A Hero's welcome: Hero Xoom vs Honda Activa vs TVS Jupiter

Yes, motorcycles are a lot more enjoyable to ride, but let's face it, nothing beats having the convenience of a scooter at your disposal - to get around town quick and run errands. And yes, although the world is tilting in favour of electric vehicles, if you live in the city and look outside your window you will see more than a handful of ICE scooters parked up in your neighbourhood, which goes to show that there still is a soft spot for the tried-and-tested good old 100-110cc ICE scooter in India today. But these scooters themselves are evolving. They're a lot more efficient and pack a long list of features. The Hero Xoom is the latest addition to this displacement category of scooters, but how does it fair against two of the outstanding (and updated) favourites in this space? Time to find out.

Design

In terms of its design, the Hero Zoom is undoubtedly the most radical 110cc scooter in India. There are cuts, creases and contours all over this thing. It's hard not to miss the H-shaped DRL up front with its LED headlamp. Diamond cut alloy wheels, the funky tail-lamp mimicking the design from the front – all very sleek and very modern. It's definitely going to appeal to your youthful side.

In contrast, you'd tend to miss the Honda and the TVS if they went past you on the road and you weren't paying close attention because they pretty much exude the basic shape and design that we've grown accustomed to over the course of time, save for some catchy colourschemes.

TVS has tried to keep things fresh with the Jupiter SmartXonnect with dual paint jobs, some shiny bits and a tiny back rest for the pillion rider, and Honda has slapped on some new alloy wheels and keyless ignition tech on to its fan favourite for almost 20 years – the Activa. Both efforts acceptable, not atrocious.

Storage space is a key factor with any scooter. It's one of the reasons you'd want one. All three scooters out here have enough storage space to store away a half-face helmet under their respective seats, but the Activa is the only one of the three that doesn't have a storage area behind the front apron.

It's not a deal-killer, but it's a feature that Honda could have been thrown on there for good measure. The Activa H-Smart is the only one from these three to feature a smaller 10-inch rear wheel in comparison to the 12-incher at the back of the other two, and it doesn't get a disc brake up front even as an optional extra. Honda only has a front disc brake available on its 125cc scooters models out here. All three scooters come with their own set of design charms that will appeal to a wide audience, because not everyone is looking to be seen riding something as sharp and savvy as the Xoom. But the Hero takes top step of the podium here, because of its refreshingly modern design cues that make it more outstanding compared to the other two which look a lot more conventional and little dated in appearance. The biggest downside to the Hero's design is that the cubbyholes on the apron eat away at legroom and parcel storage space. I'm not too convinced by the oddly located USB charging socket either.

Honda, Hero and TVS have more variants of each scooter model that differ with accessories and features, but we have selected the H-Smart and the SmartXonnect variants because both are feature-rich, just like the top-variant Zoom XZ here.

Features

Convenience is the name of the game with any scooter and features are going to make or break them. Even though the three scooters here are the latest units to hit Indian streets, the display units on all three ICE scooters are still nowhere close to the fancy touchscreen and TFT colour displays units on some electric equivalents. But that doesn't mean that they lack other modern features.

The Honda still gets an old-school analogue display that reads out the speed, odo and level of fuel. Although I quite like it because it's like the machine mechanically conveying a data reading, not all will fancy the simplicity of this sort of display in the modern era.

The Xoom and the Jupiter both get fully-digital instrumentation screens with Bluetooth connectivity and turn-by-turn navigation features. The Xoom gets a handy realtime mileage indicator which is always a pleasure to see while the Jupiter goes a step above the ordinary with its voice command system that lets you access certain functions like navigation and call logs. Although, how important a feature is that last bit on a scooter of this sort is debatable.

The Xoom gets cornering lights which function when you tilt the scooter into a corner, but honestly, it isn't very helpful even in poorly lit scenarios. What's more useful is the company's i3S tech that turns the scooter off when you come to a halt for more than three seconds. The system can be turned off at the flip of a switch on the handlebar.

The Jupiter gets the same intelliGO integrated start-stop tech but the Honda misses out on all of this. Instead, the main USP if the Honda H-Smart is its smart key which allows you to locate your scooter in a crowded parking lot through sight and sound. But in terms of functionality, this still isn't the most convenient feature to have around as I found out because, although the scooter detects the key in your pocket when you get close, you still have to turn the ignition knob on and then push the starter button to set off.

