JOIN USAfter not-so-impressive attempts in the 100/110-cc bike segment in India, with its Stallio and Pantero, the Mahindra hit the right chord with its Centuro variant launched last year. The bike packed a solid list of features at an affordable price range that were perceived to make this bike stand out among its formidable rivals.
The brains behind the Centuro bike had worked with grit to put the bike in a league largely dominated by the likes of Honda and Hero. The bike was the result of an aggressive attempt by its makers to carve out a place for itself in two-wheeler market.
The Centuro boasts of a large tachometer, digital dashboard, distance-to-empty indicator, clock, service indicator and economy mode.
It also comes with an encrypted remote flip key that protects you from attempts to start the bike with a duplicate key and enables to find the bike in a crowded parking lot by activating the find-me-lamps of the bike at the touch of a button.
However, there is a section of customers who drive the automobile market in the two-wheeler commuter segment, who have little worry about trendy features, power, torque performance and other things that normally concern an urban bike enthusiast.
What they expect is a no-problem engine, good riding quality, durability, to some extent good looks, and yes, frugality in terms of fuel consumption. Mileage biking is the path to good sales here with a section of buyers. In order to serve the requirements of the certain customers Mahindra, has toned down the features, but retained the performance in the second version of Centuro. The Centuro Rockstar, which was launched in August this year, is the basic variant of the company’s two-wheeler offerings with a promised mileage of 87 km per litre.
The Rockstar has Mahindra’s indigenously developed MCi-5 (Micro Chip ignited-5 Curve) 110-cc engine, which deliver power output of 8.5 bhp @7500 rpm.
The engine and the initial pick-up and the riding quality work well for its class. The drum brakes are reasonably effective for the 110-cc class.
The attractive headlamp, LED lights, extra-long seat and alloy wheels add layers to its looks. The other features of its siblings like anti-theft alarm, find me lamps, guide me lamps, digital dashboard and so on are missing.
The curtailing of the features is justified by its competitive pricing. The company has revised down the price of Centuro Rockstar that reduces the on-road price of the bike close to Rs 8,000 compared to Centuro.