TVS Jupiter: In the bustling sprawl of India’s ever-expanding mega-cities, where function frequently wins out over form and sensible practicality often reigns supreme, TVS Motor Company has introduced the newest face of its popular Jupiter scooter.
This comprehensive update to one of India’s most popular family two-wheelers arrives at something of a watershed moment when rising fuel prices and changing expectations are causing a rethink of how middle-class India looks at its commuting preferences.
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TVS Jupiter Customer-Directed Evolution
The Jupiter has developed a cult following, if you will, for being a thinking man’s scooter – something that a consumer buys after weighing out the pros and cons, rather than an impulse purchase.
TVS appears to know this positioning all too well and therefore, with this update, chooses to make significant changes, rather than just cosmetic ones.
“We spent close to two years getting into deep-dive interviews with our own Jupiter customers across cities,” says Aniruddha Haldar, Senior Vice President, Marketing at TVS Motor Company, at the launch event in Chennai.
“Their input informed our development priorities, free from fuel efficiency to storage solutions and the comfort.”
This ‘customer first’ mentality is clear from the new model changes. Although the overall shape is still JUPE, details are adjusted to the use of middle-class families.
Functional Design That does Its Job
This new look is a balance between looks and functionality. A more pronounced line has been added to the front apron, and the LED headlights are new design, improving visibility and ensuring a more distinctive look on the road.
The lines of the side panels integrate more fluidly to the back with newly designed LED tail lights that increase safety, with greater illumination.
With a choice of seven colours, including the new ‘Pristine White’ and ‘Majestic Copper’, the Jupiter is colourful enough to satisfy a range of tastes but without getting so wacky that it stops appealing to its target audience.
“An average middle class consumer replaces his/her car every 5-7 years,” says Shubhabrata Marmar, an auto analyst.
“TVS has made sure not to go overboard with modern-day trendy features that can start looking outdated too soon and has given the bike timeless appeal that will last throughout its ownership cycle.”
Most revealing of all, though, the new Jupiter includes several design elements that were, literally, by popular request from current owners.
The floorboard is revised with a small centre hump that results in natural resting positions for all riders and it also features raised edges to keep water out during monsoon season – a small detail that tells you about their attention to practicality, even in little details like these.
TVS Jupiter Engineered For The Money Savvy
Topping it off, and beneath its new skin, it gets a new 110cc motor which is a clear indication of TVS understanding of the need and want of the middle-class customer.
The air-cooled, SOHC four-stroke engine provides inspiring performance and gets great fuel efficiency in typical Honda fashion, while the three-valve cylinder head design offers plenty of low-end torque without losing rev potential.
TVS claims a healthy 62 kmpl under test conditions, while real world efficiency varies between 55-58 kmpl, depending on the condition of the road and load being put on it.
For a family who would cover 50-60 kilometers a day in morning and evening hours, these are significant savings month on month on an already stretched household budget.
The company has managed to get to this level of efficiency through a number of technical refinements:
Highly refined combustion chamber design Over 10 senses to measure combustion quality_definedult for durable engine internals_COMPLETE_(by Sailesh)
Less friction than any other bearing materials by improved material and design.
Eco-mode changes air/fuel mapping and delivery to reduce consumption when cruising at steady speeds
Refined CVT tuning to keep the engine in its ideal powerband at all speeds
Output numbers are, of course, still good for the class – 7.9 horsepower and 8.8 Nm of torque – and it seems the focus has more so been on smoothness than outright punch.
The engine fires right up in cold weather and pulls cleanly from low rpm, works for things like working through gas-a-geddens and two-up riding on hills.
The Little Things That Matter
Where the new Jupiter really resonates with middle class sensibilities is in its well-integrated feature suite.
Instead of cramming the scooter with technology for the sake of having features, TVS has focused on adding features that solve real issues that users face on a regular basis graduated.
Storage – a hot topic for families like us who use scooters for everything from the school run to doing the morning food shop and I love that they’ve combined under-seat storage with a front glove compartment giving them a large 33 litres total.
The former has a phone holder and USB charging port built in, obviating the need for am aftermarket fix those often are bulky and ugly, and can strangle the electrics of the bike.
The seat has been completely re-invented with room for two full size adults to sit comfortably for hours at a time – and the size of the cockpit reflects the fact that this is the typical number of adults in many Australian households.
B8 The new seat is a dual-tine design that employs variable-density foam, softer on the surface to accommodate a wider variety of riders while providing firmer support at the seat base to support more of the rider’s weight.B8 The seat is 35mm longer to accommodate taller riders.
“When for a family that spends 90 minutes on their scooter, comfort isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity!” says Meghashyam Dighole, Head of Marketing, TVS Motor Company’s Scooters.
“The literal physical tiredness you get from sitting in a rickety car is going to translate directly to your work and overall satisfaction with life.”
Technology That Serves, Rather Than Overwhelms
A parallelism is evident in the instrument organization as well. The new half digital-half analogue console is informative, with the analog speedo backed with the digital screen providing information such as fuel level, odometer, twin trip meters and service reminders.
Higher trims add Bluetooth support to receive call and message alerts via the TVS SmartXonnect system.
Safety aspects include simultaneous brake system (SBT) that distributes braking forces both to front and rear wheels, an optional disk brake at the front wheel.
The entire interior lighting is now LED contributing to easier visuality of the interior and less power draw on the electrical system.
[embedded content] Perhaps most impressively, TVS has even implemented a start-stop feature akin to the kind found in premium cars – the engine turns off after three seconds at idle and fires back up as soon as the throttle is twisted. Just that feature alone can result in as much as 8% fuel savings in packed urban traffic.
TVS Jupiter Value Proposition and Market Impact
TVS Jupiter With a price tag ranging between ₹69,750 to ₹81,300 (ex-showroom) based on the variant chosen, the new Jupiter is now playing in the higher end of 110cc scooter segment keeping it affordable for the target audience and yet making it a premium prospect.
This pricing approach appreciates the balanced number crunching most middle class prospective car buyers tend to perform.
The entry level model meets the basic needs at a competitive price and some of the more expensive trims can be considered options that a more affluent customer might be willing to pay for.
TVS has also launched a 5-year extended warranty scheme at a modest premium – mitigating risk today is a key middle-class purchase paranoia, and no middle-class person can ignore a financial commitment on wheels.
With Indian mobility changing, and consumer aspirations soaring, the Jupiter’s intelligent mix of efficiency, utility and controlled modernisation makes for a good case for middle-class families wanting transport that’s considerate of practical requirements, and financial constraints.
