Boosted Rev Review

The Boosted Rev is all business. This scooter delivers a stem to stern design focused on speedy and efficient transportation. This scooter boasts twin 750-watt motors that produce speeds up to 24 mph and a redundant braking system — electric motor brakes, disk brake, and fender brake — which significantly shortens stopping distances. The Rev beefs up the standing platform, both making it wider and lower for increased stability and comfort. Additionally, the frame provides space for a bike lock to be attached — something missing from the competition's designs. As one might guess, these advancements don't come cheap. They would be right, too. This scooter cost about three times as much as the others in the class.

Range

The Rev is in a league of its own, and its performance in the range tests is no exception. This chariot offers riders up to 16.5 miles of cruising over 86 mins on a charge. That's a lot. In fact, it's more scootering than most will care to do at a go. On the flip side, this model will absorb a full charge in a mere 3 hours. That's pretty fast, particularly so in light of the prolonged runtime.

It should be noted that our range test is conducted at ~13 mph which is far below the Rev's maximum speed. However, for comparison purposes, we selected 13 mph for range testing as it is a speed that all the scooters in our review can maintain. Unfortunately, when cruising at maximum speed, the Rev's range is significantly shortened.

Power

As the name implies, the Rev can really boogie. With a max speed of 24 mph, you can feel the difference that the model's twin 750-watt motors deliver in acceleration and top speed. We would say that this scooter moves like greased lightning, but alas, this metaphor is outdated as electric motors don't require lubricant.

The top speed and range tests are conducted on flat ground. However, most people know that the world isn't flat. While many scooters can zip along on the flats, few can keep up the pace when making a climb. This is yet another area where the Rev raises the bar on the class. When attempting to describe how this scooter responds to increases in road gradient, the word demolish comes to mind. Yup, that's the right word. The Rev demolishes hill climbs.

Ride

At 9" in diameter, and with a width that is roughly twice the size of others in the class, the Boosted has some seriously beefy pneumatic tires. However, these tires do not deliver the cushy ride one would expect given their ample proportions. In fact, one tester reported being quite surprised at how rough the ride was in light of the tire size. That said, the ride was nowhere near as rattly as that produced by a solid rubber tire.

Braking

As with many of the other metrics, the Boost elevates the standard of braking for electric scooters. Most scooters have two brakes. One brake on the electric motor in the front wheel hub and either a disk brake or a fender brake in the rear. Since the Rev has two electric motors it has one brake for each. As if that isn't enough stopping power, it has both a fender and disk brake as well for good measure.

Speaking of measures, we appraise the stopping distance of the scooters at ~12 mph. Why just 12 mph? Well, before the Boosted Rev came along that was about as fast as these machines could go. For continuity we kept this as our standard. Anyway, we run this braking test in two versions, three times each, and take the average. First, we measure stopping distance using the disk and motor brakes in combination. Next, we bring the powerful fender brake to bare. The startlingly short stopping distances for these two tests are 17.3 feet and 14 feet respectively. Yowzers! That's fast.

Portability

While the Rev enjoys a stellar appraisal in other metrics, it suffers here for many of the reasons that it is successful elsewhere. First off, this puppy is big. Like, really big. Its handlebars do not collapse and are quite broad at 24"; the frame is 44" long. Moreover, the vast size of this model is equaled by its 47.5 pounds of weight. That's like carrying one of those 6-gallon water cooler jugs! Furthermore, the Rev's folded dimensions are big enough as to pose some problems putting the scooter into the trunk of a car or getting into a crowded elevator. That said, the steering column — which becomes the carrying handle — has a comfortable shape that won't bother those strong enough to hoist the scooter.

As a final point, we did experience some issues with the steering column locking mechanism. The lock is self-engaging and is easy to both couple and release. However, this ease of use creates a problem: the locking mechanism is vulnerable to coming undone. We had to tighten this component — making it harder to operate — to ensure the safety of our testers.

Value

Without a doubt, the Boosted Rev is a high-performance scooter. However, the performance delivered by this model comes at a premium that will make many scoff. One can literally buy the whole family competing scooters for the cost of this one machine. While we are impressed with the advancements that Boosted has made in the electric scooter market, we do not find these achievements to match the cost of this ride. Thus, we do not find this scooter to be a good value.

Conclusion

The Rev is one heck of a scooter. This machine motors at speeds unparalleled in the class. It has a runtime as long as a country mile and a recharge time as fast as a New York minute. This model also boasts several innovative features such as twin motors, a redundant braking system, and an intuitive user interface. However, the Rev costs an arm and a leg, it's really heavy and it's super bulky. As a result, it will likely appeal to a somewhat narrow user group.