When Hero part their ways with the Japanese giant Honda and became Hero MotoCorp they were having loads of technical knowhow and tremendous experience, hardly incurring them any losses especially in terms of brand image. Slowly the Indian automaker is proceeding towards rewriting the success story. The Hero MotoCorp is not only having tie ups with various global OEM firms but also acquired quite a few talents from the industry. The company has already rolled out two of its indigenously built auto gear scooters- Maestro Edge and Duet, and recently they have also launched new Splendor iSmart 110 built entirely on their own. We’ve test ridden the promising new iSmart 110 and found it quite impressive, since Hero has not discontinued the older iSmart it will be very interesting to find out how these two bikes fare against each other. Here we bring you a shootout between the old Splendor iSmart and the newly launched Hero Splendor iSmart 110.
Style & Features:
Both new and old Splendor iSmarts carry almost identical silhouette, one can identify both the bikes as brand “iSmart” from quite a distance. However, Hero has worked on the new iSmart 110 from its headlight to tail lamp. The new iSmart 110 is featured with newly designed headlamp and its cowl, the more flat looking headlight of the older iSmart is now being replaced with a trapezoidal headlamp.Hero has incorporated industry first Automatic Headlight On (AHO) feature on the new Splendor iSmart, this noble safety feature keeps the headlight on in all conditions (day or night) and one cannot switch off the headlight as there is no switch has been given to do so.
Major work has been done on the rear end of the bike as a new tail lamp is been featured on the new iSmart 110. Not only the tail light, the rear fender and the number plate assembly are also changed. Now the entire rear end of the bike looks sharper and edgier with new tail light assembly, new rear fender and pointed blinkers with clear lens. The new Splendor iSmart 110 is also featured with pointed leaf like rear view mirrors which also come in body color. However, somehow we found the rear view mirrors on the older iSmart more convenient and practical in use. Apart from these small changes that add to the overall looks of the bike, there is newly designed fuel tank that gives a big bike feel to the new iSmart despite of its reduced capacity of marginal 0.2 Lt.
Instrument Cluster & Switchgear:
The new Hero Splendor iSmart 110 comes equipped with new meter console which is part digital and part analog. There is small digital console given on the board featured with Odometer and Trip meter. The Speedometer sits right in the center of the console featuring Side stand indicator and Neutral light. The other dial belongs to fuel meter which comes as analog and the entire meter console is lit by Blue color light making the instrument cluster legible.On the other hand the old Splendor iSmart is featured with all analog meter console having the Odometer, Speedometer and Trip mater all stuffed into one big center dial. The other dial belongs to analog fuel gauge, whereas the Neutral light, Side stand indicator and turn signal lights sit on the dash of the instrument cluster.
As far as switchgear and its quality is concerned, Hero apparently cut the manufacturing cost and featured the same old switchgear on the new Splendor iSmart 110 which we found a little sub standard. Hero either should have come up with brand new set of switchgear or at least they should improve the quality of switchgear.
Handling & Comfort:
The ride quality of the new Splendor iSmart 110 is certainly a notch up from the older version, we found the seat of the new iSmart 110 softer and comfortable along with the softer handle grips. Overall the ride quality of the new iSmart is plusher and we enjoyed it on both rough terrains as well as on good roads.
The new iSmart 110 is featured with brand new chassis which is responsible for better handling, the longer wheelbase and increased ground clearance play vital role in handling of the bike especially while going off roads. However, the kerb weight of the new iSmart has been increased by 5 Kg but that seems to be compensated by the increased torque and power figures that the bike is capable to achieve with the help of brand new 110cc engine.Engine & Performance:
The older 97.2cc Honda engine which is featured on the old iSmart is been replaced with the brand new engine on the new Splendor iSmart 110, designed & developed by the home team of Hero MotoCorp at their Indian facility. The new 110cc engine is banked at an increased angle and is capable of producing 9.1 Ps of power at 7500 Rpm and 9.0 nm of peak torque at 5500 Rpm. The performance figures at the new iSmart 110 is increased by 0.7 Ps and 1.0 Nm from the older iSmart, making the difference felt with smoother power delivery at all rev range. Both the engines are mated to 4- speed transmission gear box and the transmission on both the bikes is smooth and precise. We found the new engine refined and smooth, the power delivery is also very linear and we could able to pull the bike in top gear when at speed as low as 20 Kmph. However, the trait of linear power delivery and the evenly distributed torque is common on both the bikes but the smoothness of the engine at the new iSmart 110 is what made all the difference.
However, the Hero patented iSmart technology comes handy only while you are at traffic signal, other than that there is nothing as such which makes this technology aiding to the fuel efficiency of the bike. Both the bikes share the same iSmart tech, which can also be switched off with the help of a switch present on the right side of the switchgear.Verdict:
So, is the new Splendor iSmart 110 any better than the older one? This intriguing question was there in our minds even before we started doing the review of both the bikes. And the answer is YES, the new Hero Splendor iSmart 110 is certainly an updated version of the older iSmart and Hero has successfully managed to improve a popular product. We can now only imagine as Hero already has its platform ready, how quickly the company not only updates the other existing products but also come up with brand new products in future, only time will tell the same. By: Farhan Kashif
