TVS Jupiter: Long Term Review, fleet introduction

Easily the most sought after long term vehicles, are the glamorous ones. It’s not till it becomes a part of your daily routine, do you realise the responsibility it comes with. For instance, getting a covered, tamper proof, well located parking spot for your vehicle is much more challenging than the sound of it. If you live in a metro like Mumbai, getting any kind of parking is a mix of skill and luck. And since the other long term vehicles in our garage include heavy weights like the Tata Sumo Gold, it was a welcome change, to get the Jupiter for a while. 

And now when I combat city traffic, I have fewer things to worry about. Firstly, there’s no clutch or gear. So all that I need to do is accelerate, control the brakes and whiz past traffic. At my beck and call is a 110-cc, single cylinder, air-cooled engine which is mated to a variomatic transmission. The smooth unit produces a decent 8PS and 8Nm of power and torque, and has good low and mid-range performance. The top speed is almost 90 kmph which is more than what I could ask for in the city. The Jupiter employs 130-mm drum brakes on both the wheels, which provide good stopping power. I would have loved to have a disc brake, but that’s not an option as of now. 

TVS claim that the Jupiter’s fuel efficiency is 62 kmpl and there’s even an ‘Econometer’ light on the information panel, which helps keep the throttle input in check for getting the best fuel efficiency. With telescopic fork and gas-charged shock-absorbers with coil springs tuned to offer supple ride quality. It’s a comfortable scooter with wide and extremely soft seat that sail over bad stretches of road but the soft-setup compromises handling and is not as sharp around corners.

For a humble scooter, the attention to detail is impressive. It’s evident in the quality of paint, the panels; the stitches on the seat and on the quality of switchgear — all of which give the Jupiter a premium feel. Its long list of features includes pilot lamps, and the headlight switch has a pass-light function, a first in scooters. The Jupiter also sports a large underseat storage space, handy rear brake lock on the brake lever, a keyhole lock to prevent tampering with the ignition. An additional feature is that the external fuel filler is located above the tail-lamp, so that I don’t have to dismount at the petrol pumps.

The TVS Jupiter has been with us for just a couple of weeks and already it has become our preferred mode of transport within the city. I don’t have to pamper it with exclusive parking spots and it allows me to go about town without drawing unnecessary attention which a fancy car or bike might do. First world issues, I tell you.