Honda has equipped Vario 160 maxi-scooter with a sharp and futuristic suit landing it straight into Aerox 155’s alley
The Maxi-scooter trend is slowly catching on in India. They’re not entirely new to Indians as we were familiar with the Kinetic Blaze with a 165 cc engine. It had size to its advantage along with comfort. But, the Indian motorcycle market wasn’t mature enough to embrace a maxi-scooter.
Suzuki India was the first to revive maxi-scooters in India with the launch of Burgman Street 125. It soon gained popularity for its relaxed ergonomics and its massive street presence. Looking at its success, Suzuki is also considering an electric Burgman Street as seen by the test mules.
After Burgman Street 125, Aprilia stepped in with their SXR 160 maxi-scooter. It brought a touch of Italian flair with it. After that, Yamaha planned for the launch of NMax 155 maxi-scooter in India. But Yamaha wanted to test the market further, so they launched the Aerox 155 sports scooter based on the R15 engine.
Honda Vario 160cc Patented
Even though Honda is late to the maxi-scooter party, it wants to make a strong appearance. Enters Vario 160. Honda recently filed a design patent for Vario 160 in India which has also been approved. For starters, Honda Vario comes in both 125 cc and 160 cc variants in Southeast Asian markets. For India, Honda has patented the bigger 160 cc model taking the fight directly to Aerox 155 and Aprilia SXR 160.
Vario range of maxi-scooters have been on sale in Southeast Asian countries for a very long time. In fact, the Vario patented for India, is the 7th generation of the scooter and has been in production since 2006. This 7th gen model is also the sharpest looking of its predecessors. It gets a futuristic and edgy design language that is matched with its overall personality.
It is powered by a 160 cc single-cylinder, liquid-cooled motor that churns out around 15.3 PS and 13.8 Nm. It comes very close to Aerox 155’s figures at 15 PS and 13.9 Nm. It’s neck-n-neck to be honest. Other highlights of Vario 160 are telescopic forks at front and a mono-shock unit at the rear. It also gets single disc brakes at both ends and we can expect either dual-channel ABS or Honda’s CBS. It gets 14” wheels wrapped with 100/80 rubber at front and 120/70 rubber at the back.
Other features include LED headlights, LED DRLs, LED tail-lights and LED turn indicators. It also gets a fully digital instrument cluster and also Honda’s smart key along with a USB charging port.
Launch & Competition
Back then, people associated scooters as a measly product meant for women to ease their daily commutes. A scooter that had a 150+ cc engine meant for long hauls was scoffed upon. With the Indian motorcycle market maturing enough for maxi-scooters, Honda Vario 160 makes absolute sense and it takes on the Aerox 155.
Even though both the scooters boast similar performance figures, Honda pulls a trump card on Aerox 155 as it is 11 kg lighter than Aerox 155. But going with Honda’s spree of filing patents, most of them have never seen the light of day. Even though Honda hasn’t mentioned a launch timeline for Vario 160, we wait to see if it launches at all.
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
