Team-BHP - Honda Activa vs Honda Dio vs TVS Wego vs Hero Maestro vs Suzuki Access 125

Hi Guys, I am looking to purchase a new gear less scooter for my younger brother & mom. Looking for some views on the below 4 options, which one you would you buy & why ?

Honda Activa
Honda Dio (New)
TVS Wego
Hero Maestro
Suzuki Access 125

please: Help !

The reasons for the above options:
Honda Activa - Reliability, After Sale, Good Service Network (In the city at least where else would I take my scooter !)
Honda Dio - For the new scooters looks, I know it does not have the best build quality in comparison to the activa but it does look smart.
TVS Wego - Has been tough competitor like Micromax vs Samsung but yet to gain a lot of ground
Suzuki Access - Heard a lot about it - good at mileage bad at service, pickup, etc
Hero Maestro - Have not ridden it yet but just curious to know if anyone has & has any feedback

BTW weight of the bike is also a concern here as my mom also wants to ride it, not sure if she will take it up as a daily ride but count it as occasional for now.

I would anyday buy the activa. Reason? Because I have ridden it for 3 years and 30000 kms without any trouble. Brilliant after sales service, great pickup and exceptional build quality are the main positives of this gearless scooter. The engine delivers power quite linearly (which I found to be absent in the Maestro) which serves as a boon in city traffic. And once you get an empty stretch of road, it has the capability to easily take off quickly.
Moreover, considering your mom will too ride it, Activa's weight wont be any concern.
PS: I have not yet driven the DIO. Out of all others, Activa is the best IMHO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.V.R (Post 2902847)

You are wrong on this the access has the best pickup in the segment because of its torquey engine.

Not sure why that was the case on one of my friend's well maintained scooter, it was quite laggy till you hit slightly higher RPM. As for Activa I have always seen smooth pickup from zero to top.

The only concern with the Activa is the wait time. Otherwise it would have blindly been the only option for me.

I vote for Honda Activa. I own a first generation Activa bought in 2004.
Still going strong with regular maintenance done at authorized service centers.
It is fun to drive, pick up is great. The suspension and handling are still great.
But watchout for the mileage. It has not give me more than 35 kmpl in last two years now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 90BHP (Post 2902829)

Hi Guys, I am looking to purchase a new gear less scooter for my younger brother & mom. Looking for some views on the below 4 options, which one you would you buy & why ?

@90BHP,
Recently I was on a similar hunt for a scooter for my mom, and I did quite a bit of ground research on these scooters. Basically the feedback/inputs I got was Activa is (marginally) still the best of the lot, however Wego & Access are excellent options, and give a good fight to the Honda scooters. Infact the Access is extremely similar in all aspects to the Activa. The only aspect where it differs is in the resale market, as the general perception is still to change w.r.t these scooters.

Clearly it doesn't make sense waiting for months to be allocated a new Activa, and IMO (and my decision that time) would be to go for the Access. I'm not sure why you had a negative experience with this vehicle, but get a second TD on a different vehicle, preferably one that has been driven a lot.

P.s. In my case, we could get our hands on a relative's Dio that was lying idle, so the purchase has been put off for a year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ninjatalli (Post 2903024)

I had put the access as the last min option here. Whats the claimed mileage for it? I read on some review online that it gives 50+ which was hard to believe actually. Also is the acces still available or i need to gor the swish instead.

@RajeshK - You can consider the dio & aviator as one as apart from the body design everything else is similar.

I was looking out for a gearless for my younger sister who was riding a Dio for last couple of years.
After considering all options, decided to go for Mastero, but at the end, the waiting period of one month for the blue color tilted our choice towards Honda Aviator.

I have read threads here about Hero discontinuing Mastero, but I am sure Hero will still offer support and service, in case if they do actually discontinue it.

Personally, I feel Mastero is the best looking of the lot and being a Hero with a Honda heart, the scoot will be reliable.

Hi 90BHP,

I am on the lookout for a new gear-less scooter for myself and my wife too. My current ride is a Honda Eterno purchased May 2005 and has run 51K till today. Apart from usual service intervals I have never had to visit the service center and am totally satisfied with it. The only problem is that after working for hours on the computer everyday and then driving a geared vehicle gives me pain in the left wrist and so the necessity for a gearless scooter.

My brother-in-law has been driving a new Suzuki Access for last 3 months. He previously had the old generation Kinetic Honda. While he praises the Access in general, he says Access tends to jump, sort of sudden acceleration pickup, not linear as it should be.

I discussed extensively with my friendly neighbourhood mechanic who is a very experienced guy and he said better go for Activa. The reason he gives is that Access spares are not easily available off market everywhere and if you encounter a problem in an odd area, it would be a headache to get it working back. Activa carries no such problem, obviously since it has been in the market for long. I have also talked with numerous other friends/relatives who drive such things and almost 95% of them suggested to go for Activa.

Going against the drift here, I would suggest the TVS Wego. (In fact, I am picking up one myself for my dad. We are selling the 2005 Activa in favor of Wego).

Reasons:
1. Lightest of the short listed scooters
2. Body balance indeed works and the scooter feels really effortless to handle in thick traffic. (both 1 & 2 would help whenever your mother has to use it)
3. Telescopic front forks for ride comfort.
4. 12-inch wheels both front and back to aid handling and comfort
5. Engine is super smooth and i was shocked when i first laid my hands on one.
6. Very refined ride which is important in city rides to lessen the fatigue.
7. Handlebar-Seat geometry is spot on and feels very comfortable for long durations.

Mileage is relative and yes there are people who have managed 53kmpl from the Wego too right here in our forum.

With regards to the Activa, while it has a very good engine no doubt, the suspension and weight balance is not great. The suspension is decades old and will tire out the rider very soon in peak hour city traffic. Also it is heavier and would not be as easy to handle and wiggle thru traffic.

Hero Maestro is nothing but Activa engine in different clothes so you can see if you want to go for it.

Access has everything going for it except for its bulk which might be a deterrent for ladies though i see a lot of college girls handling the Access without much trouble.

In the end, take the people who will use the scooter the most and get them to test ride each of the short list. (both with and without pillion if possible). Choose whichever they are most comfortable and at ease with. :)

Hi @90BHP

I would like to point out that Hero may soon phase out recent products based on Honda tech, so buying a Maestro is not a sensible option. I would rule out the Honda twins because of inferior front suspension, as compared to other options (which have telescopic front suspension). Thus, won't be as long lasting on bad roads. Moreover, despite their huge sales numbers, these are not readily available & you need to wait for months for the delivery. Additionally, despite good engines,Honda's A.S.S. is a suspect & there are many cases of Unicorn engines compression problems, courtesy the (in) capability of the A.S.S.

However, Honda's command a premium in the market, so you would get better resale.

On the other hand, I would recommend Suzuki Swish (like @sushantr5) as it is powerful yet fuel efficient scooter, & sells reasonably well too.