Vietnam’s cheapest new Honda and its most expensive 125-class underbone share a gearbox layout and not much else. Honda VN publishes both specification sets (retrieved 23 September 2026); here is the honest comparison.
Engines and gearboxes
Wave Alpha: 109.2 cc, air-cooled, 6.12 kW at 7,500 rpm, 8.44 Nm at 5,500 rpm. Super Cub C125: 123.9 cc, air-cooled, 6.87 kW at 7,500 rpm, 10.15 Nm at 5,000 rpm. Both are four-gear semi-automatics you shift with your left foot and no clutch lever - the easiest format for new riders in Vietnamese traffic.
Economy and weight
Alpha: 1.72 L/100 km, 3.7-litre tank, 96 kg. Cub: 1.55 L/100 km, 3.7-litre tank, 109 kg. The Cub is slightly thriftier and noticeably heavier - pushing it into a tight parking slot takes more effort than the Alpha.
Comfort
Cub: 780 mm seat, 1,243 mm wheelbase, 1,910 mm long. Alpha: 770 mm seat, 1,224 mm wheelbase, 1,913 mm long. The Cub’s longer wheelbase gives it a more settled ride; the Alpha is the definitive lightweight workhorse.
The verdict
At 18,841,091 VND list versus 88,353,813 VND, the Alpha is transport and the Cub is a design icon - the closest thing on two wheels to a premium scooter purchase, as our Cub versus Future 125 comparison shows. For rental use the answer is simple: the Wave class is our price-published group at 150,000 VND per day, and it is almost always an Alpha-class machine on the counter. Contact us to confirm current availability.