Buy Or Hold: Bajaj Pulsar F250 vs Hero Karizma XMR 210

Entry level sporty bikes, which one to go for?

A tale as old as time, Bajaj Pulsar or the Hero Karizma. Earlier, Bajaj had launched the Pulsar 220F to compete with the Hero Honda Karizma. And now, the iconic Karizma is making a comeback as the Karizma XMR 210, and it has the Bajaj Pulsar F250, the spiritual successor to the iconic Pulsar 220F, in its crosshairs. So should you wait for the Karizma to launch (which will likely be in mid-2023), or go with the Bajaj Pulsar F250.

Price

If it is a Bajaj, it is competitively priced, isn’t that the case? The Pulsar F250 is priced at Rs 1,40,666 for the single-channel ABS variant and Rs 1,49,978 for dual-channel ABS variant, ex-showroom Delhi. This makes it one of the more affordable 250cc, as well as dual-channel ABS bikes in the country. On the other hand, we expect the Hero Karizma XMR 210 to come with a price tag of Rs 1.5 lakh (ex-showroom), so more or less the same price point.

Powertrain

As per what details have been revealed of the Karizma, we know that it will be getting a 210cc liquid-cooled engine. It should roughly produce around 26PS and 20Nm – a decent and strong performance, as expected from the moniker. On the contrary, the Pulsar gets a relatively less sophisticated 249.07cc air-/oil-cooled mill making 24.5PS and 21.5Nm. The power outputs are in the same ballpark. It’s got a great bottom-end torque, and the mid-range performance is impressive as well.

Features

On the Pulsar F250, the features are basic – a semi-digital console displaying basic readouts. However, we expect Hero to equip the Karizma with a console with Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation, taking a card out of the XPulse 200’s books. The Karizma could also get dual channel ABS as standard, whereas on the Pulsar, it is an optional safety feature.

Design

The Bajaj Pulsar F250 gets a semi-faired design language, which is quite muscular and edgy. On the other hand, the Hero Karizma was spied recently and it sported a full fairing with aggressive styling all around.

In the recent spy shot, the Karizma XMR 210 looks production ready. So, if you want a revival of the icon, then you can wait for  Karizma. If you’re looking for a no-nonsense sporty quarter-litre bike, the Pulsar isn’t a bad deal.

Karizma image credit