The moment Suzuki unveiled its Intruder 150 avatar on Tuesday, comparisons with the Bajaj Avenger 150 were inevitable. Carrying engines with almost the same cubic capacity, there are a lot of similarities between the Intruder and the Avenger, yet, there are unique aspects as well.
You can also check out The Quint’s first-ride review of the Suzuki Intruder 150 below.
Design
Suzuki claims to have borrowed design elements for the Intruder 150 from its iconic namesake, the Intruder M1800R. The headlamp and the muscular side shrouds of the Intruder are a few examples. However, other than this, we would rather not compare the high-end version with this one.
Intruder gets a peculiar design touch, with an odd-looking headlamp and the extended section which houses the instrument cluster. The handle bar leaves a lasting impression on you with its straight line manoeuvring, offering a nimble ride, even for long distances.
The seating posture resembles that of most cruiser bikes, ideal for a laid-back ride. The gear pedal and brakes are placed much closer to the engine unit, similar to that of Avenger. A lot of plastic has been used on the Intruder, which, considering its price (close to 1 lakh), leaves us disappointed.
Compare this to the Avenger, and you can figure out why it was preferred by some people over the more expensive Royal Enfields.
Avenger sports a metallic design finish, making it look elegant with some graphics layered over it. You get a dated single-unit analogue speedometer on this, and low-placed seating.
Neither of them are on the heavier side, with a kerb weight of 148 Kg.
Power
Suzuki has fitted the same Gixxer 155-cc engine on the Intruder, paired with a 5-speed gearbox. The bike offers 14.8 PS of power and 14NM of torque which is more than what you get with the 150-cc DTS-i engine on the Avenger 150 variant (14.5PS power, 12.5NM of torque).
It’s hard to say whether the figures really make a difference while riding, but we feel that the additional power on offer with the Intruder could deliver a better performance than the Avenger.
Going by our experience with the Gixxer, if Suzuki has managed to keep the gear ratios and the engine tuning fixed to its default nature, then Intruder could surprise a few with its performance.
The Essentials
Suzuki has managed to offer what the buyers expect nowadays. You get LED tail lamps and AHO halogen headlamps, digital instrument cluster has a gear indicator (which even the Bajaj Dominar doesn’t), and you get disc brakes on front and rear with single-channel ABS in tow (not bad, Suzuki).
While the Avenger 150 has a rounded headlamp with LED tail lamps, you only get disc on the front with drum brakes on the rear.
Bajaj provides two sizes of tyres (17-inch for front, 15-inch at the back) that come with tube. The Intruder comes with 17-inch tubeless tyres (both sides). Avenger has the upper hand over the Intruder with its 14-litre tank, the latter has a 11-litre tank.
Which One For You?
Similar budgets for both of them, both pack similar engine capacity, with a marginal power bump on the Intruder. But all of this comes to nothing, if you’ve already made your decision.
Design-wise, Intruder offers a refreshing approach to a cruiser, which is said to borrow elements from the Intruder M1800R, and if the Avenger and its classic styling isn’t your taste, you can consider the former. Bajaj also has a sketchy record with its service support, but it does trump Suzuki by offering wider availability of service and spare parts.
The Intruder has the tried and tested Gixxer engine, while the Avenger has been a consistent hit among the millennials, especially with those who can’t afford a Royal Enfield Classic.
For 1 lakh price, we feel that Suzuki could have packed a bigger fuel tank on the Intruder, but if the latest safety features catch your eye, then it could be a dark horse that is at worth giving a (test) shot.
Stay tuned for our detailed comparison review of these bikes.
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