprilia variant, the SXR160. Suzuki’s Burgman125 was the first ever maxi-scooter in BS6 era, and now Aprilia is all set to storm the market with its SXR160.Aprilia is a brand under Piaggio group, who also sells Vespa brand of Italian classic scooters in India, besides the performance oriented & modern Aprilia series. They use a similar 150cc engine platform, and are the only brands in India, to offer an engine in this segment. They get manufactured besides each other at Piaggio’s manufacturing plant at Baramati, in Maharashtra, India.
So lets get back to the SXR160. Let me clear some air right away, its not an update of the SR160, it’s an all new preposition in an all new variant delivering Aprilia’s signature style & design elements, with the same 160cc engine powering the SR160, but with 12 inch rims, & power delivery in a more subdued manner. It will be available in 4 amazing colour options, matte blue, matte black, glossy red & glossy white.
So what’s completely new is the whole new body design & styling. Italians are famous for their styling & designs world-wide, equally well known is Aprilia’s RSV4 facia with its unique headlamp design. The front fascia of SXR160 gets the exact Aprilia signature 3-pod LED headlight unit, making the all new styling very likeable, would work like an eye magnet where ever this Italian beauty goes. Above the facia sits a smoked visor, covering the all new LED console and adding to its maxi-scooter feel & look. The front panel gets sharp lines adding to its modern looks. On the sides, sits the Italian flag tri-colors announcing its Italian roots. The side-skirts get the Aprilia branding, while the tail gets its SXR160 branding, The Tail panel carries ahead the sharp lines the facia body creates, to create a slim trim tail end section.
The foot-board gets a unique design pattern, adding to its looks. The tail gets all new LED tail-lamp unit with integrated indicators, giving it a minimalistic & modern edgy look, making the RSV4 inspiration evident. It gets a sleek looking grab handle cum tail –guard for the pillion to comfortably sit & hold while riding. I can definitely say that the SXR160 is one of the best looking scooters the market has ever seen. It I am in love with the overall design & storage space options the SXR has. The pillion foot-rests are beautifully amalgamated in the body panels, and their opening-closing action will remind of the Ducati Diavel foot-pegs.
Its gets a big storage box in the front, with a USB charging port from factory to carry your belongings safely. It also gets a bag holder above the box, to additionally carry more stuff if any. Along with this, it gets under-seat storage option with an ambient LED light to help to manage stuff inside. The fuel tank cap still sits under the seat, which could have been somewhere outside to make it more accessible & make the fuel station experience less cumbersome & more pleasant. The handle-bar gets this matte black plastic cover with Aprilia branding adding to its premium look. Overall as a package, it looks very sporty & classy to ride, gives you an overall blue-blooded feeling.
The SXR gets 12-inch rims instead of 14-inch ones we had in SR160, to decrease the seat height & make it more accessible to a larger audience. It gets a stepped-up seat, with contrast stitching with a seat-height of 770mm, I would say Aprilia guys hits the bullseye on this point. The SXR uses a similar chassis as the SR did, and ride is quite confidence inspiring. On the front, it gets telescopic forks, while on the rear it gets a single sided spring suspension; both are tuned to the stiffer side to provide a stable & confident ride at cruising speeds. On the front the SXR gets a 220mm disk brake with single channel ABS, while on the rear it gets a 140mm drum brake while provide ample braking bite & power to confidently ride the bike.
The 120/70-12 section tyres on the front & rear provide great traction & control at all speeds. The SXR160 is really stable & runs planted on all roads & corners alike, though these tyres are a bit on the heavier side and make the SXR a little less nimble. Over-all I loved the ride-experience the SXR offers, its pretty stable & laid-back.
Adding to its cruising DNA is the 160cc mill borrowed from the SR160, though its in a different state of tune here to deliver 11PS of Power & 11Nm of Torque. Its delivered in a very linear & laid-back manner, not matching my expectations I have had from my past experiences with previous Aprilia’s. I guess the heavy tyres & all new body pushing up to weight to 129kgs is making all that change.
All this allows the SXR160 to reach a top-speed of just 96kmph, as against the 120kmph we have seen on the SR160. When we spoke to Aprilia officials, we came to know that all this was intentional. Their research indicated that there was a gap they could fill, and the SXR160 is here to fill that gap. They realized that there is a segment of buyers who are more style & design conscious than performance conscious, since first time buyers may shy away from too much power. This was the idea behind the SXR160, to deliver a modern stylish maxi-scooter with world-class Italian design heritage with less power, making it more approachable to first time buyers & riders. The SXR160 delivers a mileage of 31kmpl during our test ride, which is more than enough for a scooter of this engine capacity & weight.
In terms of features, it gets this 231sq.cm LED display unit, which houses the digital speedometer, odometer, digital fuel indicator, mileage indicator, top speed indicator, battery voltage indicator, digital clock, average speed, instantaneous mileage, 2 trip meter and a digital rpm indicator. Other than these, it gets an malfunction indicator, engine oil temperature indicator and gets a Bluetooth connectivity option as an accessory. It wont be getting navigation support, if that’s what you were expecting. Bluetooth connectivity would be to find your scooter in parking, glow its lights, send direct feedback & complaints to the manufacturer etc via the Aprilia scooter app.
No, you wont buy it for the mileage, but Aprilia’s have never been about them. They are all about their class, their modern edgy Italian styling & raw performance the engine delivers. You would buy it for the comfort, for the high class feeling and the unique styling features that make it an eye magnet the SXR promises to deliver. Is it worth the price-tag it demands?? Is it worth Rs.1.27 Lakh? Well, style & design is subjective, to some who loves it, I don’t see any price as high if it matches your vibes. But yes if you want to be different and standout from the rest then the Aprilia SXR160 is for you.
Words – Suraj Sawant
Photography – Govind Gadekar
Video – Bhushan Joshi