mahindra – Mileage Reviews

Mahindra Pantero

Mahindra has always been known for its sturdy commercial vehicles and SUVs. Of late though, they have been getting aggressive on the two wheeler front. One of their latest launches in the Pantero. Derived from “Panther”, the Pantero is an entry-level motorcycle that is designed for agility and efficiency. Equipped with a 106.7cc 4 stroke MCI-5 engine, this bike can deliver a maximum power of 8.5 PS at 7500 RPM that translates to a torque of 8.5 Nm at 5500 RPM. The closest I can think of is Yamaha Crux which is an 106cc motorcycle too. However in terms of power, the Crux only delivered around 7.6PS which puts the Pantero in a better position. Speaking of other specs, the Pantero measures 2000mm x 1265mm x 735mm, weighs 120kg and offers a decent ground clearance of 165mm. With a 13.7 liter capacity fuel tank, you can be assured that you wouldn’t be running out of petrol anytime soon. The Pantero is available at a starting price of Rs. 39,650 ex-showroom Delhi.

Fuel Economy Claim From Mahindra

Mileage is a huge concern for bikes in the entry level sub-110cc bikes. The Pantero is no different and as I said earlier, Mahindra claims efficiency to be a huge selling factor for its motorcycle. According to ARAI certified tests publicized by the company, the Pantero can deliver 79.4 kmpl under standard testing conditions. While the real world conditions are likely to pull this figure down to more practical levels, the official claim puts the Pantero in the middle of the pie – if you read our note on the top 100cc bikes in India, you will notice that the official claim on most 100cc bikes range from 70kmpl to 91kmpl.

Customer Feedback & Test Ride Reports

Now let us take a look at what some of the third party test rides and customer reports have got to say. Let us begin with what the folks at MaxAbout have got to say. In their review, the website commends the powerful engine that can potentially beat a lot of competitors. However, as a rider, you may not feel the power possibly due to the low throttle response. The website also notes that the instrument console is pretty futuristic. The city mileage reported on the website is 60 kmpl while the corresponding number on highways is close to 79 kmpl.

ZigWheels in their report do not have too many things to say about the bike although they note that the Pantero is priced very competitively for the commuter segment. They report a fuel economy of 68.25 kmpl. The review has not specified if this was tested on city road conditions or on the highways.

On city roads, you should ideally be expecting a lot less FE. According to the report on TopGear, the Pantero is not too good on the city roads in terms of fuel consumption. Their test ride revealed a figure of 48.9 kmpl which is well below the manufacturer claim of 79.4 kmpl. However, the writer does note that performance-wise, the Pantero is pretty refined with great suspension and very little vibration at high speeds on the highway.

The report on ProdEase does not comprehensively cover the performance of the Pantero. However, on the mileage front, the website notes that the motorcycle should be able to deliver between 65-70 kmpl although I am not sure if this was independently tested by the reviewer.

Most commuter segment bikes on MouthShut receive a 4/5 rating for fuel consumption. However, Pantero seems to be a rare exception. Users have rated it 3/5 which is not a good sign. There are just 8 reviews though and not too many mileage reports. One user reports 49 kmpl on city roads and 57 kmpl on the highways, which is similar to what TopGear has posted but which is again not anywhere close to what the manufacturers claim.

Source	City (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	79.4
MaxAbout	60	79
ZigWheels	68.25	—
TopGear	48.9	—
ProdEase	65-70	—
MouthShut	49	57

So there you have it. The mileage is not exceptional on the Pantero. I really do not know if there is any one aspect that should make you pick the Pantero over its competitors. In any case, if there is a reason, go for it. It’s not too bad either.

Mahindra Duro DZ

We discussed the budget scooter from Mahindra, the Kine last week. If you are willing to open more of your wallet, there is another option available from the shop floors of Mahindra. The Duro DZ is a much powerful scooter compared to the 72cc Kine. It comes with a 124.6cc engine that delivers a max power of 11PS at 7000 RPM that on curves provides 9Nm at 5500 RPM of max torque. In terms of specifications, the Duro DZ measures 1814mm in length, 770mm in width and 1275mm in height. Other specs include a wheelbase of 1270mm, a ground clearance of 155mm and a curb weight of 114kg. The Duro DZ has a fuel tank capacity of 6.5 liters and a underseat storage of close to 20 liters. For a 125cc scooter, the Duro DZ is pretty affordable at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 44,688.

