Honda India will be pulling the plug on its premium 110cc scooter – the Aviator. The model didn't make it to the list of Honda scooters that were updated recently to BS6 spec, indicating that the company could discontinue the model. At present, the Activa, Activa 125 and Dio are the only Honda scooters that have been upgraded to meet the stringent BS6 norms. The Aviator has been around for years and was positioned above the regular Activa, although it shared the same engine. The scooter's USP was its styling and features such as alloy wheels, telescopic fork and a front disc brake. While the Aviator was well received initially, it was always overshadowed by the Activa.
The discontinuation of the Aviator leaves a void in the premium 110cc scooter space that Honda will try to fill with a new product. It's almost certain that the new scooter will be based on Honda’s new scooter platform that has already spawned multiple products like the Activa 6G, Dio and Activa 125. The engine will probably be in a similar tune to the Activa, perhaps with a slight increase in power. However, since the scooter will be a premium offering, it is likely to feature alloy wheels, a disc brake and a digital instrument cluster as well. These features, as we'd noticed during our first ride, were absent in the Activa 6G, which hints that Honda is saving these for its premium 110cc offering.
The price and positioning of the new product obviously will be higher than the Honda Activa 6G and it'll be interesting to see if Honda manages to keep it from falling into 125cc scooter territory. Especially since the Activa 6G is priced in the vicinity of the Suzuki Access 125. Whether it will actually be called the Aviator is unclear at the moment and we believe Honda may use a new brand name to create some excitement, especially since the original Aviator was never a big seller.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
