2014 Suzuki Let’s Review
Bike Tested: 2014 Suzuki Let’s
Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 51,000/-
The Suzuki Let’s has the right balance of performance, practicality and value which serves at both ends of the scooter market
After being quiet for very long, Suzuki’s two-wheeler department has finally taken the wake up call seriously. Suzuki is now ready to become much more aggressive with their plans for India. Several new products in every segment are on their way in the Indian market. Suzuki was basically known for their two 125cc scooters and the 150cc GS150R bike which is still targeted against the hot-selling Honda Unicorn. Despite it being far more superior than the Unicorn, the GS did not flourish as much as it should have because of poor number of after sales and service outlets. The service and parts are far cheaper and affordable than any other Japanese manufacturers. However, everything is about to change now. After finally admitting that they are going to take help from their four-wheeler counterpart, the company announced one more news while we were writing this review. There are four new scooters which are on their way. Those are serious attempts to gain market share. After announcing the Gixxer and a 110cc scooter for the Indian market, one of them is here and is extremely promising which is the Let’s. We did the exclusive first ride and the comparo of the scooter and it has managed to win our hearts. We put it through the full road test to tell you how good it is.
Styling – In terms of looks, the Suzuki Let’s is very compact and slim in profile. The scooter is so slim that it would fit between two cars in traffic and the handlebars won’t touch their door mirrors. Jokes apart, it really looks like a “thin” scooter for sure at first glance. The sharp and nosy panels help it gain that tag. The front headlight looks inspired from the Swish but the rear is plain ugly. The ungainly shape of the tail light and indicators don’t match the good looking side and front profiles. Side profile is dominated by a panel which is not painted which usually is (painted) on most scooters. Looks like this has been done to save costs which is seen on every Suzuki scooter till date. If it had been fully painted, it would look a lot better as there is room to play with graphics and panel shape.
Instrument Cluster and Switchgear – It looks plain boring. Those fonts were made by grandpa, the tacky red and white color combination, missing solitary turn indicators and nothing beyond conventional indicators is just not right when the competition offers so much more. Suzuki needs to hire a brand new team to do their instrument clusters as the old team has become way too old to do this or it’s being purposely done to save cost.
Practicality – The scooter despite being as small as the Yamaha Ray, has a much more practical layout (not flat but deep) for the under seat storage. Obviously the class leader is the Wego but the Let’s comes second. The rear view mirrors are well positioned. The foot board is quite big considering the size in terms of length and breadth of the scooter is quite small. Riding position is upright and seat height is good enough to suit people with a 5’10 height to under 5’5 height humans (mostly women). The seat is quite long and comfortable thanks to matured cushioning of the foam.
Performance – Powering the Let’s is a brand new engine made by Suzuki which uses SEP (Suzuki Eco Performance) moniker to say that the engine produces power and torque to the max while not compromising on the efficiency at the same time. The engine as any other petrol Suzuki engine in the world is a delight to squeeze when riding. The engine loves to be kept at boil all the time, NVH levels are well controlled and on top of all this, the gearbox is tuned to deliver most of its punch in the low and mid-end of the power band, so the moment you twist the wrist, the scooter picks up speed like no other in the segment. Class leading numbers such as 8.7 BHP of power and 9 Nm of torque make it an extremely good scooter to ride quickly within the city limits.
Highway performance is decent with the scooter reaching 60 km/hr in no time and 85 km/hr taking slightly more time than usual. The performance from this 112cc is scooter is truly amazing as the figures it produces are quite close to its elder siblings. But the Swish lugs around more weight and hence when you measure performance on paper, they are quite close to each other. The Let’s can be called as the lightest scooter in the scooter segment because it just weighs 98 kgs which is one of the core reasons why the performance is fantastic. Claimed fuel efficiency is 63 km/l but we got 56 km/l on the highway. Expect this scooter to deliver almost 50 km/l in the city (which no other scooter does), if ridden sanely.
Riding Dynamics – Armed with telescopic suspension at the front and normal single-sided rear shock at the back with a underbone chassis, the Suzuki Let’s has the usual scooter setup seen in the segment. However, the Let’s has a suspension which is finely tuned for delivering maximum fun and minimum instability. As you can guess, the suspension is on the stiffer side, it is even more stiff than the class leader in stiffness, the Yamaha Ray. You must be thinking the ride quality is gone for a toss? But with the high profile tyres and a wee bit softness at the bottom of the stroke, it makes the ride quality at slow speed quite good and at high speeds it does not seem to crash or wobble around all over the place. This stiffness had to be achieved because the extremely light kerb weight would hamper stability.
Meanwhile, all of this makes the scooter handle extremely well. The fun to ride quotient is immense and it loves to be chucked around corners. There is ample grip, the tyres are good and leaning it completely to the max is very easy. With an engine that good and dynamics this great, the Suzuki Let’s becomes the most fun to ride scooter in the 110cc segment while offering class leading performance and efficiency numbers. The only downside is the slightly firm ride quality over the competition but despite being stiff, it feels more plush than the Ray in comparison.
Verdict – The Suzuki Let’s delivers what it was told to. It is the most fun to ride scooter with that seriously impressive engine and class leading dynamics. The Let’s also has the second best under-seat storage capacity and the looks aren’t that bad either. This is a package from Suzuki which will appeal to a person who looks to commute but still will have a lot of fun while riding the scooter. This package is just like its elder siblings, simple but superb at the same time. In fact, we have been living with its elder sibling, the Suzuki Swish for years and the upkeep cost and service experience has been fantastic too. Do we personally like it? Yes, not only is it great to ride but is also quite practical.
The Suzuki Let’s does everyday duties extremely well and does it in a sporty manner. Only if there were more convenient goodies on board, it would have been the number one pick in the segment. This entry-level offering from Japan will find many homes anyways, as it does what it’s said to do really well.
What’s Cool
* Performance
* Dynamics
* Value for money
What’s Not So Cool
* No features
* Cost cutting
* Rear styling
Alternatives: TVS Wego, Yamaha Ray, Honda Activa-i
2014 Suzuki Let’s Specifications
* Engine: 112.8cc, SOHC, 2-Valve
* Power: 8.7 HP @ 7500 RPM
* Torque: 9 Nm @ 6500 RPM
* Transmission: CVT
* 0 – 60 km/hr: 9 seconds
* Top Speed: 90 km/hr
* Fuel Consumption: 50-55 km/l
* Fuel Type: Petrol
* Frame: Underbone type
* Suspension: Telescopic forks (Front), Monoshock (Rear)
* Tyres: 90/100/10 (Front), 90/100/10 (Rear)
* Brakes: 120 mm Drum (Front), 120 mm Drum (Rear)
2014 Suzuki Let’s Dimensions
* Length x Width x Height: 1805 mm x 655 mm x 1120 mm
* Wheelbase: 1250 mm
* Ground Clearance: 160 mm
* Seat Height: 765 mm
* Fuel Tank Capacity: 5.2-litres
* Kerb weight: 98 kgs
