Guide: Electric Scooter of the Year 2023
Stromers on two wheels
Italjet Dragster #e01 Electric
© press-inform – the press office
Spring time, scooter time. Go anywhere stress-free and with a smile. We present the hottest e-scooters of the year.
Nature awakens, the sun blinks more and more through the clouds. Time to get the scooters out of the garage and get ready for the first tour. The advantages of such a single-track vehicle are undisputed, especially in large cities. Even in heavy traffic you can still find your way through and finding a parking space is much easier than with a car. Electromobility is also finding its way into motorized rollers, which is why we only deal with electric vehicles.
Stromers on two wheels
We divide the e-scooters into two groups: one for vehicles with a top speed of 45 km/h and an electric motor with a rated power of 4 kW / 5.4 hp. You either need an AM driver’s license or a category B driver’s license for this. This means that anyone who is allowed to drive a car can also swing on a “50” (because the engine capacity is limited to 50 cubic centimeters for a scooter with a combustion engine). and can run away. Anyone who moves the machine mainly in the city center is certainly sufficiently motorized with such a vehicle.
Things get a little more difficult if you live a little further afield or if you want to go on a tour or two. Then you should have a little more power under your butt. On the one hand, because you can use a scooter with a maximum of 11 kW / 15 hp on all roads in Germany and, on the other hand, because you feel safer with a maximum speed of around 100 km/h when a truck appears in the rear-view mirror. However, the driver’s license hurdles are a bit higher for these scooters: you need a class A1 driver’s license (minimum age 16 years) or your class B driver’s license before April 1, 1980. Since January 1, 2020, there has also been the option of having the driver’s license (class B for at least five years) extended with the key B196 without a practical or theoretical test. All you have to do is complete four theory lessons and five practical lessons and be at least 25 years old. Around 130,000 Germans have already taken advantage of this option. However, you are not allowed to drive abroad with this license.
Those who want electric scooters now have a large selection of 50s and 125s. We present the hottest models. Peugeot Motocycles (now part of the Indian Mahindra Group) is upgrading in the 45 km/h class and is providing the e-Ludix with the e-Streetzone, another e-scooter that is primarily for the urban environment is intended. The electric scooter has a range of 61 kilometers with one battery, if you opt for two of the removable batteries, you can travel up to 112 kilometers. The top speed is 45 km/h in boost mode, and 25 km/h in the Eco program, which also allows you to achieve the maximum range. The French-Indian will be available from dealers from the third quarter.
An alternative comes from Fantic and is called Issimo City. At first glance, the design doesn’t necessarily knock your socks off, but it has a few surprises ready when you take a closer look. Because of the 16-inch wheels, tram tracks are no longer frightening. The frame is made of aluminum and makes the scooter light without the battery at 79 kilograms. A battery pack has a capacity of 2.2 kWh and weighs twelve kilograms. There is an option to add a second one, then a range of over 140 km should be possible. It remains to be seen whether this value will hold up in reality. The motor has an output of 3 kW / 4 HP. Like some of the e-scooters presented here, the Issmo City is available in two versions – with a top speed of 45 km/h and 65 km/h.
If you don’t want to do without a real scooter feeling when riding a two-wheeler, you can of course choose a Vespa. However, the Italians allow the mobility dolce vita to be paid for accordingly. The Vespa Elettrica with a maximum speed of 45 km/h costs at least 6,990 euros. If you want to be up to 70 km/h fast, you add another 200 euros. The Vespisti are pleased that the Elettrica is now also available in red and no longer just in grey. However, the Italian beauty is getting a bit old. The built-in batteries have a capacity of 4.2 kWh, which is enough for a nominal maximum range of 100 km. In everyday life it may be around 70 kilometers. Due to the permanently installed batteries, a socket at the home parking lot is important, then it can be relaxed cruising in the city. While you are quite fast with the 45 km/h version, the 70 km/h variant runs out of air from 60 km/h. Other scooters in the 100 km/h class can do that better. But no one is more stylish on the go.
The Ray 7.7 has little in common with the classic design of a Vespa. The Spanish e-scooter is likely to polarize, convincing in the 11 kW class with its driving performance and a top speed of 129 km/h. The 7.7 kWh batteries (hence the suffix to the name) make the Iberian weigh 165 kilograms, but they also give it a range of more than 150 kilometers (at a speed of 50 km/h). Even if you’re busy turning the throttle and traveling at 100 km/h, you don’t have to start looking for a Type 2 charging station until you’ve covered almost 110 km. With the optional 3.3 kW charger, the batteries are 80 percent full again after one hour and 50 minutes. Good: In addition to three forward driving modes, the Ray 7.7 also has a reverse gear. The price is accordingly: It starts at 9,990 euros.
If retro, then right, that’s what the strategy experts at the traditional Italian motorcycle brand MV Agusta thought, returning to the scooter business after around 70 years with the Ampelio. The e-scooter not only looks great, but is also a challenge to the Vespa Elettrica. Bellisimo. But if you look under the decorative cover, you will find technology from Tawain by the scooter experts at Kymco. So the 121-kilogram MV Agusta Ampelio has an electric motor with 7.2 kW / 10 hp and 215 Nm of torque and a top speed of 95 km/h. The 3.5 kWh batteries should ensure a range of at least 85 kilometers.
In Italy, things are going full throttle in the direction of electric. However, the Italjet Dragster #e01 Electric does not play the retro card, but goes optically in the futuristic Robo-Transformers direction. The electric motor has 6 kW/8 hp continuous and 12 kW/16 hp peak power and a torque of 360 Newton meters. Thanks to the battery with a capacity of 4.91 kWh, between 90 km/h at a higher speed and 180 km/h should be possible, depending on driving style. To ensure that the electric fun continues as quickly as possible from the second half of the year, the batteries are 95 percent full again after just under 30 minutes with the 10 kW fast charger. A top speed of more than 120 km/h is possible with a curb weight of 150 kilograms.