Road test: TVS Scooty Zest vs Yamaha Fascino

With its utilitarian combination of storage space along with the userfriendliness of its automatic powertrain the 110cc scooter is one of the best means of pottering around town And currently the TVS Scooty Zest 110 is probably the best that money can buy Now Yamaha who has been in that 110 cc segment with its Ray and Ray Z for some time had renewed its onslaught with the Fascino to be the segment leader We compare the newly launched Yamaha Fascino with the TVS Scooty Zest 110 to see if the former can steal the latterrsquos crownStylingThe Fascino grabs eyeballs by the dozen wherever it goes With its curvaceous body work and lavish amount of chrome there is no doubt which of the two is the looker The chromedout mirrors and front grille along with the triangulated headlamp lend a retro look The smooth flowing lines on the bodywork meld seamlessly across the length Aesthetically the Zest on the other hand is all curves and boomerangs The front apron is flanked by the boomerang blinkers and in the middle sits the chromed out TVS crest plate The Scooty Zest 110 is actually quite a smartlooking scooter in its own right Itrsquos just that the Yamaha is so much smarterPracticalityWith its segmentleading 21litre storage bin the Fascino should have beaten the Scooty Zestrsquos offer of 19 litres hollow but it doesnrsquot On paper even though the Yamaharsquos storage is larger it fails to accommodate a fullface helmet The TVS exhibits no such restriction Even the little storage bin on the apron of Yamaha seems to be more about form than function the Fascinorsquos triangular cubbyhole tapers towards the bottom which makes retrieving tiny objects from it quite the task So clearly the TVS Scooty Zest 110 offers a more practical approach to formThe Fascinorsquos 21litre storage bin does not beat Yamaharsquos 19litre one PicsSanjay RaikarErgonomics and buildRiding position is similar on both scooters but the Fascinorsquos handlebar is slightly lower than the Zestrsquos and feels more natural The fitandfinish on both scooters is middling mdash good but not outstanding The Yamaha fares slightly better than the TVS in terms of build qualityEngine and performanceThe TVS Scooty Zest 110 is powered by a 1097cc engine with peak power of 8 PS at 7500 RPM and 87 Nm of torque at 5500 RPM Acceleration is brisk and the engine feels refined and peppy enough to put a smile on your face Itrsquos fairly fuelefficient as well returning an average of 55 kml on our test The Fascinorsquos 113cc engine on the other hand puts out a peak power of 71 PS at 7500 RPM and a peak torque of 81 Nm at 5000 RPM The Fascino while still peppy fails to propel one as excitingly as the Zest Itrsquos also not as economical as the TVS and returns an average fuel efficiency of 425 kmlHandling and ride qualityAlthough both scooters employ a similar suspension set up the Scooty Zest 110 has a set up that translates into a smoother ride over Indian roads The scooter is extremely flickable and filtering through traffic is a breeze The Fascino on the other hand is set up more firmly and can turn into a wonky ride on rough patches However the stiff setup means the Fascino corners with considerable aplombVerdictThe Fascino has much going for it aesthetically and the retro styling works commendably in its favour If bling quotient and road presence is of primal importance then look no further However it does moderately in terms of performance and fuel economy The build quality too is only slightly better than that of the Zest The Zest might not turn as many heads as the Fascino but will surely get you to college and back much faster Even in terms of running cost the Zest offers better value for money If you are looking for a better overall package the Zest definitely fits the bill