The Honda also gets a conveniently located switch that lets you access the boot and external fuel filler on the scooter. The latter would imply that you and your pillion don't have to get off the scooter at the fuel bunk, but the lid feels a tad flimsy and the fuel cap will manually have to be opened for you to fuel up. No such problem with the Jupiter though, because having the key in the ignition slot allows you to function the hinged fuel filler cap in one shot as well as open the under-seat storage bay. The Xoom isn't as convenient with this regard, because you will have to manually remove the key from the ignition and slot it into a dedicated side slot to access your stuff, including the fuel lid, located under the seat.

Ride comfort and Handling

For this occasion I'd given the three scooters a thorough run about in and around Mumbai, and after back to back riding, the character of each of them was very evident. The Xoom feels light and having the best turning radius of the lot is very handy while wriggling past traffic at a standstill.

The Honda and the TVS require a little more of a calculated effort. The Hero's 110.9cc single-cylinder mill feels very lively and responsive and performed commendably well up some steep inclines in the neighbourhood, but its lacks of refinement compared to the butter smooth 109.5cc Honda and TVS's 109.7cc air cooled motors, is evident from the moment you set off.

The Honda and the Hero have identical power-to-weight figures and feel quick, getting from 0-60kmph in about 10seconds but the Jupiter doesn't feel far off the mark either. Accelerating from 40-60kmph to execute an overtake feels a lot cleaner with the TVS because of the smoothness of its demeanour.

The Honda and TVS motors appear to breathe a lot cleaner than the Xoom which often sounds so overly stressed that there are times when it audibly sounds like you're really going for it even when you really aren't. And it's that level of refinement that you'll appreciate over time while riding the Activa and Jupiter.

In terms of suspension, all three scooters here get a telescopic fork up front and a single spring loaded hydraulic damper unit at the rear. The seating arrangement felt comfortable on all three for two astride but an hour and a half of saddle time at a stretch on all three scooters is just about doable.

The Xoom and the Jupiter feel a lot more nimble compared to the Activa, which is a bit of a surprise once you see that the Honda has the smallest wheelbase  of the three (1,260mm) and is a good 4kg lighter than the pair which both weigh 109kg kerb. The Honda's suspension still feels best setup for casual city-speeds of about 40-50kmph and the faster you go, the more you miss having a 12-inch wheel at the back. Because you do feel a lot of the sharper bumps on the road on the Activa.

The Xoom's suspension is set up stiffer in comparison, and it feels more engaging to ride with a decent amount of feedback from the extremely light front end. It all goes well in sync with Hero's overall sporty design theme. But it's not overly comfy at low speed. It's stiff enough for you to find it unforgiving when things get a lumpy out on the road. The Jupiter is by far the best in terms of ride quality. Mumbai's roads are currently abundant with surprises with the amount of roadwork going on, still.

From surprise gravel sections and oversize speedbreakers to extremely dusty and broken patches of road, the TVS feels so composed and balanced allowing you to get through it all with the least amount of effort. I tended to feel a little more confident on the brakes astride the Jupiter as well, which was very comforting at times. It just feels a lot more relaxed and easy to ride. And that little backrest for the pillion, a good thing to have as it turns out.

Verdict

For me, all three scooters had some gimmicky features that are a bit of an overkill. With the Activa it's the keyless ignition. With the Xoom it's the cornering lights and with the Jupiter it's the voice activation tech. If you're in need of a simple, easy-going scooter with proven reliability, the Honda Activa is a good bet. But still, in this company there are better. An Activa H-Smart will set you back by Rs 81,348 (ex-showrom, Delhi) and with all that it has to offer, it still lacks is a certain amount of features and the lack of a disc brake up front. At Rs 76,699 the Hero Xoom ZX is the most affordable scooter of the three. It's of sound construct with a decent amount of features which feels every bit the part of a youthful modern-day scooter. But its level of on-road mannerisms and engine refinement left me wanting. For me that Jupiter has to be the best of the lot because although it isn't the best to look at, it's got what the other two appear to be lacking and everything that you'd want from a scooter in today's day and age – commendable performance, a comfortable ride and handling, it's good on space and has the right amount of features. The downside – at Rs 87,123 it is more expensive.