I purchased Hero Maestro on the 15th of September.With fuel prices heading north, my priority was a gear-less scooter with maximum mileage as it can be used by my wife or father occasionally as required.
I started my search with Honda Activa as any average prospective scooter buyer would do. The 3 month waiting period ( is it extraordinary demand or poor inventory planning )and disinterested staff at the showroom was enough for me to decide against Activa. I read reviews in mouthshut before approaching showrooms and discussed the pros and cons of each to understand their view on each. After visiting Yamaha / TVS / Hero/ Honda / Suzuki, I finally decided on Maestro.
As soon as I got it , I took it straight to the petrol pump as the fuel meter was blinking right from the start ( showroom owners will put bare minimum petrol). Filled the tank full and set the odometer to zero . I drove for a week in peak traffic, to and fro, before it was time to fill again. As instructed by the mechanic, I drove between 40 kmph and 50 kmph in empty roads making sure that I did not over speed. I had clocked 199 km before the fuel meter started blinking again. I filled it again to the brim and this time had to pump in 4.45 liters. So, I got 199 km for 4.45 liters. That gave me a mileage of 44.71 km/ltr, which for 1st use seems to be pretty decent.
As many of the reviewers have said , I hope that the mileage goes up after the 1st servicing. Overall a good experience. The sweetener is that the handling of the vehicle is very stable, a boon in the heavy traffic in Hyderabad.