I am planning to buy my first 350cc bike with a budget of around Rs. 2.5 lakh. I am considering the Royal Enfield Meteor 350, Classic 350, and Honda CB350. My priorities are looks, reliability, comfort, and low maintenance. The bike will mainly be used for city riding in Mumbai.

Autocar India

•1h

Since you will spend an overarching amount of time inside the city, your best bet would be to look at either the Honda CB350 models and the Royal Enfield Classic / Bullet/ Hunter 350. These are relaxed, comfortable and proven machines which will be great for patchy city roads and out on the highway - as long as you're keeping the speeds under the three-digit threshold - they will be unstressed.If you want a bit more performance without sacrificing comfort the Triumph Speed 400, Tracker 400 and Scrambler 400 models are what you should look at. With their recently downsized - 350cc, liquid-cooled engines, they offer significantly more performance and are lighter than the Honda and RE models listed above which should mean a more energetic demeanor out on open roads. Take a test ride of these machines to see which one you gel with the best before you make a decision.

Autocar India

•2h

The good news here is that both the Hero Xtreme 160R 4V and Bajaj Pulsar N160 are comfortable machines and going for either of them will be a good move. Picking between the two will boil down to which one suits you better and which bike's sales & service reach is near to you. The Pulsar feels slightly more spacious than the Xtreme, especially in the seat to footpeg curve which could be something to watch out for on your test ride.

Autocar India

•9h

Both the TVS iQube and Ather Rizta are accomplished electric scooters with very few factors to pick between them in terms of the product proposition they present. The iQube is as straightforward and fuss-free as an electric scooter can get in comparison to a petrol option, and if this is your first EV, it would make for a smooth transition. There are five variants available within the iQube lineup, and we'd recommend choosing between the 3.1 / 3.5 models for your daily 45km commute.Where the iQube is the straightforward choice in the EV arena, the Rizta doesn't lag too far behind. Ather's first family e-scooter is comfortable, practical and has more tech than machines three times the price (if you're into that sort of thing). The small 2.9 battery variants can return close to or just above 100km real-world range, which should be more than enough for your use case. Do bear in mind that the S 2.9 variant has a simpler LCD display and doesn't have Ather's Magic Twist regenerative braking system and traction control. This model also comes with a very slow charger, meaning you'll need to plug it in overnight for a full charge.A test ride of both will help you decide which is the better option for you. Whichever option you decide to go for, make sure you have a service centre nearby, that's a key factor in EV ownership because a roadside mechanic can't really fix much when it breaks down, as most functions are electronically controlled.