TVS Star City Plus has the engine and chassis combination that appeals to the enthusiast of the segment and spoils commuters with its abilities.
TVS Star City Plus Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 53,100
TVS are known for making scooters very recently. All though it started with making some motorcycles in the past that were iconic and work horses of their time. Yes, we are talking about Victor and other motorcycles that the company has churned out. Victor recently made it to the showrooms recently and it seems to be doing well. Meanwhile, we had the Star City with us for long-term testing and we were in love with it since we rode it at the test track in Hosur almost two years back, Having spend some quality over and over, we spend more time with the vehicle and realize how good the machine in everyday situation when it comes to various parameters.
Styling wise the Star City has always managed to stand out. The large headlight, the sleek fuel tank and very well executed tail assembly along with a unit of single tail lamp. The black wheels along with an entire lower portion painted black adds a sporty look to it. This is the reason the company has launched new color schemes as limited editions into the market such as Golden and Chocolate color. Top marks then when it comes the deign and stance of the motorcycle. despite it being a regular 100cc motorcycle.
Ergonomics wise the story is similar. Comfortable riding position with upright handlebars and front set footpegs. Seats have improved over the past model, The 125 Phoenix, which were too soft. All of this leads to a comfortable riding posture and relaxing long or short journeys
Speedo and Switchgear where the motorcycles depict quality. High quality switchgear, palm grip, mirrors are directly lifted from Apache and needless to say the look and feel really good. The meter has a white background with several warning lights such as service, battery and turn indicators along with high and neutral shift lights.
TVS are churning out some great engines when it comes to small displacement ones. The 110cc engine seen in this and before, the 125cc engine were excellent in NVH, performance and efficiency. The StarCity is successful for a reason, because the key highlight of the engine is 70 km/l which is the on-road fuel efficiency of the vehicle. We always managed to get 68-72 km/l when we rode it sanely and pushing it hard saw not less than 63 km/l which not seen on motorcycles from the Japanese manufactures at all.
Motor is smooth and refined and is quite peppy as well. The engine characteristic is right blend and thanks to the spot on gearing, calculated power band it just shines in rideability and continues to impress and doesn’t feel that it needs more power. Any gear, any time open the throttle, the StarCity continues to go ahead with less hesitation. No more details are required when you have a motor this tractable.
Suspension reminds us that we noticed both sides were found squeaking on hard braking and were noticeable at parking speeds and the sounds small closed echoing garages. Brakes despite being almost worn out continue to work well and it shows how good everything is calibrated on the motorcycle. Attention to detail on the mechanical part is truly amazing from TVS end.
The chassis is the reason we love the motorcycle even more, it’s planted, changes direction with confidence and even at top-speed there was hardly any wobbling from front or rear. Something which bigger motorcycles can learn from. Overall, dynamically, the tyres, brakes are well tuned to make things fun for us enthusiast as well.
This may be a short idea of the motorcycle, but after testing it again and again we can see that TVS has churned out a quality product as always and gives tough competition to its Japanese rivals. The price point, the promise of quality service and lower cost of ownership in every way, surely makes the TVS StarCity and an excellent choice. Now only if TVS expand widely they can find more homes for their best in class commuters.
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