Most Fuel-efficient Scooters In India: A Closer Look At Varied Two-wheeler Brands

This segment has some best-selling scooters of India, scooters that are preferred over their rivals purely because of how cost-effective they are. 

Increasing petrol prices aren't a new problem for us Indians, and we've even learned to live with them. Vehicle users' only option is to opt for highly fuel-efficient vehicles such as commuter scooters. However, comfort and convenience are also important, and less efficient automatic scooters provide them better. 

However, manufacturers are now working to improve technology, and some of the most recent scooters are far more fuel efficient than their predecessors. Although these scooters are not as efficient as commuter bikes, they still provide good economy figures. Let’s have a look at the scooters from thee brands: TVS, Honda and Hero MotoCorp. 

TVS

The TVS Jupiter is the second best-selling scooter in this segment and it’s for a reason. The TVS Jupiter's fueling is immaculate. The transition from on to off throttle is not only smooth, but even sudden bursts of acceleration do not catch it off guard. In fact, when compared to the BS4 model, the BS6 Jupiter is significantly more fuel efficient.

Being more fuel-efficient, however, comes at the expense of performance. It's not lightning fast, but it's not supposed to be. It is intended to be a good companion for taking your parents for a quick spin, a grocery run, or even getting you through rush hour traffic to get you to your office on time—and it does all of these things gracefully.

The TVS Zest is one hell of a scooter! While the engine is fast and fun to ride, it is also extremely efficient. After more than 1100 km of riding, the Scooty Zest 110 has consistently returned an efficiency of more than 51 kmpl, all in the city. Then there's the massive underseat storage space, which can hold a lot of stuff.

Honda

Let’s come onto the segment leader then, the Activa 6G. It has been the best-seller of this segment for years and I think we know why. Our market is an extremely price sensitive one and vehicles need to be not only priced competitively, but also return good efficiency figures. And the Honda Activa 6G manages to nail both the aspects. 

It’s not only priced much better than its competitors, but the fantastic 59.11 kmpl also means it’s one of the most fuel-efficient scooters in our tests. That said, it’s not the best one, which, as we talked about earlier, is the TVS Jupiter, owing to its perfect fueling. 

The Honda Dio too, isn’t too far behind, returning a solid 55 kmpl. The fact that its engine is tuned in a slightly sportier way means it loses out on the mileage race to the Activa. That said, the margin isn’t a big one. 

Hero MotoCorp

Hero has the most scooters in this segment: Xoom, Maestro Edge 110 and Pleasure. And what they all provide are good fuel economies. I won’t say fantastic, because none of them really stand out, but they’re not too shabby either. The Pleasure, comes the closest to its rivals with a mileage of 56 kmpl, but it’s still a fair bit behind its chief rivals, the TVS Jupiter and the Honda Activa 6G. 

The Xoom and the Maestro Edge 110, meanwhile, are quite far behind the Pleasure, managing to return only as much as 50 kmpl and 52 kmpl respectively. Again, these aren’t shabby figures but not the absolute best too.

Which is the most fuel-efficient scooter brand in India?

This might come as a surprise for some, but the Jupiter, and hence TVS, comes out as the most fuel-efficient scooter brand in this segment in India. Most people, including myself, expect the Honda Activa 6G to beat the Jupiter here, as it does every month in the sales charts. 

But thanks to its incredible fueling and spot-on throttle response, the on and off throttle transitions on the Jupiter are butter smooth and that is the major contributor in its high fuel efficiency. 

But there are other things in which the Jupiter edges ahead as well. The Jupiter has an LED headlamp, which its main rival, the Honda Activa 6G, does not have. It comes standard with an analogue instrument console that displays information such as speed, fuel level, and other indicators. 

Some models include a semi-digital instrument cluster. An external fuel filler cap, an external pass light switch, and alloy wheels are among the other features (another thing that the Active 6G does not get). While the front apron of the scooter has a standard USB charging outlet, TVS also offers an under seat USB port as an option.