Hero Splendor iSmart review

The Hero Honda Splendor iSmart is the 5th variation of the Splendor on offer from Hero Motocorp and probably the most interesting. The Splendors are Hero Motocorps bread and butter and the largest selling motorcycle in India and if you do not know it yet, also in the world! So understandably Hero Motocorp has constantly been churning out variations and experimenting on different types of Splendors to keep the hot selling advantage. The reason why the Splendor sells in such huge numbers is easy to tell. It came in at time when the country wanted a cheap, reliable and efficient means to travel. There were no alternatives and the Splendor ruled the markets and still continues to do so. The only other manufacturer that ever came close was Honda; who just for a month sold more Activas than the Splendor. But the crown is back at the Hero headquarters and Splendors continue to come out in lakhs per month. The Splendor iSmart is Hero Motocorps effort to add some new tech on to the Splendor to gain back some of the urban market that it has lost in the recent years. Coming with Hero’s i3S technology it seemed interesting enough to check out and off we went and got ourselves one to test out. Our review of the Splendor iSmart below.

Engine and Performance

The Hero Splendor iSmart features the same engine that has been doing duty on the Splendor series for quite a bit. It has the proven reliability and what Hero has done over the years is to fine tune it for even more efficiency. The 97.2 cc engine is smooth and responsive and can do a top speed of about 90 kmph. The gearing and engine power makes it well suited for city commute. The first two gears are kinda short, this enables it to be quite peppy off the line. Even with a pillion you can get going without much of a hassle. In top gear, ie. the fourth gear, you can be at a comfortable 50-60 kmph and thats probably all you should ever try. After that naturally the small engine is quite stressed. Company claims a mileage of 90+ kmpl for the Splendor iSmart, on our test which was of total city riding, we got a respectable 72 kmpl mileage. Coming to the i3S tech that the Splendor iSmart comes with, its pretty simple. Once switched on via the blue switch on the right switchgear, whenever you stop the bike, say at a traffic signal and pop the gear to neutral, the bike automatically switches off after 5 seconds. You can restart it by just pulling in the clutch. Essentially once you get used to it in the city traffic it does make life a bit more comfortable. But honestly we would have preferred an engine kill switch and that would be it. Check out the a demonstration video below on how the i3S techon the Splendor iSmart works.

Look and Feel and Build Quality

The Splendor iSmart with its new design and colour options would easily pass of as a bigger 125cc motorcycle. It looks good for a small bike and bright colour options add to the overall energy of the bike. Its clear that Honda are trying to target the younger crowd with the iSmart. The alloys wheels with tubeless tyres, a good comfortable seat with a premium stitch, all black treatment to the engine and rims and the bright red rear shock absorbers, all reaffirm that fact. Once on the bike you really come to realise its a compact machine. It has a relaxed seating position and wide handlebars for easy control. Overall build quality is decent, no unwanted vibrations and loose fits. Colour options are four in number, namely, Heavy Grey, Leaf Green. Sports Red and Excellent Blue.

Handling and Braking

Like we said earlier the wide handlebars enable good and easy control of the Splendor iSmart. Also add the kerb weight of 110kgs to this equation and now you have a very nimble motorcycle that can wade through thick slow moving traffic without tiring you. The light bike also makes handling it in parking spots easy and you can just pull it out or pop it in anywhere with ease. The braking area is probably where we think things could have been better. With drums brakes at both ends you do get a bit panicky during hard braking. Don’t get us wrong, for the speeds the Splendor iSmart can do, the brakes are just fine but a disc at front would add a lot of confidence and better stopping power. Also like the recently introduced mandatory ABS rule, we think front disc in a motorcycle should just be the norm. Apart from this small let down the Splendor iSmart is an ease to handle around the city.

Key features & VFM

The biggest key feature that the Splendor iSmart is the i3S tech and we have already gone over that. Apart from that everything else is pretty much standard. The tubeless tyres is worth mentioning and will make life of the rider easier and safer. Headlights are pretty much standard and does the job. Coming to the value for money bit, honestly, do we even need to go there? At about 3k above the regular Splendor in terms of price, the iSmart version is pretty competitively priced. Maintenance is probably the cheapest out there and service backing probably the strongest in the country. Also check out the video.

Final Verdict

If you are in the market for a motorcycle that is easy to maintain and efficient on road, look no further. The Splendor iSmart is about as efficient as it gets. Others perks being that, it is different from the regular Splendor from the way it looks and would suit a younger persona better. The i3S tech is just the icing on the cake. Heros strong nationwide service support is another advantage. Overall a good commuter bike that will just take you from point A to B without a fuss and without burning a hole in your pocket.

Specifications Sheet

Hero Splendor iSmart detailed part by part images

Test Riders

Sudeep Avin NijishPavan