TVS Ntorq 150 review: Evolution not revolution

For many years now, the TVS Ntorq 125 has championed the cause of the sporty scooter and it's done so while not sacrificing practicality – a combination that has helped it soar past the 2 million unit sales milestone ever since its inception. As great as the 125cc Ntorq is, the market is maturing and the 150cc+ scooter space is slowly but surely seeing new entrants both from well-established Indian and foreign OEMs. To throw its hat in the ring, TVS has decided to create the new Ntorq 150, the rather striking yet also familiar scooter you see here. 

TVS Ntorq 150 design and quality – 9/10

Excellent quality; sharp and sporty design with flashy colours 

While the Ntorq 150’s design isn’t exactly wholly original, it is sure to catch your eyes – especially so because every single one of the four available  colours screams flashy. To this author's eyes, the Ntorq 150 is a striking thing with its new headlight split into four neatly recessed LED projectors, those curvy DRLs (which also serve as indicators), that lovely, angular tail light, sharp silhouette with cuts and creases and even winglets! One thing’s for certain, no matter whether you like or loathe the way the Ntorq 150 looks, it's going to be hard to miss on the road! 

The Ntorq 150 is a catchy looking thing and its flashy colour schemes help it stand out.

By now I'm sure you're wondering – hey, those don't look like 14-inch wheels – and you're correct, they're 12-inchers. Many people (including myself) expected to see the bigger Ntorq move to bigger 14-inch wheels but TVS has decided to stick with the same 12-inch wheel size as nearly the rest of its ICE scooter lineup. How this wheel choice affects the Ntorq’s riding dynamics is something we'll address a little later but I personally don’t think it's any worse without bigger wheels. 

In typical TVS fashion, quality is at a high level be it the shiny paint finish, tactile switchgear, neat panel gaps and leaves very few causes for complaint. However we did notice some creaking plastics in the handlebar area on a couple of scooters.

TVS Ntorq 150 riding position and comfort – 9/10

Neutral, spacious riding position and spacious seat make for a winning combination 

That sense of familiarity to the smaller Ntorq will continue once you get onboard the bigger 150 – a good thing. You're greeted by a really spacious, neutral and open riding position (even 6’1 Rishaad fit perfectly here) and a seat that's spacious enough to carry 2 full-sized adults. 

Even while taking lock-to-lock u-turns the handlebar didn’t foul with my knees (or Rishaad’s) which means that larger riders won’t have to compromise on space or comfort here. On the flip side, the 770mm seat height is low enough that shorter riders will be able to get at least one foot down without trouble. 

TVS Ntorq 150 performance and refinement – 10/10

New motor packs punchy performance and impeccable refinement 

Like the 14-inch wheels, lots of people (again, myself included) were also hoping for a liquid-cooled motor from the Ntorq 150. Again, TVS has gone down a seemingly divergent path and given the Ntorq 150 an air-cooled engine. While its genesis began with the Ntorq 125’s motor, the company has overhauled every aspect of the engine – including, but not limited to, a bigger bore, longer stroke, revised muffler routing and a litany of other comprehensive changes. 

The end result is a peachy engine with a rorty, mischievous soundtrack – a pukka Ntorq then! Aside from the slight judder at idle (a typical CVT scooter trait) and the mildest of tingles in the floorboard at high rpms, this engine is smooth everywhere else. 

And it packs a good punch too! While it's not the most powerful engine in the class, its torque figure is the highest. Best of all, the torque is delivered quite low in the rev band and the motor’s punchy nature translates to the Ntorq 150 being a really responsive machine with every twist of the accelerator. Getting up to 80kph feels rather effortless and even accelerating from 30-40kph up to highway speeds is a quick affair. For you top speed junkies out there, TVS claims a 104kph top speed for the Ntorq 150. 

There are two riding modes – Street and Race – which have different peak outputs and mapping. Street has a mellower response and also tempers down peak power to 10.9hp, which is almost in line with the Ntorq 125. Meanwhile, Race gives you the full 13.5hp and you also get TVS’ electric iGO assist, with a maximum torque output of 14.2Nm (0.7Nm of that comes from iGO) and this feels like the mode I’d want to spend all my time in. 

However, what is puzzling is that TVS’ iGo assist electric boost can only be used in Race mode. Since Street mode extracts less power from the engine, you could argue that you’d need the electric boost more in this mode, especially when you’re trying to make a quick overtake inside the city. 

TVS Ntorq 150 ride comfort and handling – 9/10

Suspension balances poise and comfort exceptionally well; brakes are strong too

Complimenting the punchy engine is the Ntorq’s well setup chassis. TVS started with the same main frame as the Ntorq 125 but strengthened and reinforced it to create the backbone of the Ntorq 150. On the move, it has a fun and flickable nature and it can tackle a set of corners with good composure albeit with noticeable suspension movement. While the Ntorq 150 is a good handler, it won't be able to match the sharper nature of the more stiffly sprung Aprilia SR or the Yamaha Aerox – but in my books, that little tradeoff is well worth it. 

The way TVS has straddled the line between poise and comfort is truly remarkable and my feeling is this sporty scooter will surprise most people with how well it tackles road imperfections. Of course, we only rode the Ntorq 150 on TVS’ butter smooth test track, where I encountered precisely the same two bumps lap after lap.

However, while I did so, the Ntorq’s suspension (while slightly stiffer than the Ntorq 125) reminded me of the Jupiter’s setup in how absorbent it was – when was the last time any sporty scooter was spoken of in that vein? I think the tiny bit of outright handling you'll be sacrificing will be well worth the spades of comfort you gain in return. 

TVS Ntorq 150 features and safety – 9/10

Top variant comes with a 5-inch TFT; single-channel ABS standard here

Braking performance too is reassuringly strong and measured, with initial bite being gentle but once you give the chunky, adjustable levers a firm tug, you’ll come to a halt reasonably quickly. In fact, if anything, the rear brake can lock up a little too easily, which is because the Ntorq 150 – just like its peers – only gets a single-channel ABS. This is par for the course and just something you’ll have to get used to over time. 

Another safety feature the Ntorq has is traction control, which we never got the opportunity to test on TVS’ smooth test track but could come in handy over rough patches in inclement weather owing to this engine’s torque-rich character. 

One area where TVS really has pulled out all the stops is in the sheer technology baked into the scooter, especially on the top TFT variant. Aside from the usual – and now commonplace – gamut of features like turn-by-turn navigation, music playback and notification alerts, the Ntorq 150 also has Alexa alerts, smartwatch pairing compatibility, geo-fencing functionality and a whole lot more if you pair your phone to the dash via TVS’ app.

The real-world use case for many of these features is rather infinitesimal but they’re there in the background, should you ever need them, which is exactly the way technology should be integrated into a vehicle. 

TVS Ntorq 150 price and verdict – 9/10

Priced very well and scores highly on all counts

Summing up, the Ntorq is fast, flashy and feature-loaded, which means it meets more or less everything somebody in this class is shopping for. The cherry on top is the excellent price. Ranging from Rs 1.15 lakh – Rs 1.25 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), not only is the Ntorq 150 the most affordable 150cc scooter in India, it's not a big stretch from the top 125cc Ntorq variant.

Silver is reserved for the base model while the neon yellow is exclusive to the top variant.

If the biggest complaints we’ve come away with are the lack of iGO assist in Street mode and a slightly sharp rear brake, then TVS have done well and have another winner on their hands with the new Ntorq 150. 

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