We try to test electric scooters for two to three months, oftentimes even longer. Not all of them are winners. That’s what you’ll find below—e-scooters we generally like but not as much as our picks above. They all have one thing (or more) holding them back from getting a top spot above.
Apollo Air Pro for $699: The Apollo Air Pro costs $799 yet is always on sale for $699, so make sure you don’t pay more than that. For a while, I split my time between the Air Pro and the Segway F30—I ended up gravitating toward the latter. Sure, the Apollo goes a tad faster than the Segway, but both lasted me roughly 10 miles on a single charge. The Segway just felt more refined overall and more reliable. I’m saying that partly because my time with the Apollo was cut short when the front tire got a flat. The company sent me a replacement inner tube, but the screws are bolted so tight on the wheel that the task was near-impossible. I eventually took it to a shop.
Levy Plus for $749: My fellow WIRED reviewer, Adrienne So, tested a prototype of the Levy Plus in 2020 and liked its replaceable battery and reliable disc brakes but found the whole thing “agonizingly slow in hilly terrain.” It goes up to 18 mph and is rated for 5 to 10 percent inclines, so it’s best for flat roads. It’s one of the lighter e-scooters out there, weighing just 30 pounds.
Unagi Model One for $990: Unagi uniquely gives you two ways to own its e-scooter: You can buy it outright for $990 or subscribe to rent it for $49 per month. Its specs have been slightly updated since we last reviewed it, but good news—the company recently launched the Model Eleven on Indiegogo, which is expected to ship this June. We’ll be testing it around that time, so we recommend holding off on the Model One.
EcoReco L5+ for $849: This is the first electric scooter I ever tried. It’s getting a bit old, but it remains a solid upgrade. The suspension allows for smooth rides, the tall stem means easy-to-reach handlebars, and a wide foot deck lets me put my two size-13 feet side by side. You can fold it down, but at 38 pounds it’s not as easy to carry as our top two picks. It can go a little more than 22 mph and lasted me around 16 miles on a single charge. My biggest concern is that EcoReco doesn’t seem to be have been active on its social channels for the past year (and has not responded to my emails).
Yadea KS5 Pro for $800: I initially liked the Yadea KS5 Pro. It has a top speed of 22 mph thanks to the 500-watt motor. It weighs 46 pounds, which is heavy, but not nearly as much as other models like the Apollo Ghost. Unfortunately, the company’s range claims are wildly inaccurate. This thing lasted me roughly 10 or 12 miles on a charge, not 37. The app experience is also very clunky—the firmware refused to update—and over time, I ran into an issue where the motor sometimes kicked in while stopped at a traffic light. Yikes.
