With the Grazia 125, Honda has entered the market with another competitor to target the Suzuki Access 125 squarely.
Suzuki had enjoyed a victory run with the erstwhile Access 125 since its launch in 2007. However, Honda couldn’t sit back and watch the rival capture a growing chunk of the market. In came the Activa 125, which rendered even the massively improved 2016 Access 125 useless. Would the new kid on the block give another strong blow to Suzuki’s well-deserved success, or not? Read on to find out.
Design and Looks – Where the Grazia adopts a modern and sharp design language, the Suzuki follows a retro-modern approach with inoffensive styling. The clean design, chrome elements and tall stance highlight the practical and functional aspects of the Access 125. In a market dominated by no-nonsense scooters lower down the displacement range, the audience wants their premium-positioned obsessions to stand out from the crowd. The Access’ styling does look a bit understated for the asking price and this is where the Grazia 125 takes the cake with its futuristic attire full of sharp creases, split grab rails and various design elements!
Dimensions – Another aspect where premium gearless scooters are expected to outshine the rest is road presence. Thankfully, both the scooters in this comparison are plus size as compared to the regular range of entry-level scooters. The Access 125, at 1870 mm x 655 mm x 1160 mm (length x width x height), trumps the Grazia in overall length and height but the latter is 42 mm wider. Of course, stand-out features and distinct styling give the Honda more street cred. Both the scooters offer similar wheelbase of around 1260 mm. However, in the dimensions department, we’ve got to give it to the Access 125 as it is more spacious and accomodating for taller riders with a 14 mm higher seat height (of 780 mm) than the Grazia.
Features – In the features department, Suzuki has kept their offering pretty restrained with minimal fancy features. In the Access 125, you get a DC socket, push-type keyhole shutter, front disc brake, telescopic front forks and a small digital display in the console. The Access 125 also gets a larger 21-litre underseat storage as compared to Grazia’s 18-litre compartment. On the other hand, the Grazia 125 trumps the Access completely as it offers a lot of advanced features, and then some! It features LED headlamp with position lights, larger front disc brake, telescopic forks, fully-digital instrument console with tachometer, seat opening switch and a front glovebox with mobile charging socket.
Powertrain – The Suzuki Access 125 is powered by a 124cc engine which puts out 8.58 BHP and 10.2 Nm of torque. On the other hand, the Grazia’s 124.9cc mill is shared with the Activa 125 and produces 8.52 BHP of power with 10.54 Nm of torque. As obvious, Access has a slight upper hand in peak power figures while the Grazia outputs a higher peak torque. The higher peak power of the Access, though, is delivered at a slightly higher RPM. What helps Suzuki’s case is its 102 kg kerb weight which is 5 kg lesser than the Honda’s. This makes it more agile and gives it zippy performance off the line. The Access 125 also gets a very slight advantage in tank range with its 5.6-litre fuel tank.
Verdict – Clearly, the Honda Grazia 125 is a perfect proposition for an urban commuter vying for a premium experience on a gearless scooter. However, you get what you pay for! Priced at Rs. 57,488/- (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the top-of-the-line variant, the Suzuki Access 125 undercuts even the entry-level Grazia variant by a small margin. While Honda has given some niceties to its latest entrant, Suzuki’s offering stands ahead as a better product as it gets all the necessary equipment, at a better price, with a smoother engine. Even in front of the Activa 125, Suzuki presents a better case due to its pricing. In this Japanese rivalry, as the Grazia isn’t vastly different from its own stablemate, the Access 125 would be our pick yet again!
Honda Grazia 125 vs Suzuki Access 125
