Royal Enfield recently launched its most affordable model in the Indian market, the new Hunter 350. Based on the company’s new J platform, like the rest of Royal Enfield’s new 350 range, the Hunter 350 is targeted at a new set of buyers with the company saying that the target crowd are either first-time buyers or those looking to upgrade from lower segments. The Hunter 350 is offered in a total of three variants – Retro Factory, Metro Dapper and Metro Rebel. The Metro Dapper and Rebel are separated primarily by the shades of colours while packing in bits such as a part-digital instrument pod, dual channel ABS, alloy wheels, a rear disc brake and a LED tail lamp among others.
New Hunter 350 is available in three variants with prices ranging from Rs 1.50 lakh to Rs 1.69 lakh.
The Retro meanwhile as the name suggests gets a more retro touch with wire-spoke wheels, a rear drum brake, a simpler instrument pod and single-channel ABS.
In terms of pricing, the Hunter range starts from Rs 1.50 lakh for the Retro Factory series and goes up to Rs 1.69 lakh for the Metro Rebel series.
| Royal Enfield Hunter 350 | Honda CB 350 RS | TVS Ronin | Jawa FortyTwo | Jawa 42 |
| Rs 1.50-1.69 lakh | Rs 2.03-2.04 lakh | Rs 1.49-1.69 lakh | Rs 1.67-1.81 lakh | Rs 1.94 lakh |
Honda's CB 350 RS is priced at a notable premium to the Hunter with prices starting north of Rs 2 lakh
Looking at some of its rivals, the Hunter 350 is notably more affordable than the Honda CB 350 RS. Prices for the latter start at the Rs 2.03 lakh mark making it a full Rs 53,000 more expensive than the base Hunter 350 Retro. However, a more like-for-like comparison is made between the Hunter Metro and the CB 350 RS given that the latter gets dual channel ABS and alloy wheels as standard fitment which brings the difference down to about Rs 40,000.
TVS's new Ronin is similarly priced to the Hunter 350 though it gets a smaller capacity engine in comparison
The TVS Ronin meanwhile offers a more similarly priced alternative with prices ranging from Rs 1.49 lakh up to Rs 1.69 lakh. The Ronin though uses a smaller capacity 225.9cc powerplant than the Hunter’s 349cc mill. Interestingly power output is almost similar at 20.1 bhp and 20.2 bhp respectively though the Hunter has notably more torque at 27 Nm as compared to the Ronin's 19.93 Nm.
The Hunter 350 also undercuts the Jawa FortyTwo and the 42(FortyTwo 2.1). The FortyTwo is available in single and dual-channel ABS variants and is priced between Rs 1.67 lakh to Rs 1.81 lakh depending on the colour option. The 42 meanwhile is dual-channel ABS only and priced at Rs 1.94 lakh.
All prices ex-showroom
