Hero Maestro Edge, TVS Jupiter, Honda Activa and Mahindra Gusto fight it out, as the gearless scooter are on the rise in India
The scooter war got intense the moment when Maestro Edge was launched. The scooter has shaken up the segment extreme value for money and a lot of features onboard while undercutting the competition price tag by a subtle margin. However, there are other scooters within the reach of the Hero Maestro Edge, which have proven themselves with their reliability, value for money and practicality. All these scooters makers are now giants in the country.
TVS Jupiter has taken the company to new heights, Honda Activa sells two lakh units every month, enough said and Mahindra Gusto surprisingly doing around 10,000 units every month. So as you can see competition is intense. We have ridden all these scooters and we will tell you on paper who is the best deal here.
Design
When it comes to design, this is where the new Maestro Edge shines very well with compact and muscular looks along with great color options to choose from. TVS Jupiter, on the other hand, looks very substantial and elegant at the same time. Slight resemblance to the Activa, but for the very best.
Gusto is also praised and is the most boxiest scooter of the lot when it comes design. The design language gives it the Mahindra signature tough look along with some interesting elements on the front of the scooter. Activa does the new 3G variant isn’t close to these new scooters in terms of design appeal.
Maestro Edge vs Jupiter vs Activa vs Gusto – Features
Let’s tick out the odd ones here. The Gusto and Maestro Edge have stone age instrument clusters and look clearly dated. Activa manages to be slightly fresh by a small margin. TVS Jupiter has segment cluster with a lot of information on display. Gusto has the flip key and seat height adjustability, which is still its unique proposition.
Jupiter has fuel warning indicator, service indicator along with eco and power modes. Activa unit has the usual stuff like the rest of the scooters. Maestro gets under seat light, an immobilizer and other clever bits. There is a tie between Jupiter and Maestro Edge, while Gusto retain its original USP and it also has the normal essentials, which the Jupiter and Maestro Edge has
Hero Maestro Edge vs TVS Jupiter vs Honda Activa vs Mahindra Gusto – Performance
All these scooters are powered by 110cc, which makes standard segment power. Maestro makes a little more little more horsepower, but the torque king is surprisingly the Gusto with Activa slightly behind. Gusto has to pull the highest weight in the segment. However, the Gusto despite that, it has more punch and driveability than the Maestro Edge. Activa and Jupiter also have good driveability, but the Jupiter feels more punchy in the midrange. All scooters top out 85 km/hrs.
Activa and Maestro Edge have 10-inch rear wheel, but the Jupiter and Gusto have the 12-inch wheels on both ends, which give it better balance and fun to ride quotient. Maestro Edge has 12-inch wheel at the front only 10-inch at the rear along with the Activa, which has 10-inch at both ends.
Maestro, Jupiter and Gusto have great ride quality and handling balance. However Activa lacks in both aspects as it isn’t fun to ride and ride quality is downright stiff and uncomfortable. It crashes over every single pothole and it is like the KTM Duke’s of scooters without the fun factor with its inferior suspension setup.
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Maestro Edge vs Jupiter vs Activa vs Gusto – Verdict
All scooters perform well if you blindly ride a scooter to commute. However, Activa comes in the last of this test because of no value for money quotient at all. Gusto is a highly accomplished scooter and has a lot to offer and in some case something very unique too.
However, lack of reach is what not helping the scooter reach more homes. Jupiter here, with its wide reach, fantastically thought out features and splendid riding balance is one of the best scooters here. However, Maestro offers a bit more than the Jupiter and comes at Rs 2,000/- cheaper, which makes it mouth watering deal considering the fact more reach with Hero sales and service. Personally, the Jupiter would be our choice. However on paper and reality the Maestro is clearly done its homework better.
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