This is a story of three friends - myself (Mohita), Veena and Sakshi.
We own three different automatic scooters:
Me - Kinetic Nova 135
Veena - Bajaj Wave
Sakshi - Honda Activa
All three were bought around the same time - 2 months ago. My family has owned 3 Kinetics in the past with very good experience so I decided to stick with our tried and proven choice. Veena was attracted by lower pricetag on the Wave. Sakshi’s parents chose the Honda Activa for her.
Based on our experience with the three vehicles, here is a ranking:
Nova 135
Activa
Wave
The Nova consistently gives higher mileage (45-50 kpl), has the lowest maintenance bills and scores over others on - storage space (its really huge you have to see it to believe it) and power (can climb slopes easily even when fully loaded and riding doubleseat).
The Activa is alright except its mileage is low (35-40 on same road), dealer charges high maintenance costs (spares are very expensive) (dealer bill is never below 800 rs every 3 months or so - i.e. about 3200 a year on servicing!) and there have been a few problems like starting trouble, wobbling etc. But its ok, not a nightmare.
The WAVE on the other hand has proven to be a really bad choice. It breaks down, doesnt start without a lot of effort, makes funny noises and is already showing poor quality in terms of ride etc. mileage so far is about 40 kpl but the maintenance bills are already mounting, dealer attitude towards fixing problems is very poor. MOstly they cannot be bothered, as they are busy selling motorcycles. Veena is already contemplating selling off her wave but she is not getting good price! Seems like the saffire suffer story being repeated.
So our learning has been:
In automatic scooters, kinetic and honda know best. do not look beyond them.
between the two, I have had a better experience with the nova 135 than Sakshi has had with the activa; even if you think it is counterintuitive, it is true!
I hope this helps all automatic scooter buyers out there!
ps there is also a new kinetic 4 stroke now on sale. it is our good ol kinetic that we know and trust, but with new 4 stroke engine technology to give high mileage. check that out too. and maybe the pep from TVS but dont know about that too much.
thanks for reading
comments are welcome!
Mohita