Following are the options which I considered :
Honda Activa/Dio
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I personally like the regular Activa a lot. It is complete package with almost no shortcomings, except for the lack of telescopic front shock absorbers. The looks are to my liking and the size is just perfect. Unfortunately, my wife found it too heavy and bulky for her. So Activa was ruled out. Same for Dio, it is also similarly bulky and heavy. The plastic body doesn't help to reduce the bulk. Also, the pillion seating position is very uncomfortable.
At this point I would like to make a special mention regarding the pathetic experience we had at the Honda agency. Test ride was bluntly denied to us even though test ride vehicle was parked outside. The sales staff were busy chatting with each other and attending to the customer was too much of a trouble for them. They didn't even offer a seat to us and didn't even have a Dio on display. It was too much of a trouble for the sales girl to walk a few steps to show us a Dio, even though dozens of Dios were parked right outside the showroom door.
Also, I had booked a test ride for Activa-i on the Honda website. I received a few mails mentioning that Activa-i is not currently available. But nobody has contacted me for test ride even after it became available.
Suzuki Access/Swish
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Access and Swish had extra power, which we did not require. They were also heavy and bulky like the Honda Activa and Dio. During the test ride at low to medium speeds, I could not find any noticeable difference in the power delivery between Access and Activa. If the difference is felt only at speeds above 60kmph, it was of no use to me since I would not be riding the scooter at such speeds. The extra power causes a decrease in fuel efficiency and this was one factor which went against it.
Many Access owners have complained about poor fuel efficiency and poor braking. I am very particular about a vehicle's braking capability. Poor braking is something I can't tolerate.
I would like to quote Spideman's uncle - "With great power comes great responsibility". Translated into automotive terms - a more powerful vehicle should have better brakes.
I sincerely feel that our government should introduce some guidelines for safety features in vehicles. Just like power and mileage figures, the manufacturers should be made publish the braking figures too. Also, the so called auto experts and auto journalists should also mention the 60 to 0 time along with the 0 to 60 time in their reviews.
The sales experience at Suzuki dealer was marginally better than Honda, but nothing to mention.
TVS Wego
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Even though I have a liking towards the Japs, a scooter search would never be complete without considering the TVS Wego. So I decided to give it a shot.
We entered the TVS agency and things were looking better already. The salesman approached us, rather than us having to chase the salesmen like in Honda and Suzuki dealerships.
Test ride was offered within a split second. I would like to mention that the TVS dealer did not have a dedicated test ride vehicle and offered a brand new unregistered vehicle for us to test ride. What this basically means is that if I were to buy a TVS Wego, it is possible that my brand new scooter would previously have been used by some other prospective customer for a test ride. Not a good feeling to have.
The test ride itself was very good. The shock absorbers did their job perfectly - they really absorbed the shocks on bad roads. The engine felt peppy and refined.
Wego is perhaps the only other truly unisex scooter in India. The looks are neutral and it suits everyone - males, females, college crowd, office crowd, house wife, senior citizens etc.
What went against the Wego was the huge number of bad reviews against the product. Complaints of leakages, battery issues etc. I was also not sure of the long term reliability and availability of spare parts in the long run. Final nail in the coffin was when I read that a fellow BHPian has sold off his Wego because of niggling issues.
I also did not like the step seat arrangement - the rear seat was too tall even for an average height person like me. I am also not a fan of external fuel lid. I prefer the fuel lid below the seat.
Hero Pleasure
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I have been a fan of Hero Honda vehicles mainly for their cost of ownership and service network coverage. My colleagues who own Splendor used to spend very little on fuel and service bills compared to my Yamaha RXZ, even with a similar usage.
Also Hero Motors were giving 5 years warranty on their vehicles, which is a sign that the manufacturer has confidence on the quality of his product. And why not, its a Honda engine after all.
With this thought in mind, we took test ride of Pleasure. I had mixed reactions after the test ride. There was nothing really wrong with the vehicle, except for the fact that it was a very old design and uses older generation Activa engine.
Also, I don't understand why some companies are hell bent on branding certain scooters as girly. I'm sure many boys would reject the Pleasure only for this reason.
I don't care too much about these things, so I was willing to consider this, but in a neutral shade (any colour except pink, yellow, orange and green). You wouldn't believe the number of colours and multi colours available in Pleasure. It is like an Asian Paints colour catalogue.
So Hero Pleasure gets the bronze medal.
Yamaha Ray/Ray Z
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First of all, hats off to fellow BHPian yikes6633, who has shared a very comprehensive ownership experience of his Yamaha Ray. It is so detailed that one can make a purchase only based on his review/ownership experience.
This is one scooter which really appeals to your heart. You may think what fun can you have on a girly scooty, but don't let its petite frame deceive you. This is a very exciting vehicle to drive. The ride and handling is simply class leading without any doubt. The low end response of the engine is very nice, and is ideal for city commute.
Again, I don't understand the logic behind the girly positioning of this lovely product. Also, after initially positioning this for the females, now they give it a slightly different paint job, put a few decals, increase the price and call it Ray-Z, and they expect the boys to suddenly start liking it.
I really wanted to buy this, but several small things kept holding me back - low ground clearance, no tubeless tyres, very shallow underseat storage space etc. Also the saddle height is very low - this may be a good or bad thing depending on your height.
I had almost made up my mind to go for this scooter, but then I came to know about the launch of Activa-i.
So Yamaha Ray gets the silver medal.