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TVS Phoenix 125 : Road Test
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TVS has been the underdog in the commuter class of motorcycles for far too long. With the Phoenix, the company is aiming to make its presence felt in the miscellany of the 125cc segment albeit trying to do quite lot. Ravi Ved and Varad More get aboard to see if all this makes sense to the buyer out there
Editor's Note: Adil Jal Darukhanawala
Will the Phoenix help TVS rise above all?
Some time last month a TVS dealer from Mumbai and a long standing personal friend of mine rang up and asked me to rate the TVS Phoenix, the new 125cc executive commuter motorcycle from the Hosur-based bike maker. He asked me as to how many points I would give it out of ten compared to the competition. I told him I’d have to get to grips with bike and competition and then get back to him. Having done just that over a seven-day period, this is my assessment of the newest offering from TVS and it rates an eight out of ten.
The Phoenix was born from the ashes of the Flame which got the firm so tied up in technological and legal tangles with Bajaj Auto. The new Phoenix has a simple but robust air-cooled motor displacing 124.5cc and it now makes do with very simple bits and pieces well crafted for combustion, power, torque and driveability and price. One can make out how and why the bike has been configured given its small carburettor, its overall gearing (one cog less than the similarly priced competition) and the way it tries to appeal cosmetically to punters in this very important segment in Indian motorcycling.
The idea of a li’l bit of this and a li’l bit of that doesn’t necessarily make for a wholesome package but so many bike makers have gone down that route with this thought firmly writ large in their sub-conscious and yet brave enough to ram it through knowing well that the chances of success are pretty slim. Mind you, the bike does look very good in class and against the likes of the Honda Shine and the Hero Glamour it tries to make a fight of it. The trouble is that with a four-speed ’box and a high output engine, the acceleration is top notch, both from rest to whatever and also in-gear roll-ons are class leading but in so doing the bike misses out on top gear flexibility and speed and this hurts in overall performance as well as in the fuel efficiency game. Related: TVS Phoenix 125 Launched
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Readers' opinions ( 26 )
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Sandy
Seriously, an ultimate story of pheonix is written by the ZW Team. Thanks a lot for ur such dedicated work.Yes the pheonix has got the best engine n gear box made so far. I liked the smoothness n the grunt of this 125cc mill,liked the suspensions.If somebody wants the best of engine performance with fee, smooth gearbox next to honda n the best pair of rear shocks along with better quality material n paint even better than the Shine @ great price tag then look no other. A fifth cog could provably seal the deal.
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ambavaram
i have got 73kp/l mileage on highway
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umesh
pls lanch apachi 125cc d with out changing their design d that mailage has to be 65kmpl.d one more thing is pls incress the distence between fuel tank s handle because if we rotate the handle there is in between gap of fuel tank and handle too short its very dangerous to human hands so pls solve this problem with this. am looking forward
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adarsh
the engine
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Santhosh
Hi All,I bought new Phoenix (Red), Its a good performance bike.... I enjoyed the ride in city as well as long drive. It gives 60 mileage. Perfect Comfort. Breaking systems are extremely perfect. In speedometer, they found a new Display design which shows battery / service indicator. Its good looking....Over all its a worthy Bike in TVS!!!
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