The Best Electric Scooter of 2020 to find the best electric scooters of 2020, Tech GearLab purchased the top 10 models on the market and spent weeks testing them on a variety of street surfaces and gradients for power, ride, braking, range as well as battery charge time and portability. After more than 8 weeks of pushing these machines to the limit, we’ve whittled down the fleet to just a few models that will appeal to consumers ranging from the daily commuter to the recreational speed demon. At the same time, our research and testing addresses the nitty-gritty details of budgetary and safety concerns so that you can confidently pick the right machine for your needs and desires.
The Best Electric Scooter of 2020
Today we’re looking at the best electric scooter you can buy in 2019. In this Post we’re doing a detailed review of more scooters including:
- Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter
- Segway Ninebot ES4
- GOTRAX GXL
- Swagtron Swagger 5
In the end, we do an acceleration and brake test comparison on all the scooters.
Segway Ninebot ES4
- Starting with the most common scooter used by bird, lime and jump are the Segway Ninebot. It’s hard to find and sometimes sold out due to popular demand. It has the best design, longest range available, quickest acceleration and fastest top speed out of all the scooters we tested.
- You also have an app where you can track battery life and customize ride modes, breaking resistance, cruise control and even custom color under glow lights. It features a digital screen on the top which will display your current speed, ride mode and battery life remaining. The front headlight is bright and the scooter also features two rear tail lights.
The Segway has three modes: speed limit mode, standard mode and sport mode.
- It also features cruise control which is a feature the rental scooters do not have. When you turn on cruise control, it keeps your current speed after holding the acceleration steady for five seconds. If you touch either the brake or the acceleration it turns off cruise control.
- For brakes, Segway has both front and rear brakes. The front uses the front motor to slow you down. You also have a rear brake you can use with your foot. For tires, the Segway has solid rubber tires which means you never have to worry about tire pressure or flats. This also means you can feel more bumps in the road. Segway did add a front shock and rear suspension to help absorb some of the rough terrains.
- You can also buy an additional range battery and is sold separately. The battery increases top speed from 15 miles per hour to 19 miles per hour and increases range up to 28 miles instead of 15 miles. We bought the extra battery and we noticed a big difference in acceleration as well. When riding in the fastest mode around the city, we are getting between 18 to 20 miles of range.
Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter
- This is the original scooter that birds started using. If you can find an M365, you will notice it has a simple and clean design. The batteries are stored in the bottom of the foot stand. Compared to the Segway where the batteries are stored in the front bar.
- This means it feels better balanced while riding. It has air-filled tires that provide a cushion when going over bumps and cracks. It also has a rear disc brake similar to what you have on a bike. The benefit is that it’s much stronger and can be adjusted to be stronger or weaker.
- However, it does require more maintenance in the long term, such as having to replace brake pads. The M365 also folds. However, the pull-down mechanism can be difficult to pull down. For weight, the scooter is 27 pounds. Which is heavy you wouldn’t want to carry this up more than a small flight of stairs.
GOTRAX GXL Electric Scooter
- If you want a simple clean and well priced electric scooter, this is our top choice. The GXL has a blacked-out look, sleek design with a little branding. It has a digital display, so you can see battery remain and speed along with a bright front LED. There are two riding modes you can choose from, mode one is the Eco mode and mode two will get you 217 miles per hour with quick acceleration.
- You have one throttle to accelerate and another for the front brake. The scooter also has a unique rear brake that uses a foot pedal in the rear. Having both front and rear brakes makes a big difference. We found the scooter has the best stopping of any we have tested so far.
- For range, it’s advertised at 12.5 miles and we found that was accurate. On a long steady ride, we were able to go 11 miles and still have one and a half bars remaining in top speed mode. In the city, we stop and go. You should expect less around eight to ten miles depending on what mode you ride. But for the price, we think this is currently the best deal on an electric scooter for 2019.
Swagtron Swagger 5
- Finally, we tested the Swagtron Swagger of five. This scooter comes in at an affordable price from a company called Swagtron. It’s not the best brand name for a company and unfortunately, they also like to advertise it on the scooter as well. But some tape or spray-paint can go a long way. Branding aside this scooter looks almost identical to the M365 and also similar to the GXL. The swagger has a rear brake just like a bike. The swagger 5 has three riding modes. The first two are pretty slow and the third has a top speed of up to 18 miles per hour. The acceleration is steady but not as quick as the other scooters such as the GXL.
The scooter have an app.
- The design looks a little older but you can track your ride, change gears and track your battery life. Speaking of battery life and range this is where swagger fell short. We found that on a long bike path. We only got nine miles before the battery ran out. In city riding with a slight uphill, we only got five miles of range. The battery meter on the scooter also fluctuates, because it calculates voltage and not actual battery remaining. We were told a future update will fix
this. - The scooter does come with a phone mount and a bell which are nice add-ons. Overall we found that each scooter had different acceleration and braking. Wo we wanted to show you the difference.
Conclusion
- SEGAY NINEBOT has the best in quickest acceleration from all four we tested. Meanwhile XIAOMI M365 has good acceleration coming in close to the SEGWAY NINEBOT The GXL has a quick acceleration that also impressed us. Finally the SWAGGER with the least acceleration.
- For braking SEGAY NINEBOT has rear brakes, but is not very strong and cannot stop on a dime. SEGAY NINEBOT also has a higher top speed and braking quickly from 19 miles per hour will require both front and rear brake at the same time.
- Xiaomi Mi M365 has a rear disc brake and can stop faster than the SEGAY NINEBOT. Finally, the GXL has both of front motor brake and a rear disc brake. So it can stop the quickest. Finally, Here’s how we would rank the scooters based on our tests.
- The SEGAY NINEBOT is the top scooter with the most range features speed and extras. However, it’s the most expensive plus additional charge if you want the extended battery. The Segway es 4 is the bundle with the extra battery. So you can save money.
- The GOTRAX GXL is the best scooter for your money. It’s clean, simple and quick while still having great range. The Xiaomi Mi M365 also known as the meet is a great scooter. It does have great range with the built in and smooth acceleration and braking.
Alright We hope you like our list and going to purchase one which you like most.
