TVS Scooty Zest Review, Test Ride

The Popular Scooty has been brought back to Life, bringing with it the same DNA with a new heart and name.

In the early ‘90’s, TVS broke the mould and launched a compact automatic scooter called the Scooty – especially designed for young women and college girls. The Scooty was a runaway hit, because it was easy to ride, came in various bright colours, had a feminine look, cushy seats, and low ground clearance. Having tasted a reasonable amount of success with that, TVS decided that it was time to take out a completely new model – which fulfilled the requirements of the current set of consumers. So we decided to do the TVS Zest soon after it got launched in India.

The latest generation TVS Scooty Zest now gets a new and more powerful 110cc engine, which is used in both the Wego and TVS Jupiter models. The TVS Zest gets a new frame, which is lighter, and so improves the scooters’ agility in city traffic – and, at the same time, contributes to improving the fuel-efficiency. Styling wise, the TVS Zest gets a sharper design with curvaceous body panels. The two-tone front fascia adds sporty touches, but the deep cut design – separating the fairing from the mudguard – brings out the new Scooty’s edginess. Upping the style quotient, the TVS Scooty Zest comes with a smart looking LED brake lamp, which is placed smack in between the two indicator lights. And even though the Scooty’s main target audience is young females, I still think that it would be unfair to say that a bloke riding the TVS Zest would look out of place – as its contemporary design gives it a chic, yet sleek, stance. In black, white, and even in turquoise colours, the TVS Zest comes across as quite impressive.

Comfort and practicality are the two key pillars that the TVS Zest stands on. The wide seats provide enough space for two adults, even if both weigh in excess of 80kgs – keeping in mind that the TVS Zest, itself, just weighs 97kgs. With a low seat height of 760mm, you can easily keep your feet firmly on the ground. Its floorboard too is quite wide, and the TVS Scooty Zest has ample leg and knee room. When it comes to storage, it has an open glove box and comes with a cubbyhole – which can easily house a 1-litre bottle. Most scooters have a fairly substantial under-the-seat storage compartment to keep a helmet, but TVS takes it up a notch and provides 19 litres of space – which is wide enough to keep a helmet, and deep enough to also house your bag, books, sunglass case, or other such knick-knacks. The TVS Zest also comes with both bag and helmet hooks, so that you don’t have to go through the ordeal of opening and closing the seat every time.

Press the engine-start button and twist the throttle, and the 109.7cc engine welcomes you with linear and controlled acceleration that provides sufficient punch within the city limits to overtake at ease. Even on an incline, with two adults on board, the TVS Zest doesn’t huff-and-puff for power – rather it quietly pulls away. However, it’s in its mid range speed – around 50-60km/h – where the scooter feels at its best and cruises effortlessly.

The Tvs Scooty Zest 110 is a well thought out vehicle, as it gets a wider front wheel and a larger brake set at the rear. We experienced the advantage of this, as the Zest provided a lot of grip at sharp turns. I must confess, initially, riding the TVS Scooty Zest around the TVS test track at Hosur, I was a nervous Nellie – but, with each passing lap, my confidence level increased. The TVS Zest 110 happily obliged and challenged the sweeping curves and held its line with full authority. The brakes are effective as well – especially since the rear comes with bigger drums.

In our TVS Scooty Zest, we found out that the instrument panel is easily readable and comes with TVS’s signature econometer to let riders know when to ease off the throttle to get better fuel economy. The scooter also comes with an idle indicator, which lights up when the Zest has been idling for a long time. The quality levels of the switchgear are quite impressive, and to ensure that the scooter doesn’t roll away while parking, it comes with a rear brake lock clamp.

In the end of our Scooty Zest, we would like to say that the TVS Scooty Zest 110 is an all-rounder when it comes to comfort, power, and design. It provides great ride quality, thanks to the front telescopic forks and rear monoshock. It handles like a charm and remains stable – and, in terms of practicality, it fulfils all the requirements. Even though TVS insists the TVS Zest is targeted mainly at women, I think it’ll also appeal to young men because the style statement it makes and its crisp handling capabilities.

In fact, the Tvs Scooty Zest 110 comes across as being so well rounded that it looks like the Honda Activa may finally have a worthy adversary!

Team autoX would love to know what you think of our TVS Zest, so feel free to comment below and let us know how we could have made the TVS Scooty Zest better.