Review: Mi Electric Scooter

Last fall in Tel Aviv, I had the opportunity to spend about 45 miles' worth of time on this particular scooter. I put it through every possible test I could think of to figure out what it was capable of.

Range and Battery

Let’s start by talking about range. As I previously stated, I rode it for 45 miles through Tel Aviv, over all types of terrain included paved bike paths, some off-road areas, a brick/cobblestone path, up and down some pretty significant hills and believe it or not- I rode it on the highway! The manufacturer specifies that the scooter is capable of 18.6mi. In perfect conditions? Maybe. Generally speaking, I saw about 14-15mi out of each of my rides. Most of Tel Aviv seemed to be fairly flat, so I thought this was a good spot to test the range. In one area of town (Jaffa), I found some crazy hills to test the eScooter out on too. The incline was more than the manufacturer advertised that the Mi could handle (max incline was listed at 14 degrees). At 180lbs, I was able to get the scooter to move up the hill at a little less than 4mph but it certainly showed that it was draining the battery much harder.

the Ride

For an eScooter with 8.5” pneumatic wheels, the ride was decent. I’m not going to tell you that it was comfortable, but it certainly didn’t give me discomfort either. It seemed to handle most of the sidewalk cracks and out of shape portions of the pavement pretty well and I didn't find myself feeling uncomfortable riding it across any of the more difficult surfaces I came across. However, after about 8 miles or so, it did become a little bit less comfortable to ride.

Speeds

The speed on this particular scooter was limited to 15.5mph/25kph which sits right in my comfort zone of what I feel to be safe. In cruise control mode, speed is limited to 11mph/18kph however. Truly, with these speeds matched with an 8.5” tire, I feel like if this scooter traveled any faster, it may feel unsafe. On the other side of the speed curve, braking was smooth and easy and I felt confident in the braking system provided. This model has a regenerative braking system in the front (which can be adjusted using an app) and a disc brake on the rear wheel.

Carrying Capacity

The scooter itself weighs in right at 27.5lbs/12.5kgs and has a great center of gravity. It certainly doesn’t feel all that heavy, which will come in handy if you plan on folding it up (pretty easy, by the way) and moving between two locations. The manufacturer also says that it handles up to 220lbs/100kgs of weight, but I did happen to see a few couples riding it together (on one scooter)- certainly putting themselves over the scooter’s weight limit. However, the scooter seemed to handle it well.