We probably deal with hundreds of brushless motors each year, but usually, those motors live in power tools. When we got a chance to look at the Turboant X7 Pro electric scooter, we scratched our heads. Then, we figured it might be fun to see what a 36V 10Ah battery and brushless motor could do in a scooter.
As it turns out, quite a bit.
Turboant X7 Pro Electric Scooter Overview
First off, the Turboant X7 Pro electric scooter bills itself as a solution for commuting adults. That’s a bold claim and several necessary features must result. It has to be powerful enough to support an adult’s weight. The scooter must get up to what we’d consider “acceptable commuting speeds”. Finally, it has to have the range required for getting to and from work.
We went from skeptical to true believers relatively quickly. In fact, it only took a couple of turns on the scooter to show us what it could do.
Ticking Off the Boxes
Rider Capacity
Right off the bat, the Turboant X7 Scooter said it supports up to 275 pounds. That impressed us. Unfortunately, I could only test that with my 160-pound frame. It didn’t seem to have any issues moving me around at a speedy clip.
Speed Modes
Speed really impressed us. The X7 scooter gives you three driving modes:
- Beginner Mode (6 mph)
- Eco Mode (10 mph)
- Sports Mode (20 mph)
The first, Beginner Mode, I’d definitely consider a training mode. It goes up to around 6 mph. Eco Mode tops out at 9-10 mph. We used that when matching speed with a slower “hoverboard-style” Segway. Sports Mode, however, works best for commuting. It got us up to a maximum 20 mph. This is the mode you’re going to use most often.
And on a scooter, Sports Mode feels downright speedy.
Design and Portability
Turboant positioned the battery on the steering column and made it removable. This presents a huge positive in that the battery can be removed and charged indoors. Heat kills lithium-ion batteries, so if you keep your X7 Pro in the garage or other unconditioned space, you can wear down your battery life significantly.
Taking the battery off the base of the scooter also gets you lower to the ground—which just feels more fun when riding the scooter. It does make the X7 Pro scooter a bit more top-heavy with the battery up top. However, when you lift the scooter by the handles, the deck tends to stay in place, making it very easy to move the scooter around without folding it up.
Of course, when you do fold up the scooter to put it in your trunk or the back of your SUV, it takes just seconds. A single lever releases the steering column for folding. You also have a convenient “catch” on the back fender that captures the column, letting you lift from the battery and carry the scooter around easily. I would love a more secure locking mechanism for the folded position—but it certainly gets the job done.
Kickstand
The kickstand on the X7 Pro works as you’d expect, and we found it positions the scooter nicely when we parked it inside. It might take longer to speak to durability, but engaging and putting away the stand worked flawlessly every time we used it. and it keeps the scooter at a perfect angle.
Tubed Tires
The 10-inch tubed pneumatic tires do as good a job as you can expect to cushion you during rides. Since you don’t have a suspension system, you really do feel every bump on the road—but not enough to make the ride uncomfortable. These deliver a far superior experience to solid rubber tires.
Driving the Turboant X7 Scooter
I could say we “rode” the Turboant X7 Pro electric scooter but really, we drove it. If you’ve never ridden a small electric scooter before, the key is how low to the ground these devices operate. 20 mph doesn’t seem very fast until you travel at that speed on a pair of 10-inch wheels, just a couple inches from the ground.
Turboant built in a couple of really great safety features that we appreciated. For one, you can’t accidentally hit the red accelerator and have the scooter shoot out from your hands before you’re ready. It requires the scooter to be in motion (“kick-starting it”) before the brushless motor engages. Not only does this present a safer way to start the scooter, but it also saves the motor and battery from having to get the scooter moving from a dead stop. That’s just a waste of energy all-around.
Once you get going, you can switch modes on-the-fly. Since my son and I went out for a ride together alongside a Segway with we often set the scooter to Eco Mode so we could keep pace. Then, when we hit a nice stretch of road, we’d switch to Sports Mode and pull ahead before pulling a U-turn and coming back around.
