Text & Photos: Bhargav TS
After targeting men by launching the ‘Jupiter,’ TVS Motor Company is back with the ‘Scooty Zest’ to attract the fair sex. The newly launched Scooty Zest has been developed after intensive research based on the inputs given by its target audience, with lots of new components in it to attract young women riders. TVS Motors launched the first Scooty 20 years ago in 1993 and over a period of time the Scooty has received minor styling changes and new colour schemes to look more attractive.
Automatic scooters are increasingly being preferred by commuters owing to the ease of riding and the extra space offered by them. The scooter segment in India has been seeing tremendous growth in the last few years and this is evident from the fact that the Honda Activa briefly became the best-selling 2-wheeler in the Indian market. Normally, scooters are preferred by female riders and to address this customer need TVS Motor has put in much effort to bring out the new Scooty Zest 110.
In the front, the apron gets a new styling with what TVS calls twilight lamps, with the manufacturer’s logo sitting just below the headlamp. The Zest gets a new headlamp for better visibility and also to not trouble the opposite vehicle drivers. The body coloured rear view mirror gets a leaf shaped new design. High quality grips and nicely painted switches are in place, and there’s also a useful parking brake. The boomerang shaped rear blinkers extending onto the side panels give a better look when compared to the older Scooty. The rear of the Zest 110 gets new LED tail lamps, also a smart-looking grab rail and a new compact muffler with a stainless steel guard.
The instrument panel is big with a white background, easy to read, with speedometer, odometer and fuel-gauge, along with a TVS trademark econometer in place to help riders get the best mileage from the scooter. Also to assist efficiency, there’s an idling indicator that lights up whenever the scooter has idled for a long time when stationary. As the new Scooty Zest targets female riders, the company has provided low seat height at 760mm making the low, upright posture well-suited to city commuting. It feels like a light scooter, weighing in at 97kg, significantly lower than the Jupiter at 108kg and Wego at 104kg. As the entire weight of the vehicle is less, it facilitates easy use of centre stand at ease. The easy to deploy patented E-Z centre-stand is borrowed from the Jupiter and Wego.
The floorboard is large and there’s good distance between the seat and the handlebar enhancing the feel of roominess. It also has a 19 litre space under the seat which TVS claims is the largest in the segment and offers more storage space in the form of an open glove box, retractable bag hooks and under-seat hooks. Below the instrument console, the Scooty Zest features an open glove box, with enough space to hold a 1 litre bottle and keep some groceries.
Like the 2014 TVS Wego, the Zest has also got the all black engine with the compact muffler fitted with a stainless steel guard. Powering the Zest 110 is the same 109.7 single cylinder CVTi air cooled block which also powers the Wego and Jupiter. This engine churns out 8PS @ 7500 RPM and 8.7 Nm of twisting force @ 5500 RPM. The engine sits in a light new frame, which brings in both performance as well as economy.
Once the engine is started, it idles very smoothly. The engine is refined even at 60 kmph and the manufacturer claims that the Zest sprints to 60 kmph from standstill in about 11 seconds, which is quick in the scooter segment. The smooth engine, along with the low kerb weight, endows the Zest with a good power to weight ratio, making it a peppy machine to ride with crisp throttle response. As the vehicle is positioned for female customers, speed is not the first priority, instead the vehicle has to perform well at low speeds with good ride quality.
The Zest is equipped with the telescopic front suspension and the hydraulic monoshock rear spring suspension. The suspension has been tweaked specifically for the Scooty Zest 110 and it takes care of bumps and uneven surfaces fairly well. Both the wheels have drum brakes- the rear 130 mm units complementing very good stopping power and braking confidence. The Scooty Zest is a stable scooter to ride, and runs 10-inch steel rims front and rear, with tubeless tyres offering adequate road grip. The front wheel comes with a chunky 90/100 section, with 90/90 unit at rear. The reason behind providing a taller profile on the front tubeless tyre is to offer better control for the chassis stance.
In order to support female riders the new Scooty Zest is equipped with some features that include low-resistance throttle, an auto-choke system that makes cold starts easy, and there’s even a side-stand down warning indicator. As the new Scooty Zest 110 is a performance oriented vehicle it also attracts men as well. TVS has competitively priced the scooter at Rs 42,300/ (ex-showroom New Delhi). By providing good power, ride and handling, features and efficiency, TVS Motor Company has managed to bring in yet another vehicle that can create a niche in the crowed scooter segment.
