Visit any city in Europe or Asia and you’ll find yourself inundated by scooters. In Rome and Paris, for example, they basically dominate traffic and, if you’re on foot, you ignore them at your peril.

Everyone rides them—from shopping grannies to students, and artsy-fartsy hipsters to A-to-B commuters.

It isn’t hard to understand why. They’re affordable, reliable, easily managed, and fun to ride, and they have a small carbon footprint. They’re the ultimate city transport, with fuel economy that’s off the charts.

Yet, like small-displacement diesel engines and hot hatchbacks, they remain marginal in North America. Of course, some people buy them, but truth be told, the smaller ones are flat-out dangerous, with lousy braking ability, virtually nonexistent handling, and laughable performance. When I see full-size adults creeping alongside the curb on 50-cc machines—or, worse yet, electric scooters—I see tragedy in the making. Main thoroughfares like, oh, Granville or Oak streets are deathtraps for small scooters, in my opinion.

But you don’t have to be a regular inhabitant of the slow lane when you’re on your scooter. Honda, for example, sells a range of models that actually have some get-up-and-go, with exceptional fuel economy and more than enough oomph to handle traffic.

Two that I’ve ridden lately are the PCX150 and the Forza.

The PCX150 first. With a 153-cc single-cylinder engine, this is one of the most popular scooters in the world. Like most, it has a continuously variable transmission, which means no shifting. Just get on, start it, point it in the direction you want to go, twist the throttle, and that’s it. Couldn’t be simpler.

Among other things, what makes the PCX150 so popular is the fact that it has larger-diameter wheels, which make a big difference when it comes to dealing with rough pavement and, to a point, handling. You can throw the PCX150 around with impunity and run it over curbs without hitting bottom—again, to a point. It’ll handle two adults—although things will be a bit snug and what little performance there is disappears—and there’s just enough cargo room under the seat for an extra helmet or a bag of groceries.

Best of all, you can take this one up to freeway speed—just. Flat out with the throttle cranked, it’ll touch about 100 kilometres per hour, give or take, but there will be no reserve power at that speed and, because of its light weight, it’ll get thrown around like a stuntman in a Steven Seagal movie when a truck passes. All things considered, stay off the freeway and use it around town.

Fuel economy is an estimated 2.3 litres per 100 kilometres, which is very thrifty indeed, and the PCX150 starts at about $3,900.

Moving on to the Forza. This is the kind of scooter favoured by ex-cruiser aficionados and over-the-hill Harley riders. It’s got a little bit of attitude, and you can put your feet up, highway-peg style, on the generous-sized floorboard. Suzuki makes a similar model known as the Burgman, and the Forza is the latest incarnation of Honda’s old Silver Wing. Probably less dorky too.

Power is ably provided by a 279-cc single-cylinder, again, mated to a CVT—in this case known as the Honda V-Matic. Like the PCX150, this is an uncomplicated machine to ride and accessible to anyone.

But where it parts company with its smaller stablemate is in performance. The Forza will manage highway traffic, no problem. It weighs some 190 kilos unladen, and with a rider aboard has enough heft to remain steady on the freeway. It’s no Gold Wing, but as far as scooters go it’s probably one of the most stable and well-planted models on the market. It can also be had with antilock brakes, which is a good thing, and an optional rear cargo box ($300).

The Forza will deliver around 3.4 litres per 100 kilometres and has enough storage room under the seat for a couple of helmets or two bags of groceries. There’s also a little glove compartment in the dash for smaller items like a cellphone or an MP3 player. Although it’s not as nimble or throwable as the PCX150, it’s much quicker and carries two adults, no sweat. It starts at about $5,400 for the 2014 model, and a revamp is apparently in the works for 2015.