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If you happen to leave these two scooters waiting outside a café, you’ll progressively see less and less of the Vespa and in about ten minutes, you won’t see it at all, as the cutest two-wheeled device on the market today is hounded by people left, right and center. They’re curious, they’re excited, they’re happy to see the Vespa again! Grandpas on their evening strolls reminisce about the good ol’ days on their Vespas, cars stop, people scramble to take a look, animated discussions happen, traffic slows down and girls look for a chance to take it home, but not before cuddling it and pinching its cheeks.
This is insane – I haven’t seen this sort of attention given to anything, Fireblades and Aston Martins included. As a launch pad, Piaggio, you couldn’t possibly have had it any better. It is advertising the Vespa as a lifestyle product, a niche, a step above the red scooter you see in the frame, and given that the red one is probably all the scooter you’ll ever need, does it make sense to succumb to the want for the Vespa?
FIRST CONTACT
Bellisima ! The Italian sense of design flair and brilliance is hard to match, isn’t it? The LX-series is an all-new design in the line-up since 2006, taking Vespa’s design forward in a suitably retro-chic manner, but without drowning in past influences. The ‘LX’ – Roman numeral for 60 – was to celebrate 60 years of the Vespa.
It’s not particularly big, the Vespa, and amidst the athletic, cutesy design are fantastic details – especially the single-sided front suspension (no one does single-sided wheels better than the Italians, no?), the retro-tastic headlamp and alloys, crisp and clean bodywork and chrome embellishments all around. Stylish stuff. Comparatively, the Maestro – based on the much-loved Activa platform – isn’t nearly as flashy and feels a bit odd in parts but thankfully, it’s much nicer to behold in real life. The only real innovation it brings to the segment is a nice digital-analogue display.
Detailing tends to be more garish than classy but hey, we Indians like it ‘like that only’. So, in terms of pure visual eye candy, there’s no doubt the wasp takes the cake and by a staggering margin. But does the Maestro make up for it by offering adequate turn of speed and superior practicality? We hop on and head out – but only after we make our way through the mob around the Vespa!
MORE ON PAGE 2>>
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| TECH SPECS |
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| Piaggio Vespa |
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Engine |
125cc, four-stroke single |
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0-100 kph |
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Max Power |
9.9 bhp@7500 rpm |
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Top Speed |
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Max Torque |
1.08 kgm@6500 rpm |
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Price |
Rs 68,666 |
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Transmission |
CVT |
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Fuel efficiency |
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| Hero Maestro |
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Engine |
109cc, four-stroke single |
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0-100 kph |
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Max Power |
8.0 bhp@7500 rpm |
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Top Speed |
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Max Torque |
0.92 kgm@6500 rpm |
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Price |
Rs 50,183 ex-showroom, Mumbai |
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Transmission |
Centrifugal Clutch with Variomatic |
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Fuel efficiency |
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