Manufacturer Claim

The Duro DZ website advertises three things on their homepage – a powerful 125cc DI engine, an advanced telescopic suspension and a “great mileage”. According to Mahindra, the Duro DZ can ride 56.25 kilometers for 1 liter of petrol under standard test conditions. Of course, on city road conditions with its share of pot holes and traffic, the mileage is expected to be much lower.

Test Ride & Customer Feedback

Comparing the Duro DZ with Honda Activa, ZigWheels writes that the Duro returns slightly lower fuel economy compared to the Activa. While their tests returned 45 kmpl on the Activa, the test on Duro DZ returned 42 kmpl. This is still a far cry from the official claim of 56.25 kmpl.

MaxAbout in their review note that the overall quality of the finish looks pretty sub-standard compared to the industry and could hence appear cheap. They also note that the palm grips are weirdly shaped giving an overall negative riding experience. With respect to the mileage, MaxAbout reports a number similar to ZigWheels – 42 kmpl.

MotorBeam compares the Duro DZ with the Suzuki Access 125 and there is some good news. According to the website, the Duro DZ has an excellent gearbox, a refined engine and a decent storage box. It also performs better in terms of FE. While Access delivers 47 kmpl in the real world, Duro DZ delivers 48 kmpl. That’s a pretty marginal win, but still the bottom line is that the scooter from Mahindra is better in this comparison.

Let us take a look at what folks at xBHP have got to say. One of the user who purchased the scooter writes in that one of the best things about the scooter is the power. The Duro DZ can deliver significant power even with a pillion rider. In addition to this, the reviewer also says that the telescopic suspension is as advertised and takes you smoothly over potholes. As on the mileage front, the review reports 48 kmpl on the city roads in the first few days after purchase.

On IndiaGarage, the reviews have been mixed. While one reviewer says his decision to buy the bike was ‘unfortunate’ for delivering just 35kmpl, others have commended the scooter for its solid performance as well as mileage of between 45-50 kmpl. Considering that the number of good reviews outnumber the sole bad review, I think I will go with 45-50 as the average number.

Finally, let us take a look at Mouthshut. There are just 8 reviews for the scooter on the reviews website and these reviewers have given an overall rating of 4/5 for fuel efficiency. Except for one user who reports 27 kmpl, every other user is extremely enthusiastic in their report. The average reported number is between 45-55 kmpl which is extremely good for a scooter of this power range.

Here is a snapshot of all the reviews we have looked into so far. Personally, I feel the Duro DZ seems to be a great scooter from both the mileage and power point of view. So if you are looking for a purchasing decision, I would suggest you go for it.

Source	City (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	56.25
ZigWheels	42	—
MaxAbout	42	—
MotorBeam	48	—
xBHP	48	—
IndiaGarage	45-50	—
MouthShut	45-55	—

Mahindra Kine

If you are looking for a budget scooter, one of the models you must be looking at is the Mahindra Kine. This scooter is not too popular considering that Mahindra hardly advertises this model of theirs – something that they launched in 2010 post the acquisition of Kinetic motors. The Mahindra Kine is a pretty low-spec’d scooter targeted at the budget conscious. It comes with a 71.5cc single cylinder 2 stroke engine that can render a maximum power of close to 3.8PS at 5500 RPM. On turns, this translates to 5Nm maximum torque at 4500 RPM. The scooter is not very big and measures 1765mm x 635mm x 1060mm with an overall wheelbase of 1225mm. The seat is placed at a convenient 760mm. Other specs include an 82kg kerb weight, 4 liter fuel tank, 120mm ground clearance and a maximum speed of 60 kmph. The Mahindra Kine is priced at Rs. 34160 ex-showroom at Delhi.

Manufacturer Mileage Claim

Given that the scooter is targeted at the teenagers/price-conscious, mileage is of paramount importance. Mahindra doesn’t disappoint at least from the official claims. According to them, the Kine is capable of delivering around 63.25 kmpl economy under standard test conditions. As I have noted many times earlier, these conditions are very highway-like and so the FE you will see on city roads is likely to be far lower.

