Honda Activa 5G vs Hero Maestro Edge: Spec Comparison

Does the Activa 5G hold its own against the growing competition?

Although the Activa 5G continues to lead the charge in the scooter segment, it now goes up against even fiercer rivals like the TVS Jupiter and the Hero Maestro Edge. While the Activa has only received few visual updates year after year, the other two now pack a lot more in terms of features and practicality. So is the Honda still the king of scooters in India? Or has it lost its charm? We find out.

Design & Features

While the Activa 5G’s tried-and-tested design remains unchanged, Honda has given it some neat add-ons to keep it fresh. It gets new chrome inserts on the front apron and an all-new LED headlight to set it apart from its predecessor, the Activa 4G. The throw of the headlight is long and wide enough to brighten up even poorly lit roads. It also gets a new yellowish gold paint job, which looks quite appealing. Moving on, the analogue instrument console with the digital display also gets an ‘Eco’ speed indicator, which lets the rider know the ideal speed to extract maximum fuel efficiency. Honda has always pitched the Activa as a family scooter and the same is evident from its mature and simplistic styling.

The Hero Maestro Edge, on the other hand, is targeted primarily at male customers. Hence, Hero has gone ahead with a much beefier design. Thankfully though, the sheer bulk of the scooter is balanced by the well-sculpted body panels. Unlike the Activa, which gets an all-metal construction, the Maestro Edge gets an all-plastic body. This should translate to less weight. As far as equipment is concerned, the Maestro gets an AHO (Always Headlamp On) headlight with twin parking lights which offer decent illumination. Also, like the Jupiter, the Maestro also features a handy ‘pass light’, something that the Activa misses out on. It gets an LED tail light with an external fuel filler cap sitting right above too. Unlike the Activa’s muffler, which looks a little too simple, the Maestro’s exhaust can looks attractive and gels well with the overall styling. According to Hero's terminology, it is ‘titanium-finished’! Nevertheless, it looks quite good.

Other than this, the Maestro also features dual-tone rear view mirrors, a semi-digital instrument console with a service reminder and a side stand indicator. The Maestro leads the segment with 22 litres of underseat storage. It also comes with a boot light and a mobile charging socket. The Activa, on the other hand, only gets a charging socket.

Engine

Honda’s are known for reliability and high refinement levels, although, in this case, the Maestro is equally smooth and refined. That said, it loses out in the torque department as the former is more torquey and gets off the line a lot quicker when compared to the Maestro. This also means that, compared to the Maestro, the Activa shouldn’t feel so strained while carrying a pillion.

Underpinnings

While Honda continues to offer the age-old bottom-link suspension for the Activa, Hero has stepped it up with telescopic forks for the Maestro Edge, which is one of the reasons it’s 1kg heavier than the Activa 5G. So how exactly does that affect ride quality? The suspension on the Activa 5G has been tuned quite differently when compared to its previous generations. It soaks up bumps and undulations pretty well. It's a similar story with the Maestro, which performs a tad better. Under braking though, the telescopic setup inspires a lot more confidence as it compresses under pressure. The bottom link suspension reacts the other way and instead which could get stressful under hard braking.

Price & Verdict