Hero Destini 125 Test Ride Review

Ergonomics – The ergonomics on the Hero Destini 125 have been carried over from the Duet. The seat is comfortable and you sit upright. At 775 mm of seat height, it is easy to get on and off without any hassle. While there is good amount of space on the footboard too. The handlebar isn’t too wide, however the mirrors don’t show what’s behind if you are riding with a jacket on. The cushioning is slightly hard as compared to other scooters but there’s good amount of space for the pillion. The pillion footpegs are placed slightly wide due to the body design while the grab rail is very convenient and good to hold too.

Performance – Powered by a 124.6cc motor, that produces 8.7 BHP of power and 10.2 Nm of torque, the Destini’s numbers aren’t as exciting as the competition as they produce similar power and torque figures. What is interesting is that power delivery is very strong in the mid-range. The low-end is just fine to handle traffic while there’s not much of a top-end. The scooter goes out of breath at 90 km/hr while it has a happy spot at 55 km/hr. This is where the throttle is very responsive and picking up pace isn’t much of a trouble.

This is the first Hero engine that seems very refined and yet packs a punch

On the other hand, the i3S system comes in handy in stop-go traffic. The motor shuts at 3 seconds of idle and to turn it on, you have to hold the rear brake and twist the throttle a little. This helps in an increase of around 10% in fuel efficiency as said by Hero MotoCorp. However, we didn’t have much time to test the fuel economy but i3S works really well. Also if the battery gets low after a certain level, the i3S won’t work until the charge is up to a certain level. The engine is quite refined but vibrations can be felt at idle and in the top-end. There’s no harshness what-so-ever and the exhaust isn’t loud either.

Riding Dynamics – The ergonomics are very comfortable and so are the riding dynamics. The Hero Destini 125 rides like any other scooter, it is flickable and easy to ride. The handling of the scooter is just about right and the suspension setup manages to do a good job too. The front telescopic forks absorb a lot of bumps while the rear suspension has a bounce-back effect on bad roads. The handle doesn’t get much heavy even with a pillion, it isn’t much of a hassle either as the scooter rides pretty well. The 10-inch wheels mated to MRF rubber grip well, while TVS and CEAT are also tyre suppliers for the Destini 125. Even the top variant misses out on a disc brake at the front, however, a combi-braking system is offered in both the variants. Braking feedback is adequate and the scooter stops in a commendable distance.