BREAKING: India’s OG Sporty Scooter Now Comes In 125cc Guise

Jul 13, 2023
Views : 6193
4 min read

Honda has launched the Dio 125 to rival the TVS Ntorq 125

After a bunch of teases and a whole lot of speculations, Honda has surprised us by launching the Honda Dio 125 – a 125cc version of India’s OG sporty scooter. Honda tried to take on the TVS NTorq 125 with something different (read: Grazia), but it didn’t exactly set the sales chart on fire. However, now with the Dio 125, Honda seems to have gone back to basics and used a tried-and-tested formula - using an existing, popular model and scaling it up to take on the 125cc segment.

What’s The Price? Who Are Its Rivals?

The 125cc sporty scooter comes in two variants – Standard priced at Rs 83,400, and the Smart variant priced at Rs 91,300.

In the highly competitive 125cc sporty scooter market, the Honda Dio will rival the TVS Ntorq 125 (Rs 84,536), Aprilia SR125, Yamaha RayZR 125 (Rs 84,230), Suzuki Avenis (Rs 87,800), and the upcoming Hero Xoom 125. Amongst its rivals, the Honda Dio 125 is the most affordable. All prices ex-showroom Delhi.

What’s New?

While the design silhouette stays identical to the Dio 110, the new scooter features a slightly more muscular styling
It gets more cladding on the apron as well as the side panels. The sides of the scooter are more buffed up and feature sharp edges for a sportier appeal. Even the grab rail and exhaust are different and sportier on the Dio 125.

At the front, the overall headlight looks the same, however, there are small details that have been changed along with dual-tone colours on the apron.
While the engine details will be revealed soon, it is expected to get the same 123.97cc air-cooled mill with Idling Stop System, as the Honda Grazia.
It makes 8.25PS and 10.3Nm on the Grazia.
Runs a telescopic fork and three-step adjustable rear monoshock suspension setup.
Braking hardware comprises a petal disc up front (only in the Smart variant) and a drum brake at the rear with a combined braking system.
Both variants get a fully digital console and displays range, average and real time mileage along with a tripmeter, clock, side stand indicator, ECO indicator and Service Due indicator and malfunction light.
Only the Smart variant comes with Honda’s Smart Key system, and here’s all that it gets.

Feature	Functionality
Smart Find	If you’re in the vicinity of your scooter, you can find it by pressing the answer back button. It will light up all the four indicators twice
Smart Unlock	You can lock or unlock the scooter without inserting the physical key. With this enabled, if there’s no activity after 20 seconds, the scooter will automatically lock its handle
Smart Start	If the Smart Key is within the range of two metres of the scooter, then the rider can start it by rotating the knob on the apron to ‘Ignition’, and push the start button. There’s no need to insert the key with this feature
Smart Safe	The Smart Key and the ECU have an electronically matching ID, and the former has an immobiliser system that, as per Honda, prevents a non-registered key from starting the engine

What’s Unchanged?

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While it does get a slightly updated design along with new graphics and logos, the Dio 125 lacks a fresh look and stays true to the OG sporty Dio styling. However, we believe that this could be 'welcomed by the Dio fans and customer base as they’d love its familiarity factor.

What Should Have Been Changed?

While the Smart Key system is a pretty nifty feature, Honda has skipped out on turn-by-turn navigation and smartphone connectivity, which most of its rivals flaunt. In the modern age, these features would have really been practical and would have enhanced the appeal of the scooter to a wider audience.

ZigSays

This seems like a hopeful attempt by Honda to make its presence felt in the 125cc sporty scooter segment and give the TVS NTorq a good fight. And with the competitive pricing and Dio’s charm, it seems like it will be a rivalry to watch. However, the NTorq has a lot more variants, features and performance on offer at a slightly higher price, which could turn out to aid the sales of the sporty scooter, over the Dio in India.

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