Introduction

We at vicky.in are here to always help our readers to get the best bet out of many options. We took Scooters today. Honda’s hot cakes Activa and Aviator is compared with Suzuki Access and Mahindra Rodeo.Honda Activa launched as the second product from HMSI stable is successfully running till date due to the proven Honda engine and reliability. Suzuki Access and Honda Aviator faced an average reception from the customers. Mahindra Rodeo was an altogether new piece. Let’s explore the battle between the two 125cc Access and Rodeo and the two 110cc Activa and Aviator scooters here.

Styling and Design

The newbie Mahindra Rodeo takes much of design cues from Flyte. The saucer like waist has the front mud guard below. The multi-reflection headlamp is aptly sculptured for wider illumination. The orange winkers are silvery edging both sides. Suzuki Access 125 looks plain and simple with just the right cuts and curves. The new Activa comes with fake air vents decorating the front below the headlamp and forms a bulgy appearance. Honda Aviator gets a chrome ‘Y’ shaped treatment cleanly defining the premium scooter. Now lets compare the speedometer. Acitva gets a central theme with speedometer and fuel guage. Aviator is almost similar to Activa but with more trapezoidal glass area. Suzuki Access imbibes two arches with the bigger speedometer round on the left and a smaller fuel guage on the right. But, Mahindra Rodeo comes with revolutionary digital console upfront with tachometer arch and speedometer, odometer, trip meter and clock and all cool blue theme is definitely eye catchy. Here comes the legroom. Both Activa and Access have a comfortable legroom, quite flat and spacious with hooks under the rider’s seat. Aviator has a legroom tilted towards front and Rodeo too have a slightly front tilted legroom, not as spacious as Activa or Suzuki’s Access.

How about the seating positions? Activa, Access and Aviator almost have upright firm seating position for the rider, while Rodeo has slim seat. Which scooter is broader among others? Aviator comes first and then Activa. Although Suzuki Access is slimmer at the front but wider at the rear with the exhaust sticking out promptly.Rodeo has bigger engine but is quite tidy and don’t bulge out as much as the Honda scooters. Which scooter has the largest under seat storage capacity? Honda Activa holds upto 18 litres, Aviator, holds upto 20 litres while Rodeo’s 20 litres and Access 20 litres all give a little more space than fitting a full faced helmet except Activa. Which has the best rear cowl looks? With respect to tidines, Access has a smiling rear with curvy red lamp and orange winkers. Aviator has the European scooter styles with winkers extending both sides and back. Activa has high mounted side indicators while the warning lamp is boxy and short. Rodeo on the other hand has integrated winkers like in Kinetic Flyte. Grab rail is body colored in deluxe variants of Honda scooters, while Rodeo’s grab rail is better than the old-styled Access. Rodeo is more friendly by placing the fuel cap upfront while the rest of the riders need to get down of the scooter everytime for refueling.

Engines

Honda Activa has a 109cc engine that produces 8/7500 bhp/rpm of peak power and peak torque of 0.9/5500 kgm/rpm. Honda Aviator is powered by 109cc same peak power of 8/7500 bhp/rpm and peak torque of 0.9 kgm/rpm. Suzuki Access has a 124cc engine with peak power of 8.58/7000 hp/rpm while the peak torque figures are 1.0/5500 kgm/rpm. Mahindra Rodeo has 124.6cc engine providing a peak power of 8/7000 hp/rpm and a peak torque of — kgm/rpm. Mileage figures are 44.7 kmpl for Access, 54 kmpl for Activa, 48.4 for Aviator, 45 kmpl for Rodeo. While the top whacks of Activa and Aviator comes as much as 83 kmph, Rodeo and Access went slightly above 90 kmph.

Ride and Handling

Activa and Aviator provides stiff riding positions, while Activa gives a more relaxed posture than Aviator. Access is better to sit on than Rodeo. ctiva and Aviator almost provides similar road response, but Aviator is better in soaking road patches and pot holes, due to the front telescopic forks suspension. Comparing Rodeo and Access, suspension is better in Access. Activa picks up faster than Aviator, due the lesser weight but Aviator scores more in stiffer built quality suiting above average built men. Access scores more in terms of pickup than Rodeo. Suzuki Access being the one with largest wheel base of 1250mm does happy cornering than the other three scooters. Rodeo comes second, third Avaitor and then Activa. Since Aviator is the only scooter equipped with disc brake, it obviously scores more in braking department, than the rest. Also the combined braking system of Activa and Aviator is better than that of Access and Rodeo.

Access responds briskly for the throttle response than Rodeo and among the Honda scooters, Activa is faster than Aviator in acceleration. While none of the scooters’ engines produced vibrations, Suzuki Access was best to ride at higher speeds above 70 kmph and Aviator comes close to it. Rodeo and Activa follows suit with respect to stability. Pillion comfort is almost equal for all the scooters except Aviator, for it has a slightly raisen pillion seat. Aviator scores best in night time illumination by the headlamp, which is based on European design, while the others provide adequate lighting for normal speeds.

Verdict

Obviously Access scores ahead of Rodeo, thanks to the reliable Suzuki engine. Among Aviator and Activa, Aviator gives more comfort but slow in pickup. Choosing among these four is purely subjective as people’s perspective changes, say, a few need more mileage, while a few need prestigious stance. Alas, majority of the people need a blend of both and Activa closely matches at the end. With the new Activa coming in darker colors and slight cosmetic upgrades and a consistent mileage, Activa is sure to out number the rest of the scooters in this segment.