In the busy streets of the city, scooters are the undisputed king. They can also go almost anywhere in the urban jungle. They’re small, fuel-efficient, agile, and most importantly, very easy to ride. Just gas and go.
Besides being easy to use, they can also be trusted companions for work or various tasks. In the motorcycle courier industry, food is delivered hot, documents are delivered on time, and online commerce has never been so alive, largely thanks to delivery riders and their scooters.
Aside from being great for the city, the scooter is also a great vehicle to enjoy the beautiful countryside during weekends. These welcome escapes help leave riders de-stress and leave the of life behind even just for a day. This is where small-displacement motorcycles lag a bit behind.
Due to their relatively small engine displacement and low power, overtaking another vehicle at higher speeds on provincial highways may be dangerous at times. Most of the time, these small scooters just don’t have enough juice to cruise and relax at 100 kilometers per hour. Don’t you wish there was a scooter powerful enough to do just that, but still be useful as a daily ride? This is where KYMCO’s X-Town CT300i Noodoe comes into play. It combines the power of a true maxi-scooter in a compact package that you can use as a daily rider.
No replacement for displacement
The X-Town CT300i Noodoe is powered by KYMCO’s revolutionary 276 cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled EFI engine that produces 25 Ps of power and almost 23 Nm of torque.
By contrast, most city scooters under 200 cc of displacement only puts out about 15 Ps of power and half the torque output of the X-Town. Thanks to the X-Town's abundance of power, a rider doesn’t need to fully twist its throttle to achieve the desired cruising speed – which in turn translates into more fuel-efficient riding since it is easy for the engine to pick up speed.
Practical design and ergonomics
Designed by KYMCO as a city cruiser, the X-Town CT300i Noodoe has features that daily riders will really appreciate. It starts with a wide fascia that protects its rider from the elements. This is particularly handy in the rain, when you can feel the painful raindrops while running. That fascia is also fitted with full-LED lighting providing great illumination at night.
On the front is a fully digital panel that can be paired to a smartphone via KYMCO’s Noodoe app. The Noodoe app offers turn-by-turn navigation, displayed on the scooter’s digital panel. As such, you don't need to buy a mobile phone mount. You can just keep it in your pocket or in the storage.
Also, it has a wide seat with a backrest for the rider. It's like sitting in the sofa at home. That wide seat with backrest is then paired with a wide, flat floor and footrest. The front of the footest slants up, allowing the rider to stretch his or her legs while riding, just like what cruiser riders do. The wide floor also acts as a platform for carrying stuff that can’t fit on the scooter’s underseat storage.
Speaking of underseat storage, the X-Town CT300i Noodoe can accommodate a full face helmet underneath the seat with so much room to spare. Additionally, it also boasts of an underseat power socket where you can charge a mobile phone or other electronic gadgets.
Real maxi scooter
The KYMCO X-Town CT300i combines the best parts of a true maxi-scooter and a compact city scooter in a package that can still be ridden in the city daily. It can easily go from zero to 100 kph in just seconds (easily outrunning Suzuki’s Raider R150), and can overtake relatively fast vehicles on open stretches of highway with ease.
In fact, if the displacement limit on tollways were lowered, the X-Town CT300i would be more than capable of maintaining expressways speeds without breaking a sweat.
In the city where traffic is slowly going back to the pre-pandemic levels, the CT300i body that's just the right size can easily weave in and out of traffic. Its weight distribution is also perfectly balanced. Unlike its other 300cc maxi scooter competitor, the Yamaha Xmax, during cornering, the X-Town's front wheel feels firmly planted on the pavement as opposed to its competitor's very light front wheel feel. The other bike's maxi scooter feels like it wheelies during cornering.
ABS is fitted as standard for both the front and rear wheels. Both the front and rear wheels also boast of dual-piston brake calipers for maximum and precise braking.
Finally, it has a 10.5-liter fuel capacity, definitely larger than most and will save you a few trips at the pump.
Best features
What I like most about the X-Town CT300i is the sofa-like seat. Really, once I hop on the scooter, the seat is so relaxing it’s like I don’t want to stop riding until it runs out of fuel. While I had it, I looked forward to riding it every day.
It's also economical to use daily. It only chugs 1 liter of fuel every 28 kilometers of riding (my riding BTW), making it fairly fuel-efficient. For comparison, most scooters half its displacement size already consume 1 liter of fuel every 30-35 kilometers of riding.
At PHP 229,000.00, this is probably the best all-around entry-level maxi-scooter in the market today.
