Car review8 min read1 view
Updated 11 November 2026 · Written by the Wahanaya.lk team
The Honda Dio is a 110cc automatic scooter that suits short city and suburban commutes in Sri Lanka, with owners reporting 45-55 km/l, wide Honda parts and service access, and strong resale, but it has drum brakes only and feels underpowered two-up on hills.
Honda Dio
A cheap-to-run, widely serviced commuter scooter that suits one or two short city trips a day, not hilly two-up or highway riding.
Advertised pricesRs. 465,000 – Rs. 545,000242 ads for 2016–2026 models in the last 12 months
The Honda Dio is a 110cc automatic scooter built for short, stop-start city and suburban commutes in Sri Lanka. Owners report 45-55 km/l, parts and service are available almost everywhere Honda is sold, and resale is strong because it is one of the country's best-selling scooters. It is not the right bike for regular two-up hill riding or long highway runs.
It suits anyone doing a daily commute of a few kilometres to work, school runs, or short errands in town, and it's a common first bike for new and smaller riders because of its light weight and low seat height. It is also a familiar choice for light delivery work in towns and suburbs, where stop-start traffic and easy parking matter more than top speed. It is less suited to riders who regularly carry a passenger over hilly routes, or who need to cover long distances on the open road — motorguide.lk's review notes the Dio is built for city use rather than sustained highway speeds.
Fuel is the main running cost, and it's where the Dio does well. Owner-reported figures put it at 45-55 km/l, which is typical for Sri Lanka's best-selling commuter scooter and keeps weekly fuel spend low even with today's pump prices.
The annual revenue licence is cheap compared with a car. In the Western Province it's a flat Rs 540 regardless of engine size or age, plus the mandatory Rs 1,500 emission test, for about Rs 2,040 if you renew before it expires — figures confirmed as of November 2026 by induwara.lk, citing the Western Province DMT schedule. Other provinces set their own Provincial Council rates, so check with your local Divisional Secretariat or DMT office before you budget.
Spare parts are inexpensive and widely stocked. Shantha Motors lists Dio parts starting from around Rs 550, with items like brake shoes around Rs 700, accelerator cables around Rs 1,500 and a front mudguard around Rs 3,500. Genuine parts and authorised service are available through Honda's own motorcycle parts counters in Boralesgamuwa, Colombo 10 and Ja-Ela, and through the wide network of private garages that work on Hondas across the island — parts and labour for this model are rarely hard to find, even outside Colombo.
You'll also need motor insurance; at minimum, third-party cover is a legal requirement for every registered vehicle in Sri Lanka, with comprehensive cover optional on top.
This catches a lot of buyers out. Sri Lanka's Class A1 licence is for light motorcycles up to 100cc, and Class A covers anything over 100cc. The Dio's 109.2cc engine is just over that line, so you need a full Class A licence, not the lighter A1 that many assume covers "small" scooters. The minimum age for either class is 18, and you'll need to pass a theory test, a practical riding test and a medical clearance through the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT) to get it.
The Dio has a reputation as a reliable, low-maintenance scooter, and most of what owners report are wear items rather than design faults:
None of these are expensive or unusual for a scooter of this type, and a Honda-familiar mechanic anywhere in the country will recognise them immediately. Sticking to the recommended service schedule — short intervals in the first year, then roughly every few thousand kilometres — keeps the CVT and fuel system in good condition and avoids most of the above showing up early.
The Dio has been sold in Sri Lanka since 2007 and has gone through several updates. The most recent generation (around 2023 onward) switched to PGM-FI fuel injection and is OBD-2B emission compliant, with USB-C charging, an external fuel lid and a pass switch — worth paying a little more for if you're buying new or nearly new, since fuel-injected models are generally easier to keep passing emission tests. It's sold in STD and DLX grades; DLX adds an LED headlamp and digital console over the STD's analogue meter and halogen light, per srilankamotorcycle.com.
Honda also sells the separate Dio 125, a bigger-engined sibling with more power — don't confuse the two when comparing listings, since it's a different model with different running costs, not just a trim level of the 110cc Dio covered in this review.
Older, carburetted Dios are cheaper secondhand but are worth a careful pre-purchase check of the CVT belt, rollers and starter, since high-mileage examples are common on the used market. Always verify the chassis and engine numbers against the CR book before buying — see our safety tips for a fuller checklist.
Demand stays firm because the Dio has long been the country's top-selling scooter, holding a large share of the local scooter market. That popularity keeps both new and used demand high, which generally supports resale compared with less common scooter brands. Exact asking prices move with import duty changes and the general vehicle market, so check current listings and recent sale prices on our price check tool rather than relying on an old figure, and browse current stock on /vehicles before you buy.
For town and suburban riding, yes — its light kerb weight and low seat height make it easy to handle in traffic and tight parking, a point echoed in local reviews. Its 10-inch wheels and drum-only brakes, with no front disc option even on the DLX, are worth bearing in mind on faster roads or badly potholed stretches, where a bigger-wheeled scooter or a disc brake gives more margin. It isn't built for sustained highway speeds or loaded two-up hill climbs — reviewers are consistent that this is a city commuter first.
Good:
Bad:
There's no published Sri Lanka-specific theft data for this model, but popular scooters are common targets anywhere, so use a steering lock or disc lock when parking in town, keep your CR book and ownership documents secure, and note down your chassis and engine numbers. If you're selling, list it properly with clear photos and your documents in order — our guide to posting an ad covers what buyers look for. If you're financing one, our leasing calculator will show you a rough monthly payment before you commit.
Got a specific year or grade you're deciding between? Ask in the Wahanaya forum — other owners there can tell you what their Dio has actually needed over the years.
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