The Scooter market has been scaling up over the years. Earlier, the Scooty was the only recognizable product before Honda started making inroads with its Activa and Dio. Slowly but steadily, the number of offerings in this segment has risen due to the preference for a hassle free riding in urban areas’ crowded traffic.
Regulars here would remember that we had reported in detail about the spotting of a test mule of a new TVS Scooter, probably targeted at males. There has been another sighting of this prototype, this time by an OverDrive reader.
The test mule was wrapped in zebra-like styling, though we can’t deny the fact that it looked muscular. Some other similarities with Wego seemed to emerge from the wheels. We feel they were the same 12 inch ones being sported by Wego.
A QUICK RECAP OF WEGO:
Wego was the other offering of TVS in the scooter segment. It was bigger than the TVS Scooty and had a more powerful mill too. This scooter was marketed as a Unisex Scooter, unlike the Scooty which was targeted primarily at females.
The Wego was an extremely valuable offering from TVS. It had a good, zippy engine assisted with real good handling thanks to the 12-inch wheels and a front telescopic suspension.
However, the issues that the Wego faced were a smaller build as compared to the rest of the flock herding around in the scooter landscape. It led to its perception as a weaker scooter. Keeping this in mind, TVS has decided to add a new scooter to their portfolio which will be based on Wego’s platform.
CHANGES SPOTTED:
- This prototype looks more masculine and brawnier as compared to the current Wego. This might help stave off the perception issues that are circling around the Wego at the moment.
- Though we spotted a transmission case similar to the Wego, we think it might be different in the interior as TVS had showcased a new transmission some time back. They claimed it helped solve efficiency issues as it was not a Variomatic.
- Since TVS has probably introduced a new transmission, it is thus not unreasonable to expect a newer and more powerful mill from them. A bored-out version of the Wego’s mill could be in the offing.
- The front fascia of the older Wego seems to have gone under the knife. This one is substantially different, and looks better from whatever covered mules we have seen. The rear portion has also undergone a transformation and is somewhat similar to that of the Activa now.
- Though the exact layout of the console isn’t visible, we feel it has got bigger. A few trinkets might have been added.
TVS seems to be taking the scooter equation seriously. This offering does seem all set to iron out the wrinkles of the Wego, and we may expect a good competition among Honda’s HET-ed models, Hero’s Maestro and Suzuki as well as Mahindra’s offerings. Now, though out-of-context, but still an important question is “Where is Bajaj?“.
TVS NEW SCOOTER LAUNCH:
According to the information we have, TVS will launch this new scooter most probably in June. And if it spills over, it should not get delayed further than July obviously unless some glitch comes up at the last moment of testing. From the recent spyshots as well as this one, we can notice that the rider appears to be a generic household man and not a TVS test rider. It is probable that these ones are very close to the final versions and TVS has handed them out to a small group of customers to spot the chinks in the armor.
So, will you consider this new scooter instead of queuing at Honda’s showrooms for months!
Pic Credit: Overdrive
