TVS is known for producing good quality products although they are late in launching them. Putting together anything with precision takes a lot of time and planning which we think everyone agrees too. Ask any TVS customer and they will tell you how satisfied they are with it, of course there are always some who aren’t lucky when it comes to dealership and service satisfaction, which TVS still needs to work on.
TVS launched the all new Jupiter scooter earlier this week and initial impressions on paper look smashing for the customer and a smash onto the competitors. The standout point of the Jupiter is it styling. The TVS Jupiter does have styling inspired from its competition but the neat touches differentiate it and are worth an applause. With subtle choice of colour pattern used all around, the scooter definitely looks male oriented and sportier than the Wego. Although in reality that does not matter much.
Everyone in the family rides scooters, so the styling has to please everyone, this is where the TVS Jupiter comes in. We see male oriented scooters driven by women every single day, but TVS says 36% of the scooter segment is male dominated, hence the Jupiter is made to target the ideal man. A man who has a small time business, runs everywhere with a lot of load and needs ruggedness. Finally at the end of the day, comfort is his top priority, when he uses the scooter for his family and personal needs.
The Jupiter is based on the Wego platform, which pretty much says it all. When we recently tested the Wego (front disc variant), we were impressed with its ride and handling balance and its immaculate balance on bad roads when the throttle was open wide, it was truly up there, with competition with the same hardware (read telescopic front suspension). The mileage figures were too on the top returning 49 km/l in city conditions and 54 km/l on the highway. The engine on the Jupiter has been further reworked. Changes to the transmission, lesser friction in the engine should make it far more economical. Which shows too, km/l numbers are going northwards from 60 km/l to 62 km/l.
The TVS Jupiter competes with the largest selling scooter, the Honda Activa, which is running with decade old suspension, small wheels and tyres which offer it average dynamics. However Honda still rules the scooter segment. Reason is the blind faith which our fellow citizens have on Honda, which the Japanese automaker misuses openly by charging even more than the competition just for the badge (the Activa costs more than the Jupiter although the latter has way more features).
Fuel efficiency figures, which are quoted by Honda, are never met, not even on the highway. On top of that, Honda’s sales and service is not that great either. We witness several cases through various ways of communication saying the service is pathetic and people are being charged enormous amounts of money with virtually and mentally no work and problems being resolved. We have been Honda customers for the past six years and we have witnessed it all. With all the first in class convenient features which the Jupiter has, we find no reason why the Jupiter won’t be as big a success as the planet itself for the Hosur based company.
