2017 Honda Cliq review, test ride

India is quite set in its ways when it comes to anything two-wheeled – find a formula that works and squeeze every ounce out of it. Of course, Honda's immensely successful formula that is the Activa has spawned yet another derivative. It's supposed to be rugged, low cost and allow for heaps of practicality. The bonus here is that it is fresh, hip and comes with unique styling, a move that Honda has pulled off before with the Navi. While the Navi isn't as resounding a success story as the Activa, its quirky styling has won quite a few hearts. The Cliq, a quirky derivative of the Activa, is targeted at rural markets dominated by Hero commuter motorcycles. Honda is eyeing a slice of the rural India pie and intends to use the Cliq for just that.

The Cliq has a fresh-looking design and embodies some elements from the Navi. It's quite chunky with a large front apron that rises high and sports a boxy headlight. Above that sits a forward-jutting contour that shields the speedometer. The wide speedo console houses a large analogue speedometer, a trip meter and a fuel gauge. The handlebar sits just behind that and has a large plastic case that shrouds the bolt-on to the forks. The handlebar switches and mirrors, again borrowed from the Navi, feel quite basic. There's a nice, flat floorboard with a satisfactory amount of knee space; an extra storage box is available as an accessory that fits along the Cliq's central spine.

The seat is large and wide and is 743mm high, which would be ideal for shorter riders as well. Underseat storage is reasonably good, with a USB charging point that comes as standard fitment. There's also the Navi-inspired circular theme which runs along the side. Behind the seat is a simple but tough-looking tubular metal grab handle that has four points for hooking stuff. Additionally, a carrier can be installed as an optional accessory. Overall, though, the plastics used on Cliq don't seem to be of the best quality.

The Cliq's design bears a stark resemblance to the larger Maxi scooter genre that hasn't made it to India yet. The Cliq is shorter and narrower than the Activa or Activa i. Honda points out that the scooter is quite light at 102kg, which makes it 6kg lighter than the standard Activa and almost on par with the 101kg Navi. Interestingly, the fuel tank capacity is just 3.5 litres, which is smaller than the Navi's 3.8 litres and substantially less than the Activa's 5.3-litre tank. As such, we expect the Cliq's travel range to be quite limited.

Considering that the Cliq is targeting at riders in rural markets, Honda is pushing it as a rugged product and offering it with new block-pattern tyres from Ceat. These are tubeless tyres which offer good levels of grip on the road as well as off it. Our test ride involved some amount of riding on shallow sand and the tyres performed rather well, only losing traction after getting some decent lean angles. Even this is quite manageable as the Cliq's light weight means it's easy to kick upright again.