Best electric scooter 2023: the top e-scooters in the UK

Reckon scooters are only cool for school kids? Think again: the best electric scooters are more capable than ever. With air-filled tyres, folding frames and punchy motors, they’re quickly becoming the commuting tool of choice for big kids, city slickers and Lewis Hamilton alike.

The only drawback? You can’t take your own electric scooter on UK public roads right now. Instead, you’re limited to riding on private property – or hopping on a trial scooter (see below). But that restriction looks likely to lift very soon.

Keen to bag a rad runaround if the regulations change? We’ve rounded up the best electric scooters below, from top-spec e-scooters to more affordable models. We’ve tried to cater to all budgets, so you should be able to find the perfect scooter for you.

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Which is the best electric scooter?

We think the Pure Air Pro (2nd Gen) is the best electric scooter for most people. Not only is the 500W motor powerful enough to get you up the steepest inclines, but the 31 miles range is long enough to cope with the longest commutes. Perhaps best of all, the Pure Air Pro is fully waterproof, which means you can use it whatever the weather. It’s not the lightest electric scooter at 16.5kg, but the steel frame is reassuringly sturdy.

Other electric scooter recommendations

If the Pure Air Pro isn’t quite right for you, we’ve got four more options that might be a better fit.

• Best Xiaomi electric scooter: Xiaomi Mi Pro 2 (buy now)
  The Mi Pro 2 is the best electric scooter from Xiaomi. It’s lighter than the Pure Air Pro, but that comes at the cost of power, range, and waterproofing.
• Best affordable electric scooter: Pure Air Go (buy now)
  The Pure Air Go is the most affordable e-scooter from Pure Electric. Despite being cheaper than the Pro, it still has a robust design and waterproofing.
• Electric scooter with the longest range: Segway Ninebot KickScooter Max G30 (buy now)
  The Segway Ninebot Max G30 can go a massive 40 miles on one charge whilst still being portable enough to carry down a flight of stairs or lift into a car.
• Best cheap electric scooter: Xiaomi Mi Essential (buy now)
  Looking for the best cheap electric scooter? We’d recommend the Xiaomi Mi Essential. It lacks many of the luxuries of more expensive scooters, but still comes from a reliable brand.

What to look for when buying an electric scooter

If you want to buy the best electric scooter but don’t know where to start, below we’ve include some important aspects you need to consider. Afterall, electric scooters aren’t cheap, so you need to know you’re getting something that suits your needs.

The most important thing to consider is safety. While you can get an electric scooter for as little at £200, we think the minimum you should be spending is around £350-£400. This will get you a robust e-scooter that you can trust will get you to your destination.

Many cheap electric scooters will come with 8-inch wheels. These are fine for super smooth pavements, but we’ve found larger 10-inch wheels are more suited to the pot hole ridden streets of the UK.

You also need to think about how you’re planning to use your electric scooter. Some e-scooters are most suited to short journeys, with small batteries that make the scooter lightweight and portable. If you’re planning on using your electric scooter for longer journeys then you’ll want a model with a large battery which, of course, comes at the cost or portability.

Electric scooters are limited to 25km/h (15.5mph) in the UK, so top speed isn’t really important when buying an electric scooter. More important is motor size, as this determines how fast your e-scooter accelerates, its ability to tackle inclines, and how much weight it can transport. A cheap electric scooter will have a 350W motor, while more expensive models usually feature motors that peak at around 500-700W.

Many of the more expensive electric scooter models come with companion apps that run on your smartphone. These apps allow you to digitally lock and unlock the electric motor, track rides, and change settings. Personally, I wouldn’t pay extra for these features – they’re nice to have, but after testing them once I rarely find myself going back and using them again.

Are e-scooters legal in the UK?

At the time of writing, privately owned electric scooters can’t be ridden on public roads in the UK. Buy one of the best electric scooters from the list below and you’ll be limited to enjoying your two-wheeler on private property – at least for the time being. There’s increasing talk of an imminent change in the law, with numerous electric scooter trials underway around the country.

If the rules do change, there will still be restrictions on scooter usage: UK models are already limited to top speeds 15.5mph and trial e-scooters can only be ridden on the road or in cycle lanes. Participants are also required to have a category Q entitlement on their driving licence.

You’re also expected to be sensible. So no WhatsApping while you ride and no scooting after a pub session. For more info on the regulations and when they could change, check out the government’s dedicated page.

How we test the best electric scooters

I’ve reviewed dozens of electric scooters and have developed a test route that puts each model through their paces. The route includes several inclines to see how powerful the motor is, and various road surfaces to test the e-scooter’s stability and comfort.

More importantly, I use these electric scooters like someone who buys one would. I use them on a commute and to visit the shops. This shows me what the e-scooters are like to live with, including how easy they are to lift in and out of a car’s boot, how well the folding mechanism works, whether the battery guage is accurate, how well the brakes work, and how long they take to charge.

Of course, I’ll also test every little detail of the electric scooter, such as how loud the bell is and how bright the lights are at night.

For more information on Stuff’s rating and review process, read our page on how we test products.

