Meet the Navi - Honda’s funky new avatar

For years Honda has trodden a path of great caution, with their entire product line-up focussing on practicality and utility. And this has been with good reason. Each one of their serious products, whether the Activa or the old Unicorn or the Shine has done smashingly well and the Indian consumer has lapped up all of it. In fact, their attempts at stepping away from convention hasn’t paid off. However, first impressions about the Navi seem to be massively positive. It has all the ingredients to become a sensation with the social media generation and go viral.

It’s the compact appearance that draws you toward the Navi to begin with. It can pass off as being comical almost and that makes it cool. The styling touches and the bright colours sure add to the appeal and quirkiness of the bike. Whether we should be addressing it as a motorcycle or a scooter is a debate that even Honda has left open, although it does seem to resemble a moped more closely than anything else.

Honda is out testing new waters with the Navi. There really isn’t a direct rival in the market right now. The TVS 50s and M80s of old may have come close to being alternatives, but while one is now defunct, the other one serves only rural markets thanks to emission norms. That brings us back to scooters, which compared to the Navi seem rather expensive all of a sudden. There are only a handful of scooters that dare look different anyway and the motorcycles available at this price point aren’t much fun either.

Has this been a bit of a master stroke then?

Have you ever wondered what designers would do if they were left alone and given a one-line brief that said, ‘let’s make something cool’?

Well, the Navi is about as close as you could get to seeing that come through. Honda used to make a moped called the ‘Monkey’ some years back and the Navi seems to have been designed along the same lines. It looks deceptively small and the bright colours and little design features make it stand out - especially the raised handlebar, which makes it look very motorcycle like. The instrument console, unfortunately, seems to have been a bit of an afterthought and doesn’t fit too well with the overall look.

The Navi, however, only looks small when parked separately. Actually, it happens to be slightly longer than an Activa, the scooter that it is based on, and has an identical seat height. It even uses a larger 12-inch front wheel at the front with a 10-inch rear wheel and the fuel tank is where you would find it on a motorcycle, between your legs.

Honda has chosen to use its most tried and tested engine with the Navi – the 110cc, single cylinder motor, making 8bhp and just under 9Nm of torque. The Navi also gets the same V-matic transmission making it a twist-to-go bike like its scooter siblings. Honda has managed to make the Navi pretty light too, weighing in at 101kg, which means performance is sprightly even from the 8bhp engine. It gets a move on till about 60kph pretty easily, before topping out at roughly 80kph. A louder exhaust may have added to the experience of the Navi, but we have to settle for a regular quiet one for now.

Along with the larger 12-inch front wheel, Honda has also decided to equip the Navi with telescopic forks, while the rear gets the same spring loaded hydraulic strut. The limited travel makes the Navi ride pretty firm and you can feel every pothole on the road. Unfortunately, the fact that the Navi feels like a motorcycle works against it here as motorcycles tend to offer a far more plaint ride. It is of course much easier to stand up and ride than a scooter, but the small wheels can catch you out if you aren’t careful. Handling is pretty good though with enough grip to lean it over through corners.

There is little doubt that the Navi has managed to generate a huge amount of interest. We were constantly pulled over and asked questions about it through the day long ride. People wanted to know everything from whether it is an electric vehicle to how quick it felt, with the burning ‘kitna deti hai’ question about mileage popping up every now and then. A lot of them, however, expected the Navi to be a step-through at the very least and everyone was rather delighted with the affordable sticker price.

Some bits of plastic, especially the frequently used fuel filler cover, are flimsy and Honda could’ve topped it off with a funkier design for the instrument dial, given the excellent job they have managed with the rest of the bike. There is no doubt that the Navi is a great deal of fun and its compact dimensions make it perfect in the city.

You can literally crawl through gaps in traffic and spring a surprise on fellow motorists every time the light turns green.

However, this isn’t exactly a utility bike, so if you think you would like to replace your scooter with the Navi, that is not a good thought to begin with. This one is all about fun, frolic and leaving your serious face at home. At ₹39,500 (ex-showroom Delhi), the Navi is a superbly entertaining way of getting around town for the young at heart.

There is a huge opportunity for add-ons and we hope Honda will have a full line-up to choose from soon.

And, just in case you are still wondering – we think motorcycle works well to describe this one.