You have to crawl, you cannot move past 50kmph,you have to expect the unexpected! this is how everyone describes driving in the city. Switching gears and hard pressing the clutch have always been a tiresome exercise. But unlike a girl who can turn on the ignition of scooty and zip away, urban male have to settle only with motorcycles. Unlike the bikes which has different segments to suit the needs of different customers, scooter industry is largely dominated by fair sex targetted scooters (the only exceptions are unisex scooters like Activa and Dio). Until 2007 manufacturers failed to find a new segment which constitutes young brigade who look for stylish and powerful scooters. Suzuki and Kinetic which desperately wanted a share in Indian two wheeler market rolled out Access and Flyte. Flyte and Access somehow fitted into his requirements. But his search is still on for a better product.
Honda which has been enjoying the market leader position in the Indian scooter segment seems has come out with a new scooter called aviator. As evident from the television commercial, Honda targets the urban male with the new aviator. We test drive the aviator to find out whether the aviator fits for the office going male.
1) Honda Aviator: The styling is completely different from the Activa and Aviator is clearly an odd breed among the Indian scooters. Its radical, acceptance of this design among consumers has to be watched.
Two large clear lens turn indicators separated by the V shaped strips will easily catch everyone’s attention. Smiley headlamps is an added attraction. The razor sharp styling is accentuated by Chunky grab rail and stylish wraparound turn indicators dominates the tail section.
2) Honda Aviator: is powered by the same engine used in Activa. 102cc engine generates peak power of 7bhp at 7000rpm. From the word go, the response is good. Engine offers smooth and silky performance. Aviator easily move past 70kmph mark without the engine straining or sounding harsh. But for these scooters more than the top speed pick-up is important. Honda has used high impact resistant ABS plastic panels which reduces the overall weight of the two-wheeler. The result is the improved pick-up when compared to Activa but still it fails short off Hero Honda Pleasure or Suzuki’s Access.
3) Honda Aviator: Fuel economy or mileage has been strongest point of any Honda product. Aviator is no exception, it manages to return 40kmpl in our city drive.
4) Honda Aviator: Aviator’s riding position is comfortable and should be ideal for most Indian riders. To suit the tall riders, Honda has given the aviator ample height and wheel base. Aviator’s dimensions (1802*707*1162mm) speaks for itself. 790mm seat height enables even a 6ft rider to sit comfortably even though the length of the foot board is small. Thicker footrest and not so bulgy
5) Honda Aviator: Triangular instrument panel comprises a large speedo and a fuel gauge. In bright sunlight its hard to see the warning indicators. Though the design of the Aviator is a generation ahead but in features its clearly a generation behind. With Aviator you have to get down whenever you visit the petrol filling station or shopping centre. There is no quadra or penta lock facility in Aviator. Surpisingly, the mobile charging point which has become more common or a glove box are left out in Aviator’s feature list. The only difference from the Activa is the usable underseat space which gives you some more space even after swallowing a full helmet.
6) Honda Aviator: The broad moulded-seat and the suspension set-up that features contemporary telescopic fork manage to do a good job of softening the impact of bad roads. You won’t develop fatigue due to this softer suspension. Vibrations transferred through the handlebar and the rear grab rail is very minimal. Credits to the Honda’s build.
7) Honda Aviator: We drove the aviator deluxe variant that comes with disc brake. It controls the vehicle well. Except for the larger appearance nothing hampers you to do zig zag in the traffic signals. Soft touch levers are nice to use.
8) Honda Aviator: is available in five exciting colours – Rebel Red Metallic, Berry purple Metallic, Space silver metallic,Monsoon Gray Metallic and Pearl Igneous Black. On the road Aviator Standard variant comes at Rs 44391 and Aviator Deluxe variant costs Rs47857. As of now, depending on the colours delivery time ranges from a week to two.
Verdict:
old wine in new bottle
Honda aviator’s target customer (urban male) needs a completely different scooter which is modern, stylish and performs like a bike. Aviator’s revolutionary design is sure to attract a few who wants to look different. The new contemporary telescopic front suspension and disc brake improves the riding experience significantly. It seems that Honda has checked all the boxes. But with a more powerful engine and usable features Aviator could have been a ideal package for him.
Though scooter market constitutes only 18% of the Indian two wheeler industry, it continues to post positive sales in contrast to the negative growth of bikes. Hence all the manufacturers wants a share in the segment and the competition has become more intense. We expect soon other manufacturers will come with more Unisex scooters.