Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR vs TVS Jupiter MillionR: Comparison review

Looks & Styling

Yamaha products have always been about style and the Cygnus Ray ZR is no different. Primarily targeted at young men, the Cygnus Ray ZR is all about sharp and aggressive design lines and in a way, Yamaha has successfully hit the target. But it has gone little overboard, at least while designing the front. The wide front fairing might have helped the scooter give it an oddly appealing look, but a bulging body component is not what we need when the scooter will be ridden in city traffic. But things like sharp nose, lot of creases on the side and an aggressive tail section are sure to attract lot of young male buyers.

The Jupiter has always been designed to target the widest consumer base. This is why we won’t see a lot of sharp creases or any aggressive lines on the Jupiter. It gets a very balanced styling – something that always works for high-selling scooters. But this MillionR edition is little exclusive - thanks to the new purple paint scheme and beige on the inside and floorboard.

Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR: 6/10

TVS Jupiter MillionR: 5/10

Ergonomics & Quality

The upright riding position, very comfortable seats and more than enough space on the floorboard for both the scooters make a blissful experience. It’s the same story for the pillion rider. The placement of the footpegs are easy to reach and use.

However, when it comes to the overall quality, the Jupiter MillionR gets an extra point. The overall fit and finish, the quality of the paint and plastics are top notch. These aspects on the Yamaha scooter are pretty good too, but it’s just that it’s better on the Jupiter MillionR.

Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR: 5/10

TVS Jupiter MillionR: 6/10

Features & Technology

Yamaha has never equipped their products with a lot of features and in the scooter market, new and interesting features have started to play a very important role. TVS has taken note of this and has managed to equip the Jupiter with some very practical features. USB socket for charging, external fuel lid for easy time at petrol bunkers, two storage hooks at the front and rear-brake lock. There’s a good amount of under-seat storage too, that fits a half-face helmet. In fact, we tried placing a 13-inch laptop and the storage space took it with ease.

Alloy wheels, front disc brake are couple of other features the MillionR is equipped with. These same set of features can be found on the Ray ZR as well. However, the Yamaha gets two cubby holes for storage which are pretty big. The under-seat storage on the Yamaha doesn’t take the 13-inch laptop, but eats up a half-face helmet. It also gets two cubby holes for storage space. But it misses out on USB charging and rear-brake lock. It also gets just one storage hook below the seat, which is pretty usable.

The instrument cluster on the Ray ZR looks little overdone due to lack of uniformity in the fonts and background stickers. But it does a decent job of showing ride data. The one on the Jupiter is well laid out and feels good to look at. It also shows two modes – eco and power, which lit up depending on the riders throttle input.

Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR: 5/10

TVS Jupiter MillionR: 6/10

Engine & Performance

The Yamaha scooter engines have always been refined and quiet. It’s not different with the Cygnus Ray ZR. The 113cc engine is the same mill we see on the other Yamaha scooters – the Alpha, the Ray and the Fascino. This unit produces 7.1bhp and 8.1Nm. Even after weighing a bit more than the Ray, the acceleration is pretty good. However, the Ray ZR starts to lose the steam in the mid-range, but once it crosses 40kmph, the scooter builds up some power, which is quite evident as it reaches 80kmph.

The 109cc engine on the Jupiter MillionR is smooth too. In fact, this engine produces 0.7bhp more than the Ray ZR at 7.8bhp. Power delivery on this scooter is linear. But the acceleration of the Jupiter isn’t as good as the Ray ZR. The scooter manages to reach a top speed of 85kmph. Staying between 40kmph and 60kmph is where the maximum fuel efficiency can be churned out for both the scooters.

Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR: 4/10

TVS Jupiter MillionR: 5/10

Ride, Handling & Braking

The Jupiter MillionR is a clear winner when it comes to the overall ride quality. Softer setup on the TVS absorbs uneven roads and potholes pretty well at city speeds. The setup on the Cygnus Ray ZR is on the stiffer side, resulting in a not-so comfortable ride. These days scooters are ridden by the entire family, so a softer setup would have been a win-win situation. When it comes to handling, both the scooters are equally good. However, the presence of wide front fairing on the Ray ZR hampers the riding experience while filtering through city traffic.

The brakes on the Cygnus ZR is quite bad. Even with the front disc setup, the performance isn’t something we expect from a disc brake scooter. There’s a spongy feel on the lever, no feedback and hardly any bite. More than regular effort is required to stop the Ray ZR. But it also means that during panic braking, the front wheel doesn’t lock up. The front disc on the Jupiter MillionR is excellent. There’s a good amount of bite and feedback from the lever. A setup like this gives a sense of great safety.

Cygnus Ray ZR: 6/10

TVS Jupiter MillionR: 6/10

Fuel Efficiency

Both the scooters – the Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR and the TVS Jupiter MillionR are equally fuel efficient. The former returned 52.7kmpl during our test cycle, whereas the Jupiter MillionR gave slightly more at 56.4kmpl.

Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR: 5/10

TVS Jupiter MillionR: 5/10

Price & Warranty

The TVS Jupiter MillionR retails at Rs 67,884 (on-road Mumbai) and has a warranty period of two years or 24,000 kilometres. The Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR is slightly cheaper at Rs 66,100 (on-road Mumbai) and comes with the same warranty scheme as the Jupiter.

Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR: 6/10

TVS Jupiter MillionR: 6/10

Desirability

The Indian market always desires to get the most exclusive product and TVS knows that. That’s why it decided to get the MillionR edition to the market. While there’s no way to get the exact sales numbers of this particular special edition, it’s clear that the desirability of it is pretty high. But the Yamaha scooter isn’t falling back. Yamaha products have always been associated with design and style and that’s a major desirability factor too, at least in India. And the matte green edition has a major fan following in India as we’ve seen them on all Yamaha products including some motorcycles. In short, both the scooters score equally in the desirability factor.

Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR: 5/10

TVS Jupiter MillionR: 5/10

Verdict

Rank 2: Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR: 51/100

The Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR isn’t a bad scooter. It’s just that it lacks a couple of fundamental things like better brakes and usable features that the modern Indian customer needs. There is no doubt that the Ray ZR’s target audience will love the product but this scooter has a limited consumer base. And in a country where manufacturers are competing to get the most out of the scooter segment, the Ray ZR will need to perform little better.

Rank 1: TVS Jupiter MillionR: 54/100

The TVS Jupiter MillionR edition has won again. It has been able to do this because of its value-for-money stand. This scooter has been able to do a good job in a lot of departments - fuel efficiency, performance, braking, features and technologies and also in the pricing. It didn’t disappoint us in the utility front too. These days this is what an Indian consumer needs – a jack of all trades and the TVS Jupiter has been able to take that spot.

Photography by Kapil Angane

Final Scores

Specifications