Scooters sales have gone through the roof in the past few years and have witnessed a double digit growth on regular basis while motorcycles have struggled. This doesn’t really come as a surprise. They are easier to ride ( no need to engage gears manually) , nimble, have the benefit of under seat storage and are reasonably frugal as well.
But almost 14 years back, automatic scooters were on the verge of extinction from our market. At this point, Honda commenced their Indian operations with the Activa against many word of warnings from industry experts who felt Honda was committing a grave mistake. But they couldn’t have been more wrong. The Japanese two-wheeler manufacturer currently sells almost 2 lakh units of the Activa every month and it currently holds close to 43 per cent market share. Such has been its success that it can be dubbed as the genesis of the current automatic scooter market in India. Despite the fact that the Activa has been on sale for so many years it has received only three updates. And today we ride its latest iteration – the Honda Activa 3G.
Honda Activa 3G profile
Honda claims to have given a cosmetic makeover for the Activa 3G. Yet, in a glance, the new scooter looks exactly similar to its predecessor. Look closely and you will realise that the front fascia has been tweaked mildly with a restyled and larger faux vents. Also the handlebar mounted headlamp and turn indicators have been given minor updates. It seems to be a deliberate strategy of the Honda designers to maintain the typical “Activa face” on the new scooter as the basic design DNA has been left untouched. The most striking visual difference between both the generations of Activa can be made from the rear.