One trend that has picked up steam since 2018 is the use of electric scooters. Also known as e-scooters, these rechargeable electric vehicles and bikes are compact, portable, and way cheaper to purchase and maintain than a compact car. If part of your daily routine is going to work within proximity of a city, having an e-scooter will save you from being late and dealing with endless traffic in the middle of scorching weather. In the Philippines, we all know how heavy traffic can be regardless of time and place. With that in mind, we rounded up the top five e-scooters that you can purchase already to ease your commuting experience.
EcoRide 2 Electric Kick Scooter (Gen2)
Update as of May 28, 2020 – the P24,990 price is exclusive to Home Credit if you’re going to purchase the EcoRide 2 Electric Kick Scooter (Gen 3) through financing. Furthermore, there’s no difference in the feature set when comparing Gen 2 and Gen 3(see the comment below for more explanation – thanks, Andrew!). Â
While we would’ve easily picked Xiaomi’s Mi Electric Scooter that retails for P18,995, the lack of availability made us choose the EcoRide 2 Electric Kick Scooter (Gen 2) instead. There’s a Gen 3 model (P24,990 – price is exclusive to Home Credit) but we saw no difference when it comes to battery life, build, and performance compared to Gen 2 which costs P20,500 as of writing. With that said, it’s the cheapest e-scooter available to purchase in the Philippines. Under regular pricing, both Gen 2 and Gen 3 models sell for P21,990.Â
The EcoRide 2 Kick Scooter features a 3-speed model and a 3-second quick-folding design. It has a maximum load of 100kg and is durable enough for day-to-day use, thanks to the aluminum body. Furthermore, the max speed is 30km/h and the max range is 30km for every single charge. The 7.8Ah battery pack can support the 500W motor power and charges 5.5 hours. There’s a lot to love here in this budget e-scooter, like the 6-protection for the battery, intelligent battery management system that’s available using the dedicated app, two front lamps and three tail lights, and the LED monitor screen that displays the battery status and speed.
READ: Lenovo M2 Electric Scooter Launched at a Lower Price, Now at P12K
Kaabo Air
If we have to describe Kaabo Air in a few words, it’s like a souped-up version of EcoRide 2 Kick Scooter in terms of design. Capable of supporting up to 110kgs of weight, Kaabo Air supports up to 350W motor but with the max speed of 30km/h and up to 30km range. It also has the fastest charging time in a scooter, ranging between 2-3hrs. And thanks to the aviation-grade aluminum material, it can handle a beating. Kaabo Air is priced at P28,995.
INOKIM Mini Electric Scooter
We understand that e-scooters can still be heavy for some no matter how portable they are. If you’re looking for a lightweight e-scooter, INOKIM Mini Electric Scooter is a mid-range alternative with a reasonable P33,000 price tag. Overall, it only weighs 8.5kgs compared to the typical 16kgs that we’ve seen from other e-scooters. While some areas suffer a bit, like the short 20km distance in a single charge and the meager 200W motor, it still can get you to places faster than walking or commuting.Â
On the flip side of things, INOKIM Mini Electric Scooter requires 4hours of charging time only for the Button version(18km/h top speed) and 3.5hours for the Throttle version(20km/h top speed). Furthermore, there’s IP57 protection for the aluminum-based build and design. You do miss out on an LED display but it’s easy to navigate around with the 2-button brake-and-accelerate system. What’s more, is the USB port that lets you charge your device.Â
READ: Xiaomi 70mai A1 and A1 Pro: Sit-Down E-Scooters With Wide Cameras for P21k
Skywalker 8X
The Skywalker 8X that retails for P38,000 is perfect for those who want more power and speed. With the 15.6Ah battery, it’s capable of supporting the single brushless 800W motor. The max speed is now increased to 40km/h as well as the range of up to 50kms. The same goes for the max load at 120kgs. Like Kaabo Air, there’s 8″ solid & pneumatic tires and disc brakes with Regenerative Anti-Lock Braking (eABS) system. In a nutshell, it allows for better steer control when braking.Â
Skywalker 10S
Last and not least is Skywalker 10S. Being the souped-up version of the 8X, you get larger CST pneumatic tires — now at 10″. The braking system is also stronger, thanks to the upgraded mechanical brakes. While the max speed of 40km/h is still the same, the maximum range is now 70kms. Of course, the battery is larger at 21Ah and there’s dual-hydraulic suspension this time around. The Skywalker 10S retails for P48,000 which is the same price as the Skywalker 10SX. The 10SX gets you lower max range at 50kms but with faster max speed at 50kph. While you can always get the faster model, we think covering further distance is the logical choice when it comes to commuting.
READ: Xiaomi Mi HIMO Electric Bike T1 Pro E-Bike Now Official for P42,990
I really appreciate you putting us in this article. It makes me and my retailers feel good when someone sees how hard we’re all trying 🙂 one thing though: the pricing… 24990 is only with Home Credit financing… the scooter, regardless of “gen”, is 21,990 from most retailers (they set their own pricing but that’s what we recommend).
The ‘gen’ of the scooter is just a way for me, Andrew Bard, to keep track of which production run a scooter is. I’m very hands on in how I work with repairs and the support dept. If I start seeing a common problem with, say, gen 2, then I know something happened in the second production run that I need to address in the third run… so, there’s minor differences between runs but only to combat things I see happening when the scooters “hit the street”. I probably spend more time watching repair tickets come in and finding patterns than I do most anything else 🙂
if you want to run any more articles with us in it, please contact me. I would love to discuss and answer questions: [email protected]
Thanks for the clarification! We appreciate it. Fixed the article already, and we’ll keep in touch soon!