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Replaced my TVS Jupiter with the facelift: What's better & what's not

25th April 2025, 09:36 by Deepankar Sadekar

The scooter will not start with the side stand, likewise, the scooter will automatically turn off if one applies the side stand.

BHPian vvivek85 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

We recently purchased the TVS Jupiter facelift 110CC in the month of January 2025 and below are my observations after riding it for a couple of weeks.

Positives

The scooter has a refreshed design, and it is a head-turner.

Under-seat storage can accommodate 2 helmets.

It has a good suspension setup and the ride is pleasant.

The seat length can accommodate a family of 3 with ease.

Designed for ultimate convenience,a front-positioned petrol tank for easy refueling. The front key slot provides seamless access to both the petrol tank cap and under-seat storage, ensuring hassle-free usability.

Negatives

The engine could be a bit more refined, far better than my earlier Jupiter, but still, I can feel the vibrations when it is idle.

Missing ABS, I feel it’s time ABS is made mandate even for below 150cc two-wheelers

TVS connect app, it is not seamless and has a long way to go.

A word of caution: My previous ride was a Jupiter 2016 model, and most of my comparisons could be with that vehicle.

Why there was a need of another scooter?

My usage of the scooter is within 3 to 5 km radius and at times will take to places like Triplicane, T Nagar where car parking is hard to find. My 2016 Jupiter was doing just fine and as in my car, I used to maintain my scooter as well with care by proper periodic service and I was in no mood to change. Sometime last year during June July time frame the facelifted 110 CC Jupiter was launched. The moment I saw the scooter, i liked the way it looked and what it offered, more importantly, the seat length was huge when compared to my 2016 Jupiter. I felt with my daughter growing that extra length is required for a short family run.

Options considered:

Maharaja of scooter, Honda Activa was out of the picture, they are the Marutis of 2010s (No offense to current owners) where absolutely no invention nor USP on offer, year on year only the word "G" gets updated to their scooter.

Suzuki access was briefly in the picture, it has a lengthy seat as well, my neighbour has one, it more or less looked like my current vehicle and lacked many nice-to-have features that the Jupiter offers

When should we get it?

Now that I decided to get it, my wife as well agreed with me on buying the new Jupiter. We decided to get it only in 2025, but in August 24 we went to Dhiraa TVS on a Sunday evening and we were immediately arranged with a test ride scooter, we rode for a brief 1 KM and liked it. Considering that I was planning to get only in 2025, I informed the sales person and put things on hold.

December 2024 - Booking experience:

The second week of December we went to Dhiraa TVS and rode both 110 CC and 125 CC, more on that please refer below.

The third week of December my wife, I, and my uncle (Who has retired from TVS) went to Dhiraa TVS on 21st December to book the vehicle, we finalized on Star Light (SL) Blue top end with disc and paid the booking amount of Rs 1K.

The scooter reached the yard in the week of January 13th, considering that the whole week it was a government holiday due to the Pongal festival, I was informed registration could happen only on 20th January. On January 13th, we went to the showroom and made the balance payment of Rs 1,12,160.

Delivery experience:

On January 20th, 2025, as agreed, the vehicle went for registration, due to my work commitment and not-so-auspicious days, I informed Mr. David (SA) that I would take delivery on 23rd Jan and I needed the scooter with the number plate.

On Jan 23rd, 2025, I went to work in the morning and evening after 5 PM and went to the showroom to take delivery along with my wife and daughter. It was an uneventful delivery, the scooter was ready when we reached the showroom. Mr David gave me the receipts, and insurance, he explained some of the scooter’s features. After taking delivery we dropped our daughter back at home and went straight to Bodyguard Muneeswar temple for Pooja, it is customary for me to perform Pooja for my new two-wheelers and cars.

Now time for some pictures:

Photos taken during delivery of the scooter

Smart-looking front, with DRL running across the apron, is truly drool-worthy. Lately, I felt the scooter designs had become monotonous with no major changes. However, it is refreshing to see TVS bring in some excitement into the segment.

Once you turn on the scooter, both DRL and rear LED light will be lit

Notice the piano black touch below the DRLs, which elevates the look but it is a scratch magnet

The rear is clean with LED tail light and TVS badging in the glossy black finish.

