Electric scooters experienced their market boom in 2018-2019, where many of their manufacturers and operators of so-called scooter-sharing services expanded to all different cities around the world and with being so many of them, we thought it would be suitable to show you the best electric scooters under £500 you can buy in 2020.
| MOTOR | RANGE | SPEED | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Pure Air Electric Scooter | 250W | 18 mi (29 km) | 16.5 kg | £399 at Pureelectric.com |
 | Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter 1S | 250W | 18.6 mi (30km) | 12.5 | £398.99 at Amazon |
 | Segway Ninebot Kickscooter E25E | 300W | 12.4 mi (20) + 15.5 mi (25km) | 14.3 | £449.99 at Amazon |
 | Gotrax GXL V2 Commuter *2020 edition | 250W | 12 mi (19 km) | 12 kg | $248 Amazon |
It is quite common for sharing services (share riding, electric bikes or scooters rentals etc.) to be used by more frequent tourists or users outside their daily routine, who, for example, would only like to shorten their journey, as the reliability of these services may not always be one hundred per cent.
For every use, for example, for daily commute to work, going to fitness or to hang out with friends, many people who liked this mode of transport driven by ‘green energy’, preferred to buy their own electric vehicle, whether it is a car, bicycle or an electric scooter.
It is also worth to say, that private electric scooters are not allowed to be driven on public roads or pavements in the UK at the moment. This is currently being reviewed and trialled (rental services) by the UK government.
Pure Air Electric Scooter
The performance and driving range of Pure Air Electric Scooter are on a very similar level of the most electric scooters but the construction quality, safety, comfort or how easy is it to maintain this scooter puts this scooter in our ‘best of’ list.
Pure Air stands out thanks to its affordable price tag and guaranteed IP65 dust/water resistance, which is a feature you should certainly look for if you live in rainy countries.
The Pure Air Electric Scooter got a strong chassis and a large, grippy deck providing great strength and underfoot stability which helps to safely carry up to 120kg rider.
It is fitted with powerful LED lights from both front and rear, to help you see during the night and with reflectors on its side providing additional on-road security.
The Pure Air also got 10-inch wheels with air-filled (and with pre-inserted puncture prevention fluid) tyres which highly contributes to comfort. The wheels and tyres are constructed for easier change and are possible to inflate easily thanks to accessible tyre valves.
The battery on the Pure Air takes approximately 5.5 hours to charge and gives you around 18 miles range (tested on a flat surface, with a 75kg driver, at 25 °C). The 250W motor takes the scooter to the top speed of 15.5mph / 25km/h.
Pure Air is 116cm long and 119cm tall (51cm when folded).
Pure Air Electric Scooter costs £399.00 and the company also offers a Pro version for £479.00, giving you more powerful 350W motor and slightly extended range.
Buy the Pure Air on Pureelectric.com
Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter 1S
We know Xiaomi mostly as the manufacturer of affordable smartphones, however, this company also wandered into a field of new generation electric scooters. After the M365 scooter, which was Xiaomi selling for over 4 years, it came with a new model 1S.
Although the Xiaomi Mi 1S scooter might not be the fastest out there, it surely provides a good price-value ratio. The scooter also features an inbuilt display in the handle to show your speed, driving mode or battery life status.
The Xiaomi Mi 1S’s 250W motor gets the scooter to top speed of 15mph / 25km/h, where its battery will provide you with a range of 18.6miles / 30km (in ideal conditions). The battery capacity is 7650mAh and takes around 5.5 hours to charge it from 0-100%.
The scooter 1S weights 12.5kg and its made of aluminium alloy, fitted with 8.5-inch tyres. The Mi Scooter 1S can recover energy, which in practice means that, for example, when driving downhill and braking, the batteries are being (slightly) recharged. The brakes on the front wheel are then equipped with the E-ABS system, a disc brake brakes the rear wheel.
The 1S also features IP54 dust/water certification which certainly helps to the overall durability of the scooter, especially in dusty and rainy countries. Front LED light and both front and back reflectors contribute to the rider’s safety.
The 1S scooter is 108cm long and 114cm tall (49cm when folded) and is constructed to take on a maximum of 100kg load.
The 1S Electric Scooter costs £398.99 and the company also offers a Pro 2 version for £489.95, giving you much more powerful 600W motor and an extended 45km range. The Pro 2 version is also slightly larger (113x118cm) and slightly heavier (14.2kg) – most likely due to the larger (12400mAh) battery inside. The Pro 2’s battery charging time, however, has gone up to 8-9 hours.
Buy the Xiaomi Mi S1 on Amazon for £398.99
Buy the Xiaomi Mi Pro 2 on Amazon for £489.95
Segway Ninebot Kickscooter E25E
This electric scooter coming from a well-known company Segway, which originally came up with the popular / somewhere a bit controversial 2 wheel self-balancing transporters.
The Ninebot E25E is well built, with solid construction and maintenance-free 9-inch wheels with from wheel having a front shock absorber and which don’t make any rattling noise while moving.
The E25E scooter manages to climb on the hill in up to 15% angle. Even though you won’t find a dust resistance here, it still features IPX4 water resistance. The motor with 300W power output pushes the Ninebot scooter up to 15.5mph / 25km/h with 5960 mAh battery lasting for up to 20km. A nice advantage is an easily attachable extra battery (sold separately), which provides up to an additional 25km of range.
The in-built battery takes approx. 4 hours to charge form 0-100%.
Like many other electric scooters, also this one got an in-built LED screen to monitor your speed, remaining power, modes, maintenance or Bluetooth connection.
The scooter is constructed to take on up to 100kg of weight. It is 116cm long and 117cm tall (only 36cm tall when folded) and weights 14.3 kg.
Looking at the safety of the rider, it has been fitted with a front and rear light and side reflectors to be seen even during low-light conditions.
Segway Ninebot Kickscooter E25E is currently being sold for £499 or €549.
Buy Segway Ninebot Kickscooter E25E on Segway shop for £449.99
Buy Segway Ninebot Kickscooter E25E on Decathlon UK for £449.99
Gotrax GXL V2 Commuter *2020 edition
This very affordable scooter is catching up on the bigger players. The scooter is focused on new starters who might not yet be sure whether they will use the electric scooter frequently or not and don’t want to throw out too much cash for something which will end up at the basement.
The Gotrax GXL V2 Commuter still manages to keep the better standard and the shortcomings are not that major.
The electric scooter got 8.5-inch air-filled tyres and 5200mAh battery which lasts for up to 12 miles / 19km on a single charge (in ideal conditions). Thanks to the smaller sized battery, it is also possible to fully recharge it in a relatively short time of 3-4 hours.
Meanwhile, the 250W motor achieves, same as many other good scooters, 15.5mph / 25km/h. It features IP54 dust/waterproof resistance and weighs only 12kg (26.45 lbs).
For safety, we will find a LED headlight at the front and rear reflector fitted on the scooter.
