Honda’s Activa scooter needs little introduction. The Activa has scripted a dream run for Honda, today recognized in every corner of India as a household name. It’s been Honda’s mainstay model for over a decade, and was in fact the Japanese two-wheeler giant’s very first two-wheeler when they commenced Indian operations back in 1999. Back then, Honda surprised one and all to ride tall into the Indian market astride the Activa; an automatic scooter, coming at a time when every other manufacturer was shifting focus outside the dwindling scooter market, to pool and concentrate all available resources in the burgeoning motorcycle segments.

The Activa rewrote the rule books, and how, to go on and single-handedly revive a dying Indian scooter market. Honda does sell other scooters in India today, the trendy Dio and more macho Aviator, but none of these truly hold a candle to the Activa’s undying appeal. The company recently injected fresh value into its entire scooter range, bringing in its new Honda Eco Technology (HET) engines, and it’s been only a few days since the Activa-i launched, another smart looking variant.