Yamaha Aerox 155

The Yamaha Aerox 155 is a sporty scooter from the Japanese manufacturer, with an aggressive design. It is powered by the same engine as the Yamaha R15, making it the most powerful scooter in the 150-160cc segment. Let’s find out how it performs in the real world:

Design

The Yamaha Aerox 155 looks aggressive and mean, with a fairly muscular stance. It combines sharp lines with sporty and sculpted bodywork. The scooter grabs attention on the road because of its unique looks and design. Moreover, the funky graphics also enhance its appeal. Unlike conventional scooters, the Aerox 155 comes with a spine which also houses the fuel tank and is located in the middle of the floorboard. 

The Aerox 155 has a sharp front design, featuring an apron-mounted split LED headlight and DRLs (daytime running lights). The indicators are placed at the edge of the apron, which gives it a unique look. It has a lot of body panels, all of them fitting together seamlessly. On the spine, the X-shaped panel is a nice touch and looks cool. At the rear, it has a simple and sleek tail section with a slim LED tail light that looks premium, along with a motorcycle-like indicator. The radiator shroud looks good, but the air-box cover looks a bit odd.

The fit and finish levels of the scooter are good, and the switchgear quality is among the best. Body panels sit together tightly and look premium. However, the flap that covers the fuel filler cap is a bit flimsy and doesn’t fit as nicely, revealing the fuel filler cap from the sides. The Aerox 155 is available in three colours: Metallic Black, Grey Vermillion and a special Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Edition. Where the top Aerox 155 Version S comes in Racing Blue and Silver shades.

Engine, Mileage & Performance

The Yamaha Aerox 155 delivers an impressive performance. It is equipped with the R15’s 155cc, liquid-cooled single-cylinder engine that produces 15PS at 8000rpm and 13.9Nm at 6500rpm, however, in the Aerox it is paired with a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission). It accelerates slowly at first as the low-end isn’t that strong but has a good mid-range grunt where it feels most lively. Thanks to VVA (Variable Valve Actuation), the scooter then picks up speed quickly once it hits its mid-range.

The strong mid-range power makes the Aerox 155 engaging to ride in the city and helps with overtaking other vehicles on the highways. Unlike other scooters, it maintains high speeds very easily, reaching over 100kmph without breaking a sweat. It even hit 120kmph on the speedo during our test. The Aerox 155 is impressively stable, not at just high speeds, but all the time. The scooter is also very refined, with only minor vibrations on the floorboard.

In our tests, the Yamaha Aerox 155 delivered a fuel efficiency of 48.62kmpl in the city and 42.26kmpl on the highway. However, if you constantly push the scooter then the mileage figures may drop to somewhere around 30-35kmpl.

Handling & Ride Quality

The Yamaha Aerox 155 offers good handling and changes directions quickly. It is very stable at high speeds and tips into corners effortlessly. Moreover, the wide 140-section rear tyre provides sufficient grip around turns and increases stability, making it a fun-to-ride scooter. Its sporty riding posture and chunky tyres improve the handling and almost makes you feel like you are riding a bike. 

The Aerox 155 offers excellent handling but for that it sacrifices comfort. While it handles short rides decently, its stock suspension setup is too firm for Indian roads and makes longer rides a challenging task. When riding on rough roads or bad patches, the rider can feel every undulation, resulting in a harsh ride quality. The scooter feels unsettled even when riding over smaller bumps and potholes. As a solution, Yamaha does offer an adjustable rear suspension for an extra Rs 17,000, which should improve the ride quality. 

Despite having a 230mm front disc brake and a 130mm rear drum brake with single-channel ABS, the Aerox's braking performance isn’t that impressive. The disc brake lacks initial bite and feedback. You have to squeeze the lever pretty hard to get a decent stopping power.

Comfort

The Yamaha Aerox 155 comes with a firm seat padding, which combined with the firm suspension, isn’t a very comfortable setup and can be a bit rough on Indian roads. To sit on the Aerox, you have to swing your leg over the seat, like you do on a motorcycle because of the spine located on the floorboard. While the Aerox's spine restricts footboard space and may seem odd at first, you eventually become used to it and can grip it with your legs just like a bike's fuel tank.

The Aerox provides a relaxed and upright riding posture. It has a tall and easy to reach handlebar that makes U-turns very easy. However, if you are tall, your knees may feel cramped or might hit the apron quite frequently. The seat height, at 790mm, is considerably tall for a scooter, because of which, shorter riders may have difficulty in placing their feet on the ground. At 126kg kerb, the Aerox is relatively heavy for a scooter, and requires some effort to move it around in a parking lot or through tight spaces.

Features

The Yamaha Aerox 155 features an all-LED lighting setup. It has a negative LCD display with smartphone connectivity that shows call/SMS alerts, and a phone battery indicator. The display also includes a speedometer, odometer, trip meter, fuel gauge, digital clock along with traction control and VVA indicators, and basic telltale lights. While the console layout is clean and easily readable, the presence of the twin tachometers, that too in a scooter, is pointless. And the Aerox misses out on turn-by-turn navigation which is even present in the smaller capacity scooters.

The switchgear is of good quality and feels premium. The Aerox 155 has a multi-function key slot with a switch for accessing the 24.5-litre underseat storage and fuel cap. The top-of-the-line Version S comes with a fob key and supports keyless operation.

The scooter is also equipped with a traction control system that prevents wheelspin on slippery surfaces and enhances rider safety. Additionally, it also gets a silent starter motor and a side-stand engine cut-off feature. Despite the high-quality brake levers, it misses out on a brake lock, a feature which comes in handy while parking at an incline.

Verdict

At an ex-showroom price of Rs 1,47,600 (ex-showroom), the Yamaha Aerox 155 is the most expensive made-in-India scooter, currently. It is not a very practical choice, but it’s a unique, exciting, and fun scooter. The best part about the Aerox 155 is that it feels and rides like a motorcycle. With the R15’s 155cc engine with VVA, the Aerox features Yamaha's performance DNA. Moreover, if your parents don’t like performance bikes, then convincing them to buy a scooter for you would be a lot easier than convincing them to buy a sportbike like the KTM RC 200 or R15.

If you really want to get the Aerox 155, be prepared for its firm suspension and harsh ride quality. However, this can be improved later, if you upgrade to the adjustable rear suspension.