All Tests – First Honda PCX test: the low cost scooter with a bang! – Like a fish in water

Honda PCX first test: the low cost scooter with fanfare !

All Tests - First Honda PCX test: the low cost scooter with a bang! - Like a fish in water

It was in Barcelona that Site was able to discover the new entry-level Honda 125 scooter, the PCX. Offered at a very attractive price, it offers very honest services with, in particular the Stop and Start system. First test … under the sun !

Like a fish in water

The PCX is particularly at ease in the city where it is incredibly easy to handle and easy: its lightness and its fine pneumatic mounting (90 mm at the front and 100 mm at the rear) give it unparalleled liveliness! Combined with an incredible turning radius and a rickety wheelbase (24 cm less than an Xmax 125!), This maneuverability makes it a hell of a tool in town !

Braking, correct, is at the height of performance but nothing more. Fortunately, the modest rear drum is compensated by a CBS rear brake control. Thus, when braking from the rear, one of the three pistons of the front brake caliper is also actuated. This gives appreciable stability when braking hard, avoiding large mass transfers to the front axle..

Very soflty

The very successful PCX engine greatly contributes to driving pleasure and general ease. If it only announces 11.3 hp (instead of 15 for the big names on the market), it also has much less weight to carry !

Fire starts are therefore punchy enough to set off in front of the flood of cars, then the acceleration (very linear) does not weaken up to 108 km / h meter. And again, our test model was far from being broken in since it totaled only 8 km at the start of the day. !

These performances make it possible to venture serenely on expressways like the peripherals, but one will avoid all even the freeways. The protection provided by the small smoke bubble is not extraordinary, but can be improved by typing in the Honda options catalog..

Stop and start

Besides the obvious ecological and financial interest due to the drop in consumption, the Honda "Stop and Start" system is very pleasant to use. It provides remarkable smoothness and silence in operation.

That the most conservative skeptics be reassured: the driver of the PCX is free to activate or not this function, thanks to a button located on the right handlebar. But in use, we will use it systematically as it is soothing! Stuck in the middle of the exhaust gases, we even say that this process should become mandatory, for cars as for two-wheelers. !

This Stop and Start is made possible thanks to the addition of an alternator-starter, already known on the Honda Zoomer 50 cc scooter. As its name suggests, this system acts as a starter and current generator at the same time. It also allows to take advantage of a more compact engine.

With confidence on the road

On the small, winding roads of Catalonia, the PCX is also doing very well. If it is a little firm suspension at the rear, it shows a reassuring handling.

The 14-inch wheels play for a lot in this climate of confidence, which would be even reinforced without the IRC pneumatic assembly delivered as standard … to be changed urgently before driving on wet cobbles. !

As for autonomy, the tiny 6.2-liter tank is fortunately compensated by a very low consumption: Honda announces an average of 2.2 l / 100 km, which would allow – theoretically – to travel 285 km with a full tank. We were unfortunately not able to verify this minimalist consumption, but after more than 80 km in Barcelona, ​​the gauge of the PCX had dropped by only two notches out of 9. So rather engaging, even if we know that the gauges are lower. rarely consistently…

Why spend more ?

With its PCX, Honda is proving that it is perfectly possible to produce an attractive and rewarding machine at an attractive price. This pretty scooter will delight the city user tired of traffic jams by its ease, its smooth operation and its very affordable price of € 2,390..

The Stop and Start system is the icing on this already very appetizing cake, giving it a little touch of originality and making its pilot a responsible eco-citizen. !

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