Gearless dual in the scooter segment

A couple of years ago, if you wanted a gearless scooter, there was really only one name worth considering and that was the Honda Activa. Now though, every major motorcycle manufacturer has a seemingly great product in the market, save for Yamaha, of course, which is still in the planning stages of a scooter launch. The four contenders here today are the reigning champion Honda Activa, the once very popular Mahindra Duro (once known as Kinetic Nova), the slightly different TVS Wego and last, but not the least, the new kid on the block, the Suzuki Swish. On the face of it, they all seem similar, gearless scooters with engines displacing somewhere between 110cc and 125cc. Power figures are also more or less in the same ball park. Let’s see if they are as similar as they seem on paper or if the actual riding reveals another story altogether. We’d like to note that we are excluding a couple of scooters from this comparo, namely, the Honda Dio and the Suzuki Access, but we are including their more mass-market appealing and newer (in the case of the Access) siblings though. Looks Well, had this been a month ago, the result of this would have been very different, we’ll tell you that. The Suzuki Swish ticks all the right boxes in this segment and comes on top, with peppy, cheerful looks that really attract the eye. The Duro is, well, the same old design, really. When the Kinetic Nova debuted in 2004, it was an eye-catching design compared to the sedate Activa at the time, but now, it’s the other way around. The Activa saw a significant upgrade in its lifespan while the Duro only a minor one. The Duro still looks good, no doubt, but it doesn’t catch the eye the same way the Swish does. The Wego is a completely different animal here. It’s base itself if quite different from the others in that it resembles a motorcycle more than a traditional scooter, larger alloy wheels definitely add to the aesthetic appeal of the Wego. It’s not exactly what we call great-looking, but it does set itself apart from the rest of the scooters. Riding dynamics The larger-wheeled Wego has a definite advantage here; it seems more nimble and willing to change directions. The telescopic front suspension does help it out a lot when it comes time to hit the brakes too.Next comes the Swish with its surefooted handling and nimbleness. It’s not as solid or stable feeling as the Access, but it more than makes up for that in the way it changes direction so quickly. The Duro manages to out-handle the Activa. Notice a trend here: all the scooters with the telescoping suspension showed a great amount of confidence through the turns and even under hard braking, they held their composure well. What of the Activa, then, the once de-facto standard of the scooter world? Well, compared to this lot, it has a very stable ride, but one that doesn’t lend itself very well to quick directional changes. Under hard braking, the front anti-dive suspension doesn’t do much to up your confidence in the brakes. The braking itself is nice, but the feel you get from the front end is not something you want to experience when you’re in the middle of a panic stop. Ride comfort When it comes to comfort while riding the scooter, the Activa is the one to beat. The seat is firm enough to not be a bother on longer rides, but the suspension supple enough to take care of those pesky potholes and such. The Wego with its larger wheels and bike-like rear suspension is the next in line here; it takes on the potholes and bad roads like no other scooter, but loses out because of a seat that’s not quite as comfortable as the Activa’s. The swish and Duro are both comfortable, but they wouldn’t be our first choices if we were to embark on a long commute. The Duro doesn’t get picked because of an uncomfortable saddle height-to-floorboard height ratio. Basically, it feels like your knees are somewhere near the chest and the handlebars are down low. The Swish has a seat that’s a little too firm which doesn’t really go well with our roads here. Performance and mileage This section is a bit of a tricky one. We have two 110cc scooters and a couple of 125cc ones, so it’s no surprise really that the Swish, with its new lightweight fibre body and peppy engine, is the quickest off the line with the Duro not too far behind. The Activa, surprisingly enough, is nipping at the tail-lights of the Duro with the Wego coming in last. The larger engine scooters also have a better mid-range kick than the Activa or Wego though. The Activa and Swish have the smoothest motors of the lot, emitting nothing but a faint whisper at idle and a low growl when on the move. The Duro and Wego are a little noisier, idle is still silent, but on the move, they do emit a bit of chatter. Fuel economy is one area where they all surprisingly fared the same. The mileage varied wildly depending on the riding style for all scooters, with real-world numbers going as high as 50 kmpl for the Activa and going as low as 38 kmpl for the Duro. These are just the extremes though. Most of the time, they all returned about the same kind of mileage, which would be mid-to-high forties. Storage space Being scooters, their practicality lies in their ability to swallow a week’s worth of groceries into their in-built storage space and then some. The Wego and Swish back up that promise too, with the ability to squeeze a full-sized helmet into their under-seat compartments. The Duro barely manages it, with a half-face unit being much more comfortable there. The Activa comes with the least storage space of the lot, forgoing a front box in favour of more leg room and a smaller underseat storage. Verdict On the face of it, it seemed quite simple. But now, having ridden all of these extensively, the decision isn’t quite as easy as one would have thought. The once king of the hill, the Honda Activa still has a lot of the magic, but it’s long waiting lists aren’t worth waiting for when there are other choices out there which are just as good, if not better. The Swish, the new kid on the block, certainly has the chops to take on the King. The Access lost out because of its dull looks; but on this one, well, hopefully, it does a lot better. The Duro comes in third for us, because, it’s just a better scooter overall than the Wego. That something as good as the TVS Wego ended up being last in this shootout only shows you how good all of them are. But first and foremost, ride safely, always wear a helmet. The loved ones can wait some more to meet you.