To find the best electric scooters, I purchased the top models on the market. I spent many hours testing, cruising, and racing them in a variety of scenarios and road conditions. Our analysis addresses performance concerns and the nitty-gritty details of budget, safety, and stowability so that you can confidently pick the right machine for your needs and desires. To see our comprehensive look at electric scooters, check out our review of the best electric scooters.
Range
We kept all of our range comparisons equal by riding each scooter as close to a set speed between 13 and 15 mph, except for those that were incapable of achieving that speed, across a mostly flat course with a 195-pound and 200-pound rider.
Our riders continued until the batteries drained to the point the scooter goes less than 5MPH. Often, scooters will continue crawling at 1- 4 MPH, but we don't count that distance, as walking is faster and easier at those slow speeds, and at that point, the scooter is more of a nuisance than a help.
Think of it like a modern vehicle that detects a failing sensor or anomaly in your engine's performance, and drops your car into limp mode. Your car may not be dead, but for all practical purposes, it is useless while it protects the engine, or in the case of an electric scooter, the battery.
We also measured how long it takes a fully depleted battery to recharge. To do this, we started a timer, plugged the battery in, and videotaped how long the battery indicator light took to turn green, since most models don't provide a very granular indication of charge state.
Speed and Hills
We tested the ability of each model to climb hills as well as how fast they would go on flat ground. The hill climb tests were conducted on moderate (3.5%), steep (10.5%), and aggressive (15%) grades. All the products in the review were ridden up these grades over set distances to see whether they could climb the hill at all. We recorded the speeds of models that were capable of completing each challenge.
To assess the maximum speed on flat ground, we fully depressed the throttle until each machine peaked at its maximum speed. We then timed how long it took each scooter to travel 100 ft. This test was repeated three times for each model. This is similar to how the land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats are recorded. The average feet per second for the three trials was calculated and converted into miles per hour.
Ride Comfort
Ride comfort is a little less analytical and a little more subjective, but it is a critical consideration for buying a scooter, and you'll know a bad ride when you feel it.
With this in mind, we set up a course that covered a variety of surface textures and features, and ran each test model around it. When we rode over bumps and cracks in the road, we noted shock, vibration, instability, and whether the results were manageable, hardly noticeable, and, in some cases, whether the ride was outright scary or dangerous.
We made note of suspension types and wheel types, and the resultant effects of those components in handling rough stretches.
Fatigue also matters for the longer commute, and options like better padding on handlebars, as well as space to rest your less dominant foot, make a difference in comfort overall, so they weighed into our ratings.
Our braking tests measured the distance it takes for a rider to come to a complete stop, but also evaluated whether or not each model was stable and grounded in the process,
Portability
Portability matters when you hit your scooter's max range, and you need to toss it in the trunk of a car, load it onto public transit for a stretch of your commute, or carry it up a flight of stairs.
Our portability evaluation primarily measures the ease of converting from riding mode to folded mode, the comfort and size of the carrying handle, deck dimensions, folded size dimensions, the security of the latch when folded, and the weight of each model.
We repeated the process of collapsing and re-erecting every model to test the durability of latches, as it has been our experience that some latches wear out with frequent use and fail to lock securely over time.
Conclusion
We aim to test products in a manner that simulates how the average consumer will use them and to take these products to their limits to see if the claims made by the manufacturer are accurate and consistent. To simplify the comparative shopping process, we quantify the results of these tests so that you, the consumer, can make apples-to-apples comparisons across the products in our review. Our comprehensive scooter review provides all the information that we, the reviewers, would want if we were in the market for an electric scooter. We hope that you find the information useful.