Will The Honda Cliq Be Able To End The TVS XL Legacy?

Honda launched the Cliq utility scooter in India. Will the Cliq be able to hammer the final nail the coffin of the TVS XL?

By Stephen

Updated: Thursday, July 13, 2017, 9:51 [IST]

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India yesterday launched the Cliq scooter. Aimed at the rural customer, the utility scooter from Honda is priced at Rs 42,499, ex-showroom (Delhi) and sports a few segment-first features.

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Honda is the king of the hill in the scooter segment in India. It was the Honda Activa which re-shaped the scooter market in India from what it was in the days of geared scooters like the Bajaj Chetak, Priya, etc. to what it is now - flooded with gearless/variomatic scooters.

Honda Cliq Seems Set To Take On The TVS XL

The folks at Honda know very well that the Activa platform is a success in India and hence decided to base all their scooters on the same platform. As a result of that, most of Honda's scooters are based on the very same platform, and then once that was established, Honda decided to go funky on the Indian market, targeting different customers.

Honda gave us the Navi, which was, well, fun! It gave customers an all new experience, and now, Honda has launched the Cliq, which is based on the Navi, which itself was based on the Activa. So yes, the Cliq will be the same to ride and own as an Activa, what else is different then? The target market is!

Honda is targeting the rural customer with this scooter, as Honda has apparently found that most people residing in rural areas are loyal to the 100-125cc geared motorcycle segment. While these motorcycles are reliable and serve them well, they are not very utility friendly, to be honest. This gave Honda the reason to develop the Cliq - an India exclusive model.

Honda's strategy and reasoning seem logically right but then got us thinking, well, Honda might just have hammered in the final nail in the coffin of the TVS XL. It might have been intentional or unintentional, but that is what we feel the Cliq will do.

Honda did not specify the competitors to the Cliq, but most media houses immediately drew a comparison to the TVS Scooty Zest 110 as it seemed logical to compare one 110cc scooter with another. However, the Honda Cliq costs around Rs 4,000 lesser than the TVS Scooty Zest.

Is that enough to make a big difference? Well, it isn't just the price which makes a difference, but the target customer as well. It has been made very clear that the Cliq is targeted at rural customers looking for a scooter/moped, and this very segment is currently ruled by the TVS XL 100!

Most people in this generation, who have lived in urban areas and have never been on rural roads would probably not know if the existence of this moped. The TVS XL is the workhorse of the labouring class.

The moped is seen most of the time hauling luggage two, sometimes three times its size. Milkmen, farmers, small-scale shop suppliers and some restaurant home delivery services have all used this moped.

The TVS XL is a force to reckon with, as it has been around for decades. It first started off with a small 50cc two-stroke engine and got many upgrades over the years to be where it is today - powered by a 100cc, single cylinder, four-stroke engine.

What the XL offers, is bullet-proof reliability, excellent fuel efficiency, and the ability to survive in, well, almost any environment. It is a bare basic vehicle with, absolutely no comforts and yet it continues to reign in its segment because it has never had any considerable competition from anyone in its nearly two decades of existence.

With the Cliq though, Honda might just be able to achieve what no one else has been able to - take on the TVS XL directly. Now, let us get to the numbers and features.

The Honda Cliq has chunky off-road bias tyres, the XL comes with ribbed tyres, which basically has no grip at all. The Cliq uses a fan-cooled 109cc engine which is hidden under the body away from the elements, the XL on the other hand now comes with an air-cooled 99.7cc engine which is exposed to the elements. Though the Cliq has just 10cc more, it produces, 8bhp and 8.8Nm of torque, 3.7bhp and 3.3Nm more than the XL.

We have to remind ourselves that both of them are utility vehicles, so load hauling capacity matters more than outright acceleration and performance. Well, the footboard area on the Cliq is wider, longer and taller than the TVS XL. The Cliq also has an underseat storage bin, which the TVS XL does not, and Honda has gone a level up, as the Cliq comes with an optional 12V power outlet to charge mobile phones.

The TVS XL comes with a luggage carrier rack, and so does the Honda Cliq! So, your phone charges, with your lunch box by its side inside the storage bin, while you haul hay on the luggage rack and two sacks of rice up front on the footboard. How would you like that, Mr Farmer? Does the Cliq make more sense now?

Now, do not get me wrong, I am not against TVS, and the XL is a good moped. But, there is no doubt that TVS has not been paying enough attention to the XL, and has concentrated on other models. The harsh ride quality of the TVS XL had already caused a few people living in rural areas to change sides and buy Honda Activas.

Now, those who were thinking of buying the Activa have another option in hand, which, just might make more sense to them. The Cliq has more features than the TVS XL, and the TVS Scooty Zest, and costs nearly Rs 8,000 lesser than an Activa with basically the same engine and chassis but more utility.

16 years ago, the Honda Activa changed the way Indians looked at the Scooter Market, and now the Honda Cliq might just change the way Indians look at the utility scooter market. Are there disadvantages? Well, like all things in existence, yes there are.

The Price, for example, does make it cheaper to buy than the TVS Scooty Zest, Honda Activa and the same as the TVS Scooty Pep+. However, it does cost nearly Rs 8,000 more than the TVS XL.

Other than the price, I do not see any disadvantages to it, as Hondas are very reliable and they do have a good service network even in rural areas. Even fuel efficiency is almost the same.

DriveSpark Thinks!
Those in rural areas looking to buy an Activa will find the Cliq to be a better proposition, since it is cheaper. Those looking to buy the TVS XL will find that for just Rs 8,000 more, they will be able to get the performance, reliability and comfort of an Activa combined with greater utility than the TVS XL, and more features than both in one vehicle - The Honda Cliq.