Indicators are integrated in either side of the DRLs, if you long press the indicator switch for 5 seconds, both the indicators will be lit

LED front headlights are far better than my old Jupiter and have a dedicated low and high beam. Notice TVS badging and its logo. Below is the picture of low-beam

High beam

When brakes are applied only the center portion of the LED will light up. Notice the TVS logo.

The instrument cluster is LCD, very bright, and can be read even in direct sunlight. One major disappointment is that they could have used all the available space, the vertical rectangle box doesn’t look good. Notice all options available in the cluster.

There aren’t many options to play around with in the instrument cluster. The mode button is used to toggle between ODO, Trip A, and Trip B, while the set button resets Trip A/B. The range display activates only after one of the five fuel bars depletes.

One drawback is that mileage can’t be checked at will, it only appears when the vehicle is at a halt. Most of the time, the display shows 'Assist On,' which indicates that extra Nm of torque is available for a quick overtake. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to test if there’s a noticeable difference. However, TVS could have implemented a better way to notify the rider. Seeing 'Assist On' constantly in the cluster becomes quite irritating.

Disk breaks are sharp and does its purpose without any fuss, but missing ABS is a big miss in my opinion.

Rear wheel is provided with drum break.

TVS went ahead with the same set of alloys as in the previous gen, which is very poor from them. They should have differentiated.

Under-seat can accommodate 2 of our helmets along with docs, microfibre cloth, duster, and what not, a big advantage for me.

Unlike my earlier Jupiter, the fuel tank has now been repositioned to the front, beneath the floorboard similar to the Jupiter 125. This enhances convenience, as the fuel knob can be operated directly through the front key slot. However, one drawback is that the fuel cut-off doesn’t always happen as expected for some reason. This means the petrol bunk attendant needs to be extra attentive while refueling. On the right side, there’s a small storage space, ideal for keeping a mobile phone or other essentials.

Switches for high and low beam, horn and indicators.

To the right, auto start/stop and self-start.

With the key in off position, turn the key knob slightly to the left to open the under-seat storage, while pressing and turning to the right unlocks the petrol cap. To lock the vehicle, simply press and and turn to the left. This seamless integration by TVS deserves full marks for convenience. Notice the USB port for charging the mobile.

This vehicle has turn-by-turn navigation, one need to install TVS connect app and navigation can be performed through that app, I tested it while I took the scooter to my sister’s place in Pallikaranai, it worked like charm for 6 km. However, it struggled with navigating cross roads and flyover entries. Worse, it abruptly stopped, and the Bluetooth connection disconnected. I didn’t bother reconnecting, as the experience felt unreliable. In its current state, I don’t think the system is mature enough, and I wouldn’t recommend blindly trusting it for navigation

Drive:

Pressing the self-start button brings the vehicle to life without any cranking sound, slight vibrations are felt at the idle. While it’s more refined than my old Jupiter, it’s still not as smooth as a Honda; perhaps the only strong point of the Activa in this regard. Once you ride, the scooter is smooth and in no time you hit the mid 30s and early 40s (km/h). With the fuel tank below the food board, the improved center of gravity is noticeable making manoeuvring in traffic incredibly easy. The suspension setup is far better than the previous gen, it takes pot holes without much issues and provides comfortable and composed ride quality.

Small yet significant things:

The scooter will not start with the side stand, likewise, the scooter will automatically turn off if one applies the side stand.

It has follow me home function, after switching the ignition off the light will be on for a brief 10 seconds.

If the auto start/stop is on, the vehicle will turn off in 10 seconds, just twist the accelerator to turn the ignition on or press the self-start button.

The top end will not come with a kicker, a strange omission by TVS, you get it as an optional accessory for 4K, I don’t remember the exact amount.

Indicators will auto-off in 25 seconds, these are small things that could make a huge difference.

I was given 5K worth of accessories, which included seat cover, hand grip, scooter guard, floor mat, ladies' handle, and rear footrest.

There are 2 types of scooter guard, I insisted on the current one because it didn’t spoil the look of the vehicle at the same time protection was provided.