REFINEMENT
Like I said earlier, Honda makes some of the best engines in the world and the Activa's unit more than reaffirms our faith in Honda's prowess in this field.To top it all, the Activa raises refinement levels in this segment to new heights, such is the superiority of the entire package. The silky smooth transmission of power and the total lack of vibration either through the seat or the handle bars or the footboard is something to revel in. Even the engine note is perfectly tuned, never obtrusive but always there making sweet music. As a package, the Saffire is some way off the benchmark set by the Activa. At low speeds everything is hunky-dory but twist her open and the vibrations get a little too obtrusive. Through the seat, the handlebar and the footboard, vibrations reach discomforting levels. But then for city riding conditions,this will never be noticeable, with refinement levels at moderate speed being close to the Activa's.

The Kinetic Marvel comes very close to the Saffire and in fact atspeed, the Marvel feels the better of the two. But the same cannot be said of the Zoom, with vibrations there for the asking at anything over moderate speeds.

RIDE QUALITY
Lest we forget, let us reacquaint ourselves with the fact that these scoots are meant for our ladies first and foremost. So you don't want your lady cribbing about the terrible ride of her scoot and chewing your mind till you expire, do you?
The Honda Activa has the measure of the competition in terms of ride quality. Honda sure have done their homework well before launching the Activa and it shows in many areas, the ride quality being a principal area. The twin leading links up front and the single shock layout at the rear are ideally optimised to iron out most road imperfections and even small to medium potholes with minimal discomfort to the rider. The ground clearance of the Activa, the highest at 145mm, ensures that the bike never grounds out even on the tallest speed breaker. The handlebar-seat-floorboard optimisation has been achieved perfectly in the Activa and once astride one really marvels at the superb riding position.

The Saffire has been subjected to continuous improvements since it was launched, the most recent of which is the shift from the trailing link front suspension to full blown telescopic front forks as found on motorcycles. Damping at the front is excellent with the shoulders being totally isolated from road imperfections. The rear coil spring and shock absorber combo does a good job, though not as well as the unit on the Activa. Ground clearance at 136mm is adequate for seeing off most speedbreakers and assorted nonsense On the Roads. One aspect that spoils the riding experience of the Saffire is the horribly soft seat that gave me a sore derriere after barely a few kilometres.

The Marvel and the Zoom ZX utilize a bottom link front suspension while the rear makes do with a single shock unit. The superior chassis of the Marvel in addition to better optimised mounting points for the suspension componentry results in her being within shouting distance of the Honda and Bajaj when the going gets rough. The same cannot be said of the Zoom ZX though, the ride quality hasn't been improved by a twitch since 1987 when the first Kinetic Honda was launched. In this day the Zoom is left with no answer to the modern and significantly better competition. Over anything other than baby cheeks, your back is in for a hard time, a terrible time on even slightly broken roads. Also the ground clearance at 120mm isn't sufficient to clear some of the gigantic speedbreakers around. The handlebar-seat-floorboard optimisation also leaves some room for improvement, more so in the Zoom than on the Marvel.