Honda Activa 6G vs Activa 125 BS6: Which One To Buy?

Which of the Japanese brand’s two BS6 scooters is a better choice for you?

Honda was the first manufacturer in India to roll out a BS6-compliant scooter, in the form of its cutting-edge Activa 125 BS6. Now, with the recent launch of the Activa 6G, it’s the only manufacturer offering two BS6 scooters in its lineup. But this creates a bit of a conundrum. You see, the most expensive Deluxe variant of the Activa 6G retails for Rs 65,412, making it just Rs 2,000 cheaper than the base variant of the Activa 125 BS6. So, should you just throw in that little extra cash and go for the 125? Or is the 6G all the scooter you need? Let’s find out:

Design

The 110cc Activa is the best-selling scooter not just in Honda’s lineup but in the country. The cross it has to bear as a result of this, is the fact that any drastic updates, either mechanical or cosmetic, will scare customers away. Hence, Honda has taken a mild and conservative approach to the updates on the 6G variant. Of course, the motor is all-new and has received fuel-injection to help it comply with BS6 norms, and Honda has also thrown in a 12-inch front wheel and telescopic front fork. But the rest of the design remains largely unchanged and the 6G looks quite similar to its predecessor.

The Activa 125 is quite easily the more special looking of the two. The chrome trim on the apron, shapely headlight and black screen above it give the 125 an attractive fascia. The chrome theme extends to the side panels as well, and the overall design of the Activa 125 looks far fresher than that of its younger sibling.

Engine & Performance

This is the biggest difference between the two Activas. Of course, it’s a no-brainer that the 125 has higher output figures, but a little analysis makes things interesting. At 124cc, the larger scooter’s engine is 14.22 per cent bigger in terms of displacement than the 6G’s. But its 8.2PS power output is only 5.26 per cent higher than that of the 6G’s. The 125’s torque figure, though, is 17 per cent higher than that of the 110’s -- 10.3Nm compared to 8.79Nm.

Couple this with the fact that the 125 is just 3.74 per cent heavier, and it should comfortably be the faster accelerating scooter of the two. It may be quicker than the 6G, but it isn’t quick in an absolute sense. During our road test, we found the engine feeling rather weak and dull, which isn’t good news for the even slower (at least on paper) Activa 6G.

One area where the smaller Activa will have an advantage is fuel efficiency. Honda claims that mileage has gone up by 10 per cent over the 5G’s, whose tested figures stand at 58kmpl in the city and 55kmpl on the highway. This should make it considerably more fuel-efficient than the 125, which returned 52.63kmpl and 51.23kmpl in the same conditions.

Also Read: Honda Activa 6G: Accessories List Revealed

Underpinnings & Dimensions

In this 6G generation, the smaller Activa has received a telescopic front fork and 12-inch front wheel for the first time. This allows it to match the Activa 125 in terms of hardware. Both scooters roll on pressed-steel wheels and employ 130mm drum brakes at both ends. Tyre sizes are identical too -- 90/90-12 and 90/100-10 -- so there’s not a lot to differentiate the two in this area.

When it comes to dimensions, the Activa 125 is slightly longer, wider and taller than its sibling, but they both share the same wheelbase and the 6G sports slightly better ground clearance. This means that the 125 should be a slightly roomier scooter, while the Activa 6G will be more adept at handling bad roads, but we’ll have to reserve final judgement until we can ride them both back-to-back. Both scooters have identically sized fuel tanks at 5.3L, but the 6G’s better fuel efficiency gives it a larger range.

Features

Both scooters get an engine kill switch, ACG starter, external fuel filler, CBS and a combination key slot. But since this is the Deluxe variant of the 6G, it gets an LED headlight, while the Activa 125 has to make do with a halogen unit (an LED headlight is offered on the higher variants). But to be honest, we find the halogen units to provide better illumination than their LED counterparts anyway, so this isn’t really a bad thing. To further redeem itself, the 125 gets a front glovebox that’s very convenient for storing little knick-knacks, and an optional side stand cut-off feature.

Verdict

The only reason for picking the Activa 6G over the Activa 125 BS6 would be fuel efficiency. If your weekly fuel budget is limited and squeezing the maximum out of each litre of petrol is your highest priority, then the 6G is the one for you.

For the rest of us, though, the Activa 125 comes across as a better looking and better performing scooter for a relatively reasonable sum of money. For 3.18 per cent more cash, you get a whole lot more than 3.18 per cent more scooter, so the Activa 125 BS6 is our pick of these two.