Honda Vario

Honda Vario features a bold and striking design. It poses an alien appearance with large LED position lights, which are placed above the large LED dual keen headlight and occupy almost the entire sides of the front apron. The front profile and the handlebar cowl are aggressively sculpted. On the sides, it has a more restrained styling with a thick floorboard that has a sporty scoop. 

At the rear end, the scooter looks rakish. The pointy tail light comes with LEDs as do the turning indicators mounted on stalks of the mudguard. The front seat is stepped, and the rear seat is kept thin to match the overall styling. The exhaust also adds a lot of sports flair to the bike’s slim and modern design. The scooter rides on 14-inch 5-spoke cast alloy wheels wrapped in 90/80 and 100/80 tubeless tyres front and rear, respectively.

The Honda Vario dimension sheet reads 1919 mm in length, 679 mm in width, and 1062 mm in height. The under-seat compartment of 18 litres can store a full-face helmet easily. For the instrument panel, the bike gets a fully digital LCD screen that shows a blue background and white text. It displays all the real-time information, including fuel consumption, time, warning for lubricant levels, and battery. With the smart key system, it also gets keyless ignition, remote immobilizer, and an anti-theft alarm system.

Honda offers the Vario in three dual-tone color options, which are Pearl Magellanic Black (Red and Black), Pearl Nightfall Blue (Blue and Metallic Grey), and Force Silver Metallic (Yellow with Metallic Silver). Also, there is a REPSOL edition color scheme that features racy sponsor logos and orange wheels. All the colour schemes are decked up with bold stickering proclaiming the scooter’s name on the sides.

Honda Vario’s suspension system has telescopic forks at the front, and a single-sided shock absorber mounted to the swing arm at the rear. The scooter has good maneuverability, thanks to its short wheelbase of 1280 mm, slim profile, and a low 107 kg dry weight. The scooter can cope up well with the bumps on the roads and thus delivers a comfortable ride.

The only gripe is the low ground clearance of just 132 mm, which could scrape on speed breakers and potholes. At 769 mm, the seat is also convenient for riders of almost all heights. Even the taller persons can comfortably sit because of the large front footwell area. The handlebars are also set at a comfortable height for a relaxed riding posture.

Honda Vario is powered by a 150-cc SOHC liquid-cooled and fuel-injected engine that can generate 13 hp of maximum power at 8500 rpm and 13.4 Nm of peak torque at 5000 rpm. For transmission, the engine is mated to a V-Matic automatic gearbox that transmits the power to the rear wheel. The throttle response of the scooter is good from the get to go, and there is enough power across the rev range. It picks up speed in a controlled and linear manner. The engine is refined and free of vibrations as coming from the house of Honda. It is also equipped with the brand’s Idling stop system to prevent fuel wastage during prolonged idling. Together with the PGM-Fi, Honda Vario’s excellent fuel efficiency is 52 kmpl. It can bell the top speed of 110 kmph.

For braking, the Honda Vario 150 incorporates a wavy hydraulic disc brake on the front and a leading trailing drum brake on the rear wheel. Although it misses the rear disc brake and anti-lock braking system, the automaker equipped the scooter with a combi braking system for balanced brake force distribution.

Honda Vario has proved to be an excellent automatic scooter and is especially ideal for first-time bike riders, that comes in at an affordable price. It is striking to look at, pleasantly equipped, efficient, and well-thought machine. If you are not picky about the ABS, then it is definitely worth checking out.