Honda CB Hornet 160R has had a great start. Positioned above the CB Unicorn 160, the Hornet with its sporty styling was meant to appeal to a younger audience. And it seems to have worked. The Hornet 160R sold 13,135 units in January 2016. Honda’s other offering in the segment, the CB Unicorn 160 on the other hand, only sold 52 units. Our dealer sources say that walk-ins to the showrooms have increased post the Hornet launched. But, there are others who walk into showrooms for the Unicorn 160 but end up buying the Hornet 160R instead just because it looks much better. The Hornet is almost Rs 7,500 more expensive the Unicorn 160.
The Unicorn 160R hasn’t been popular with the masses since its launch. It did sell well initially solely on the Unicorn brand name. But, as word got around that the 160 isn’t as comfortable or easy to ride as the Unicorn 150, the demand has been falling. So much so that dealers had started demanding the Unicorn 150 over the 160 and therefore Honda brought the 150 back announcing its launch at the Auto Expo. The Unicorn 150 has already started reaching dealerships which can only mean bad news for the Unicorn 160. As for the Hornet, it has taken Honda two brands – Dazzler and Trigger – and many years to get it right, but the hardwork seems to be paying off!
Read the first ride review of the Honda CB Hornet 160R
Read the first ride review of the Honda CB Unicorn 160
We also have a very interesting comparison test of the Honda CB Hornet 160R with the Bajaj Pulsar AS 150, Suzuki Gixxer and the Yamaha FZ-S 2.0.
