Bajaj discover 100cc vs TVS Sport – Which is the best commuter bike in India to buy?
Posted by Indian Biker on May 22, 2013
Which is the best 100cc commuter bike in India now to buy?
The 100cc segment is still the best selling segment in the Indian two-wheeler industry and every manufacturer has at least a couple of offerings in this very segment. With the presence of a sporty brand like ‘Discover’ in this so-called ‘commuter’ segment, you can get a fair idea of how important this segment is, for manufacturers.
PERFORMANCE
When you are in the 100cc category, you don’t talk much about performance. But Bajaj Discover 100 has a noticeable more powerful engine under its frame. Its 94.38 cc engine gives out 7.7 PS @ 7500 RPM, TVS Sport’s 99.7cc engine gives out 7.4 PS @ 7500 RPM.
But being a lighter motorcycle, the Sport feels punchier and has a better pickup.
RIDE QUALITY
With a larger wheel base of 1305mm, Discover feels solid and firmly planted on road during high speeds. The Sport has a wheelbase of 1250mm and is little vulnerable during high speeds. Also, Discover is the bigger bike here with a length of 2040mm.
Discover is the bike you’d prefer to take on long rides especially on the highways. But in city jurisdictions, Sport is more comfortable to ride around and comes with a higher ground clearance of 165mm as opposed to Discover’s 162mm. The Discover 100 – TVS Sport both offers a better braking capability as it has a bigger front brake of 130mm front brake.
Both bikes feature rear Drum brake of 110mm.
As mentioned earlier, Sport gives you a better maneuverability and an easier pillion ride, thanks to its adjustable shock absorbers. But speaking of overall ride quality, you won’t be satisfied with its refinement level as it’s not up to the mark. The engine feels strained when pushed hard and the Initial gear ratios are very short.
At high speeds this engine becomes noisy and vibrations are noticed. The only thing that makes us happy with Sport is that its clutch functions very smoothly and gives you smooth transitions.
STYLING
Both bikes are incredibly stylish but just a look closer, and it doesn’t take you long enough to differentiate. Discover 100 takes its lines from the old Discover 135, which looks pretty sophisticated for a bike of 100cc. It has got muscular styling and contemporary lines, making it an elegant looking bike.
The fit-and-finish from Bajaj is worth a mention and the all-black theme is carried on the entire bike. The re-styled visor, together with twin pilot lamps gives an imposing look to the bike. The Exhaus TEC is finely embossed on the exhaust pipe and the rear tail lamp comes with a silver finish.
But what we didn’t like about Discover’s styling is the outdated graphics on tanks and the rest of the body.
TVS Sport is unarguably the sportier looking bike off the two. The design is simple but for some reasons, sufficient to attract attention. You’d love to take it to the market or hang around at your college.
The contoured seats and new-age graphics do add a premium touch to it. The Sport happens to be a revamped version of the earlier TVS Star Sport model. The Sport commands a compact visual appearance and if you look carefully, you’ll notice a relatively shorter mudguard.
But the TVS Sport doesn’t have clear-lens indicators, which is a big turn-off.
FEATURES
Both bikes comes with electric start, pass switch and all black alloy wheels. Thanks to Bajaj Auto, the Discover weighs heavily over TVS Sport in this segment. It comes with the hugely popular DTS-I engine and Exhaus TEC technology.
The DTS-I engine lowers friction and increases engine life – efficiency while Exhaus TEC provides excellent pulling power even at a low speed in a high gear, thus reducing the need to constantly shift gears. And did we mention about the rear LED tail lights?
The TVS Sport on the other hand, doesn’t have something to be proud of. But it has a 5 step adjustable rear shock absorber. But apart from that, what else?
MILLEAGE
Both bikes deliver above-par mileage. TVS claims the Sport gives 87.7 kmpl but under actual city conditions, it returned only around 65 kmpl. You can expect upto 70 kmpl on highways and the Sport’s less responsive engine makes it a very fuel efficient bike in its segment.
For a company, that is fast re-defining the boundaries of fuel consumption, Bajaj claims a mileage of 91 kmpl for Discover 100. But again, the real life figures come around only 62-68kmpl in city conditions. But in highway conditions, it gives better figures than Sport, around 70-75kmpl, thanks to its ride control switch which helps you to drive the bike in fuel saving manner.
COLORS AVAILABLE
The Discover 100 is available in a 4 colours- Black Blue, Black Green, Red Black and Flame Red. The Black Blue and Red Black combinations look classier for this bike.
The TVS Sport comes in 5 colours- Flaming Red, Blaze Red, Electric Green, Mercury Grey and Dazzling White. Sport looks indeed ‘dazzling’ in Dazzling White colour and adds an extra element of sportiness to the bike.
THE VERDICT
For a segment in which price plays a central role, the verdict too is based on the price. TVS Sport is priced around Rs 40,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) while the Discover 100 is priced at lower-end of Rs 43,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). The Discover 100, although priced about Rs 3000 cheaper, is more of a complete ‘value for money’ package and you would get more for your penny. It’s a well solid-built bike that is designed to impress you with its technology also.
The TVS Sport on the other hand is a simple, frugal bike that has nothing much to talk about, except its eye-catchy looks.
Besides that, Bajaj’s service quality is better and it also has a larger network in the country than TVS’. TVS is still struggling to grab market share in the Indian two-wheeler market and it will take some time to bounce back into the game. Go for TVS Sport only if you want to save some bucks, otherwise spending Rs 3000 on Discover 100 is more than a worth.
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