Honda Activa 125 competes with Suzuki’s Swish 125 and the Vespa VX for the 125-cc scooter crown
Story: Piyush Sonsale
Photography: Sanjay Raikar
The Indian automatic scooter market is largely divided into two classes: 110 cc and 125 cc. Honda have the highest market share in the 110-cc class with a line-up of four distinctly packaged scooters, but they were absent from the 125-cc class until this year. The sales figures in respect of 125-cc scooters have seen a steady growth over the past few years and they have captured a small but significant chunk of the market. Therefore, Honda could no longer delay their entry into the higher class since they did not want buyers to opt for a different brand, thus reducing their dominance in the field. In comes the Activa 125.
Unveiled at the Auto Expo 2014, the 125-cc version of the Activa is an all-new scooter that was launched at the end of April this year. We had reviewed it in the June issue of the magazine and were impressed by Honda’s latest offering. However, this new entrant faces stiff competition in the 125-cc class from the Suzuki Swish 125 and Vespa VX. So we decided to compare the three scooters to see where the Activa 125 stands vis-à-vis its competitors.
I think the review is very biased towards Honda, as the two Japanese bikes have the cheapest plastiky feel but you say that the Vespa which is a far superior scooter with a complte aluminium body feels plastiky to you, the dis brakes are bigger and far superior to honda and the suspention is alos superioe to honda and the the engine with higher tork is much more of a pleasure to ride. If you talk about Honda they are cheats as, If you go to book the 125cc with disc brake on the website it says 76,000 on road mumbai and all dealers say there is a 6 months wait or you have to pay 10,000 Rs extra which makes the honda more expensive than the Vespa Vx. so all in all the Vespa is a refined product both in quality & performance and better in comparison to the other two Japanese one’s