The Turboant X7 Pro Electric Scooter Turning Radius
The turning radius on the Turboant X7 Pro is horrendously large—but for good reason. Since the steering limits how far you can turn the front wheel, it also keeps you from running into a situation where you could accidentally lose control through oversteering. In the end—it’s probably a good design call.
Braking
While you can certainly mash the disc brakes along with the rear drag brake to stop quickly, it feels abusive. One interesting aspect of this scooter is that the motor doesn’t do a ton of electronic braking. That means that when you let off the throttle you tend to coast for a long time. In terms of miles per change—that helps a lot. It does, however, leave the braking up to you. We tended to try and anticipate braking events as much as possible to allow us to use a combination of the disc brakes and the physical real wheel brake to slow down the scooter.
The Turboant X7 Pro lacks any sort of regenerative braking feature—but that also contributes to its excellent coasting ability. In fact, you can just about use this scooter without the battery if needed. That’s an excellent feature should you ever happen to run out of charge on your way to or from work.
LED Lights
When you activate the disc brakes, the rear red LED flashes to signal a warning to anyone who may be following behind. You turn on the lights by double-clicking the function button on the red accelerator. The front LED shines forward and down, adequately lighting up the road while you drive. It also turns on a red rear light on the fender. The lights work well—but not enough to make this a great night-driving vehicle. However, they certainly aid in visibility and we’d recommend turning them on if you approach dawn or dusk during your daily commute.
Cruise Control
We accidentally located the cruise control function on this scooter. In hindsight, it engages rather intuitively. Simply find your speed and hold it steady with the throttle. After a few seconds, you’ll hear a beep, and the cruise control kicks in. At that point, you can let go of the throttle and just enjoy the ride. This works in any of the three different speed modes and at any speed. It also seems to work “in advance”—meaning, you can put the throttle all the way up, wait for the beep, and the scooter will get to its top speed in that mode and hold it.
LED Display
The LED display sits atop the steering column, providing speed, mode, and battery life information. The 5-bar battery level indicator works great and gives you plenty of information to determine whether or not you need to consider charging up the pack. The speed readout is large enough to check out at a glance, and we really like the visibility of the display during the day.
Turboant X7 Pro vs Segway Ninebot Kickscooter MAX
Since the Turboant X7 Pro electric scooter seems to compete well with the Segway Ninebot Kickscooter MAX, we thought we’d compare the two products. Overall, Turboant delivers a faster, less-expensive scooter with a bit less range. Comparing the two, you’d have to really want the technology and extended range of the Kickscooter MAX to justify the additional cost. For the same price, you could get the X7 Pro with an additional 10Ah battery pack.
| X7 Pro | Kickscooter MAX | |
|---|---|---|
| Max Speed | 20 mph | 18.6 mph |
| Max range | 30 miles | 40.4 miles |
| Battery | 36V 10Ah (360Wh) | 36V 15 Ah (551Wh) |
| Removable Battery | Yes | No |
| Charge Time | 6 hours | 6 hours |
| Motor | 350W | 350W |
| Foldable | Yes | Yes |
| Wheels | 10″ tube | 10″ tubeless |
| Braking | Disc + Manual | Regenerative Disc |
| Max Load | 275 lbs. | 220.5 lbs. |
| Weight | 33 lbs. | 42.1 lbs. |
| Price | $450 | $849 |
Conclusion
The Turboant X7 Pro Battery-powered Scooter presents a pretty excellent value for those looking for a commuter or just something fun for the weekends. It also compares favorably against much more expensive products. The capacity, speed, range, and features all come together into a package that’s easy to appreciate.
Turboant X7 Pro Electric Scooter Specs
- Tires: 10-inch tubed pneumatic
- Motor: 350W
- Battery: 36V 10Ah removable
- Charge time: 6-hours
- Drive modes: 3
- Speed: 6/10/20 mph
- Braking: Disc plus manual fender
- Range: 30 miles
- Max load: 275 lbs
- 3W LED headlight + LED brake light
- Price: $449.98
Get more info here.
