Do The DIO :). Review on Honda Dio

HONDA ... there was no other contender when I chose to buy myself a new scooter. My old Bajaj has lived its age ( being a hands down frm dad ) and I thought it was time to get myself a new one. Being living in a city like Varanasi where the traffice reminds you of the growing indian population, getting a automatic trnasmission scooter was neceasary. So what choices I had in front of me..... Kinetic Nova, Honda Activa, Honda Dio & Bajaj Saffire. Saffire despite being a nice scooter was ruled out as itwas too small and Activa was ruled out because I did not like its styling.... so the choice was between Dio and Nova. I finally chose Dio and I am not repenting my choice and I would recomment it to anyone. Here's why....

STYLING:- Dio is surely the best looking scoot in India today. The futuristic Wedge shaped design looks awesome ... reminds me of Star wars sometimes :) The angular design has no match and the front headlight looks stunning as well . There isnt a curve out of place and looks a seamless design unlike Nova which looks like two diffrent desgins joined in at the middle. The back taillamps and indicators are stunning as well. Whats another good part is that you can replace the panels anytime u want and u can even go in for a complete replacement for around 1000 bucks and get urself a brand new color.

BUILD:- The build quality you expect from a HONDA is world class and Dio does not dissapoint. Every panel and switchgear is top notch and there isnt any gap between the panels. The patened CLIC technology makes it vey conveininet to access the engine bay as it lifts just like the car bonnet by only unscrewing a few screws.

ENGINE & TRANSMISSION :- The engine in the Dio is the same 102.1cc unit seen in the Activa developing 7bhp (at 7000rpm) and 7.85Nm of twist (at 5500rpm). The engine is surely the smoothest I have driven .... and that includes Nova as well. Its refinement and NVH levels are the best.The variomatic transmission is good too ... delivering good drivability as well .

HANDLING:- The dio handles like a dream. The round profile tyres means that you can go in for the acute angle turns without putting urself in danger of toppling over and the narow body means that u can get thru the tiniest of spaces available in the traffic as well. Handling is much better than the NOVA as well. Another good part is the Tuffup tube which allows u to drive on even in case of minor punctures and can be a real boon .... u wont have to stop in the middle of road to get ur typre repaired when u r getting late for college ( or office as well) one disadvantage though is that u have to check ur tyre regularly for signs of any fluid coming out which means u will have to get the tube repaired.

PERFORMANCE & BRAKING :- Dio isnt a scooter to win races ... but still it is good enough to be a strong performer in the city atleast. The brakes are the best in scooters and u can be pretty much sure that u will be able to brake on a dime as well :)

FUEL EFFICIENCY:- This is the are where perhaps it loses out a little on NOVA. My dio has been giving me a fuel average of around 40-45 kmpl but its still in the run-in period and my dealer tells me that the average will increase to about 47-50 after the first service.

Well overall its the best scooter in the country today. Agreed it does lose out a bit on fuel efficiency to NOVA ... but that apart it beats Nova hands down on every other aspect .. be it styling, performance, braking etc. Also the Kinectic dealer in my city has not had a good reputation ( one of my friends with Kinetic ZX tells me that ) and the Honda dealer is really good. I would recommend the DIO to anyone planning to get a new scoot ... Enjoy ....

UPDATE:- it has been close to 500 kms now and first service gone. The mileage has improved to about 48-50 so the dealer was right on that count. The WOW factor ( people really do WOW after seeing the dio :) ) is still there, most of the times I take it out on the roads, people to point it out and sometimes even ask me how it is running and all. My faith with Honda remains :D

NEWS:- HONDA is now the largest selling scooter manufacturer in India .....