Test Drive & Customer Feedback

Let us start with the note from BikeDekho. They note from their test run that the scooter offers an average mileage of around 55kmpl which is not bad at all. However, one user claims to be noticing only around 31kmpl on their Kine. But given the small sample size, I wouldn’t give much thought into this just yet.

According to ProdEase, the Kine is built for big cities and short distance travel. Although the scooter is ideally suited for the female customers, the website says the performance is not up to the mark. They report a mileage of between 50-55 kmpl which is pretty okay.

Quite a few other websites have reported a fuel efficiency in the 55kmpl range. This includes the likes of BikeSpace and IndiaAuto. To have a better understanding of what the real world customers are saying, let us take a look at Olx (MouthShut does not seem to have many reviews about this bike). Most sellers have claimed an economy of between 40-50 kmpl which is still okay. I would however take reports from classifieds websites with a grain of salt considering the posters there are trying to sell their scooter and would hence be painting a pretty positive picture. On that note, reports on Quikr too state a fuel economy of between 40-50 kmpl.

So there you go. For one, there are not too many real customer reports for the Kine. And those that do are either reported with vested interests (as on classifieds sites) or appear to be from company claims. So there is not much to read into from the various mileage reports. I would seriously suggest you to take a real world test ride and take a decision only post that. Here is a snapshot of what various websites here have reported.

Source	City (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	–	63.25
BikeDekho	55	—
ProdEase	50-55	—
BikeSpace	55	—
IndiaAuto	55	—
Quikr	40-50	—
Olx	40-50	—

Mahindra Rodeo RZ

Mahindra is one of the latest entrants to the scooter segment. The company has been making scooters since 2009 and Rodeo is one of its most popular offerings. The newly launched Mahindra Rodeo RZ comes with a 125CC engine that provides 6 KW of power at 7000 RPM. That’s the same as what is provided by the 109CC engine of Honda Aviator (8 BHP at 8000 RPM). Mahindra Rodeo is available at a price of Rs. 46,695 (ex-showroom) from Delhi. This is lower than the price of Honda Dio 110CC, TVS Wego and the Aviator but higher than Kinetic Sym Flyte.

Mileage Claimed by Mahindra

According to Mahindra, the latest variant of the Rodeo comes with a new Z-Series engine that has advanced dual curve digital ignition system. This is designed to offer a pretty decent mileage of 59.38 kmpl under standard ARAI test conditions. Among all the scooters that we have reviewed till now, this is the highest mileage claimed by any vehicle. That does not necessarily mean it translates to happiness among real customers. Let’s see what real customers say.

Customer Mileage Reviews

In their test drive of the new Rodeo RZ, Overdrive claims that the actual mileage seen on road is pretty lower than what the company claims. OverDrive noticed a city mileage of just around 45.6 kmpl while the fuel efficiency improves to 56.2 kmpl on highways. Another website, PricesofIndia gives a thumbs down with respect to the actual mileage as well. According to them, the Mahindra Rodeo RZ extracts only around 45 kmpl, presumably under city conditions. This review is also backed by another website, IndiaMart, who have reported a mileage of 45 kmpl.

BikeDekho though reports a much better fuel consumption. According to them, the new Rodeo RZ offers a mileage of close to 53 kmpl. However more than one of their readers have posted their own reviews claiming the actual city mileage is only around 25-30 kmpl. That’s pretty low and I am still unsure if this is an outlier and needs to be considered.

Vicky.in, a popular online retailer of automobiles, offers the best mileage review for the Rodeo RZ. They report a mileage of around 56 kmpl under ARAI test conditions. Like with the official claim though, you should take this mileage too with a grain of salt considering that these conditions differ widely from actual road conditions.

Should you buy Rodeo RZ?

Overall, the mileage you can practically expect from the Mahindra Rodeo RZ should be around 45 kmpl. Although this is much lower than what Mahindra claims in their official capacity, this is not too different from what the rest in the pact claim. Maybe Activa is the only scooter that can realistically offer a better mileage. So this being the case, I would suggest you to look into the other features offered by scooters before you make a choice. The mileage seems to be comparable to most other variants out there in the market.

Source	City Mileage (kmpl)	Highways (kmpl)
Official	59.38	—
Overdrive	45.6	56.2
PricesofIndia	45	—
IndiaMart	45	—
BikeDekho	25-30	53
Vicky.in	56	—