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The best electric scooters you can buy today:

1. Pure Air Pro (2nd gen)

Best electric scooter for most people | Buy for £499 from Pure Electric

No fair-weather friend, Pure’s second-gen Air Pro is a powerful e-scooter for all conditions. Fully waterproof and equipped with puncture-resistant 10in tyres, it’s designed to deal easily with any journey, whatever the weather. A beefy 500W motor gives it the oomph to summit sizeable hills, while a capacious battery can keep you rolling for an impressive 31 miles. It’s not a featherweight at 16.5kg, but its click-lock system means the Pure Air Pro 2 can fold down securely, while the steel frame itself is reassuringly sturdy – enough to ferry a prop forward on the footplate.

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2. Xiaomi Mi Pro 2

Best electric scooter from Xiaomi

You might know Xiaomi for its flagship smartphones, but the Chinese maker also does a line of stellar electric scooters. The Mi Pro 2 is its top-spec runaround, with a 300W motor that can blast up 20% inclines. Scoot efficiently and the Mi Pro 2 can roll for up to 28 miles. Its clean look cuts an understated dash around town, while the 12.5kg kerb weight makes it one of the best e-scooters for folding and carrying when you’re faced with a set of stairs. Fearful of flat tyres? The Mi Pro 2’s 8.5in wheels come with puncture-prevention fluid pre-installed.

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3. Pure Air Go (2nd gen)

Best affordable electric scooter | Buy for £499 from Pure Electric

Styled like the range-topping Pure Air Pro, the second edition of the more affordable Go offers many of the same benefits: puncture-resistant 10in tyres, a folding steel chassis and an all-weather build. Its three-speed motor is less powerful at 350W, but still has the grunt to tackle inclines and support up to 120kg of rider weight. The range is less impressive at 12.4 miles, but that’s still more than enough for most commuters. It also integrates with the Pure Electric App for setup tips, ride stats and battery info via Bluetooth.

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4. Segway Ninebot KickScooter Max G30

Segway made its name with two-wheeled transport tools. And while the Ninebot KickScooter Max G30 doesn’t require the gravity-defying leans of other Segway kit, it does showcase the maker’s electric mobility expertise. If distance is your most important metric, this is the best e-scooter for you: heavyweight at 19.1kg, the G30 can roll for a whopping 40 miles on a single charge – comfortably the longest range offered by any scooter in this list. Provided you’re happy with the weight, it also ticks all the other boxes: easy-rolling 10in wheels, a built-in LED display and the ability to tackle 20% slopes.

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5. Xiaomi Mi Essential

At a glance, Xiaomi’s most affordable e-scooter is virtually identical to the more powerful Mi Pro 2. On the road, it comes with a couple of compromises compared to its sibling: range is limited to 12.4 miles, while the 200W motor similarly tops out at 12.4mph – and it can only handle hills of up to 10%. But for the price, the Xiaomi Mi Essential is still a capable e-scooter, with puncture-proofed 8.5in wheels, a 100kg load limit and a handy integrated display. Plus it benefits from the same folding design and a lighter 12kg build.

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6. Segway Ninebot KickScooter D28E

Occupying the Goldilocks spot in the middle of Ninebot’s D series, the D28E offers a solid balance of price, performance and packaging. It comes in at £60 less than the top-spec D38E, yet still offers a range of more than 17 miles – and it’s good for gradients of up to 15%. Like every D series KickScooter, it also benefits from reflectors on the front, back and sides. You get a useful speed and status readout on the handlebar stem, plus a push bell for dinging your way through town. It’s not the lightest at 15.3kg, but the folding handle should make it easy enough for most people to tote up a set of stairs – plus the tubular footplate frame gives it a straightforward, functional look.

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7. Decent One

Where most product monikers make lofty claims of greatness, Decent suggests a reliably satisfactory performance. Which makes it the perfect label for this straightforward e-scooter. Among the lightest steeds in this list, the Decent One is designed for foolproof mobility: there’s no app connectivity or integrated display. Instead, you get an unfussy design, push-button interface and handy folding setup. And while its 12-mile range isn’t the longest, a removable battery design means it’s easy to swap in fresh cells. Plus it rolls on sizeable 10in tyres for a smoother ride.

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8. Razor C25

Razor was into the scooter scene way before it was cool. Ready to move on from the fakies of your youth? With an angular grey chassis, the C25 is more urban understatement than car park cool. Offset wheels are designed to roll easy over tricky terrain, with an 8.5in rear tyre and larger 12.5in front number. It’s not the most compact option when folded, but the C25’s wide footplate makes for stable scooting. An integrated kickstand is handy when you hop off, while built-in lights and reflectors keep you seen. There’s also a useful info screen atop the handlebar stem.

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9. Riley RS2

Successor to the capable RS1, Riley’s second-gen e-scooter features a beefier battery than before. Despite an aluminium frame, that extra capacity means the RS2 hits the scales at a heavier 15kg (versus the 13kg original). But it also translates to a significantly longer range of up to 28 miles. Going further? The battery pack detaches easily from the stem, so you can switch in a full cell for greater range. 10in tyres give good ground clearance, while splash-resistance means puddles pose no problem. The folding chassis is relatively streamlined, too.

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