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Seven years on, TVS thinks this is the best Ntorq you can bag. Is it, though?

- By Ruman Devmane Photographs Kaizad Adil Darukhanawala

Allow me to begin with a disclaimer. I’ve had a proper while to think about the TVS Ntorq 150. In the month that has passed since I rode it, I’ve filed two stories about it — one for our ever-buzzing website and another, for Auto Focus, our brilliant weekend page in The Hindu BusinessLine. With the fresh-off-the-seat emotions now having settled, I thought I’d feel a bit differently about the Ntorq 150. This happens all the time, since you can be a bit emotionally charged after a ride or drive until your thoughts coalesce. I mean, didn’t we all think the new BMWs looked hideous until they didn’t anymore? If, then, you find the story you’re about to read identical to other versions of it you may have already read, I apologise; it just means the Ntorq hasn’t done much, emotionally, to change my views on it. Not that it needed to, because — without giving too much away at the very start — it’s a really fun scooter.

You have to read between the lines to get what the TVS Ntorq 150 is really all about, though. On the face of it, it’s a serious step forward but it holds on to the past far more than you'd think. TVS may be slightly late to the sub-200cc scooter party, of course, but it’s nothing unpardonable. This is a small, even if growing, class and so far, nothing in here can be labelled a runaway success — yet. I suppose that’s what TVS could be gunning for, seeing as the Yamaha Aerox 155, the Aprilia SR 160 and the Hero Xoom 160 have already shown their hand. So, how has TVS worked out its entry into this ring? Here’s an early giveaway — by doing nothing radical, that’s how. As for the rest, we're only a few questions away.

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