For years, we’ve been patiently waiting for Honda Philippines to bring in its other offerings. You know, the ones outside of the Clicks and the Beats and the ADVs and the PCXs. We’ve always wanted the quirky retro bikes, especially after the Scoopy left the market for good.
Honestly, I never thought the day would come, but here we are: the Giorno+ is officially in the Philippines. It’s not exactly the Scoopy—the Giorno is bigger and more expensive—but it does fill in a gap of sorts in HPI’s stable.
Recently, we were able to take it out for a proper spin. I already wrote about my first impressions of it and even shared the story of our Binondo ride with Honda’s newest scoot, but this time, we’re here for the full review.
Styling
The Giorno+ is the clean retro scooter I’ve truly been waiting for from Honda. The Scoopy was nice, while the Genio was a bit too flashy. The Giorno, meanwhile, has that classy look that none of the other currently available Hondas have. Both the front and rear ends look balanced. Nothing too busy. Just right.
The solid colorways work in the bike’s favor. While I would’ve liked to get the Virgin Beige or the Pearl Jubilee White, the Matte Gunpowder Black Metallic still looked good. It matches nicely with the brown seat, the silver trim, and the chrome bits around the bike.
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The saddle
This seat exceeded my expectations. I’ve ridden a few Honda scooters already at this point, and their seats were decent. The Giorno’s saddle, though, was excellent. There’s thick cushioning, and while it does make the scooter a bit harder to straddle, it helps absorb bumps on the road. I rode through varying road conditions—including a stroll through Taft Avenue—so I was able to truly test its performance. But more on that later.
About the straddling part, though, it has a listed 780mm or 30.1-inch seat height, but it felt taller. That’s because of the wide saddle. It surprisingly had me tiptoeing. I already mentioned this in my initial article, but I’ll say it again—while it wasn’t an issue for me, it’s something shorter or newbie riders should take note of.
Engine performance
Powering the Giorno+ is a 125cc liquid-cooled four-valve single-cylinder engine that puts out 11.39hp at 8,750rpm and 11.6Nm of torque at 5,250rpm. It’s not much on paper, but I can attest that the two extra valves make a difference. It still won’t give you a lot of power on the top end, because there’s still no replacement for displacement, but it feels very peppy on the low range. And that’s where you’ll mostly be in the rev range, anyway, especially if you ride in the metro.
I wasn’t able to ride with an OBR, but since I weigh just as much as two average-sized Filipinos, I’m sure its performance won’t suffer much with two reasonably sized people astride the scooter.
As far as fuel economy goes, though, I got a little lower than the claimed 47km/L figures. After several days with the Giorno+, I got about 40km/L. Not bad since again, I’m equivalent to the weight of two people, and I wasn’t exactly easy on the throttle during my rides.
Ride and handling
As I mentioned earlier, the ride is pretty good. But I really do think the comfort has more to do with the seat than it does with the suspension. There’s some vibration on the handlebar when you’re riding, significantly more than what you feel on the seat.
The actual riding position is what you’d expect with a scooter. What’s noticeable, though, is that the floorboard is a bit high. Not as high than, say, a Kymco Like 125, but higher than what I recall with the Beat or even the old Scoopy.
While it won’t corner as hard because it does have small 12-inch wheels, it’s pretty easy to maneuver still. For filtering through gridlock in the city, this will be an ideal ride.
Extra features
The Giorno+ isn’t loaded in terms of extra amenities, meaning it doesn’t have ABS, traction control, and a high-tech head unit. But it does have the basics covered. There’s a smart keyless ignition, a combi-brake system, an idling start/stop system (though I never used it), and a clear and crisp display on the cluster that contains important trip information and gauges.
There’s also a sizeable compartment under the seat, chunky grab bars at the rear, and a hook above the floorboard as standard. It also looks like it’s easy to accessorize, because the design makes for a good blank canvas. I can imagine leather bags at the back, a foldable rail up front, and aftermarket side mirrors could help spruce up the look. Once we start seeing more of these on the road, surely, we’ll see more build ideas then.
Verdict
The Giorno+ is now the retro bike in HPI’s lineup, but it’s no Scoopy. If you compare this to the Scoopy, the Giorno feels a bit expensive at P101,900. I can’t argue with that.
But take this for what it is, and you’ll realize that it’s a darn good deal for this scooter. You might not get all the bells and whistles, but you do get a decent four-valve engine with something comfy to ride and easy to weave through the city.
But more than anything, its biggest proposition, for me, is its styling. It’s just a looker. The fact that you get all the other good things with it just makes it an even more enticing package.
SPECS: Honda Giorno+ 2025
Price: P101,900
Engine: 125 cc air-cooled, single-cylinder, four-valve
Power: 11.39hp @ 8,750rpm
Torque: 11.6 Nm @ 5,250rpm
Wet weight: 116 kg
Seat height: 780 mm (30.7 inches)
Fuel-tank capacity: 5.4 liters
Score: 9/10
More photos of the 2025 Honda Giorno+:
