Two major bike makers, once on the same side when they dominated the two-wheeler industry in India. Today, the two are competing trying to have an edge over each other. They are fighting for the 100-110cc segment. The 110cc segment is important, as there are many from the 100cc bandwidth who will be looking at jumping to this segment. There shall be many new young buyers who will be looking at getting more buyers into their brand. The Honda Livo, which went out to win our Commuter Bike of the Year last year, goes head-to-head with the new Hero Splendor iSmart 110. The latter is an all new bike with a new heart as well. Which one is the winner? We share our detailed comparison of the Hero Splendor iSmart 110 vs Honda Livo.
The Splendor is well, very much the same in design. It is slender with a slick fuel tank. The bike cannot look too different from the existing Splendor family. The iSmart 110 has dual tone colours, black alloy wheels. It does look stylish. The design is appealing and it does look premium than other Splendors. The paint quality has seen a major improvement as well. On the other hand, the Livo looks premium. The design has stylish looking fuel tank with the extensions that makes it seem bigger than the other 110cc bikes. The Honda does stand out in the crowd of 110cc bikes. At the same time, it even has the sophistication touch.
When you seat on the two bikes, the Livo has a chunky grip on the throttle. This again makes it seem like a bigger bike. The built of the Splendor is more sturdy as there is more metal, while a lot of elements on the Livo are fibre. The Livo’s seat is softer and more comfortable, but iSmart ’s seat is longer and can seat two giving more space.
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Both the bikes have a 110cc engine, however they are so different in characteristics. To begin with the Honda Livo. This 110cc engine is just butter smooth. A highly refined engine with minimal noise from it. This engine is super smooth and so easy to ride. The need to shift gears isn’t much. The gear shifts are seamless. The power is just fine for a 110cc motorbike.
On the other hand, the iSmart’s engine is noisy and loud when you ride. The refinement factor isn’t that good on this bike. What is good is the power, the punch. The bike pulls cleanly from almost any engine speed and it does feel more powerful than most of the 110cc motorcycles. Then it even gets the iSmart technology. How does it work? Lets see if you are a red signal waiting for it to turn green. 5 seconds after you leave the clutch in neutral, the engine switches off. It starts off again when you press the clutch. The engine response to restart is immediate without any delays. This helps to improve the mileage. Now, if you don’t like to do that, you can switch it off with a button.
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The call here is close, however the Honda Livo inches ahead. The Splendor returns close to 60 km/l, while the Livo has about 62 km/l in our testing.
The Splendor gets auto headlamp, iSmart technology on it. While the Livo offers a front disc brake. The Livo will also get auto headlamp soon as per the new regulations from April 2017. The iSmart doesn’t get a disc brake yet.
The Splendor is certainly a better deal than the Livo as it is about INR 4,000 cheaper. The bike has good performance, ride and comfort too.