Honda Motors and Scooters India Pvt. Limited wanted to consolidate their supremacy in the 100cc scooters segment and decided to upgrade their quite popular unisex variant Activa.
What the company did before releasing Activa was a transformation, from the geared scooter (otherwise erstwhile popular Bajaj scooter) to a gearless one while appealing to both sexes. Actually the credit can be given to Kinetic Automotion when it released the Kinetic scooter. In no time it became very popular in the cities appealing the working women and men equally. However, there have been some areas in the scooter that Kinetic failed to address but Honda did address it to tap the vast potential in the gearless scooter market. Their tweaking led to the birth of New Honda Activa scooter which sported completely different look, style and appeal as compared to Kinetic.
Kinetic almost faded away and obsolete (truth is but harsh). Now, Activa has become as synonymous with a scooter and popular in the middle class both-working families. There are some remarks coming in from Honda Activa users that the looks doesn't reflect this generation; so the Activa did undergo a makeover and came out recently as the new Honda Activa.
Looks that appeal current generation: The all new Honda Activa scooter comes with refurbished style to become the first family scooter in India. Based on the Aviator format, new Honda Activa carries the legacy of its predecessor and has captured the mindset of the Indian commuters rightly with the new hope of greater riding comfort.
The New Honda Activa scooter has undergone a makeover in its look; the headlamps come fitted with halogen lamps and the rear look of the scooter is accentuated by clear lens turn indicators. The aluminum grab rails received some design tweak as well. The color availability of New Honda Activa Scooter is wide, ranging from candy lucid red to wild purple metallic to pearl sunbeam white to geny grey metallic to space silver metallic to black; it's a big list where you can fix your eyes onto one color.
The Performance: Powered by a 110cc engine, the new Honda Activa generates 8bhp @7500 rpm and 0.9 Kgm of torque @ 5500 rpm. The unique feature of this gearless scooter is CBS (combined braking system) as it will help the commuters to stop the scooter on application of any of the brakes. There are additional goodies as well and that includes increased and illuminated storage space with only compromise on the fuel tank capacity which is little reduced to 5.7 liters. It is available in both the version kickstart as well as self start. However, the best is the rear tire in the new Honda Activa scooter as it comes puncture proof with a tuff up tube. Additionally, the scooter is light weight with metal alloy that makes it easier to handle than its earlier versions and is more durable as well. It has a new key shutter and that makes it a more secured scooter as it will not get easily stolen with duplicate keys.
The bigger engine of new Honda Activa than the earlier ones ensures better mileage at least15 percent more than its predecessors. There are two variants of Honda Activa and it is believed that the new Honda Activa deluxe version belongs to top end category of scooter.
The Pricing: the standard version of New Honda Activa has been priced at Rs.39800 (ex showroom, Delhi). With this affordable price range, Honda Activa is all set to increase its market share. With the growth and popularity of Honda Activa, the geared scooter Eterno of Honda will slowly get phased out. The company officials are expecting an impressive growth in this segment.
Final Verdict: The New Honda Activa scooter is truly appealing with its bagful of goodies and has actually redefined the existent scooter market in India with its true value for money.
very well written...
A very bold step by mahindra