The Turboant X7 Electric Scooter Is An Affordable Last Mile Option For Commuters On The Go
In the world of electric scooters, the market is still very much in flux. The first round of e-scooters brought a glimpse of the promise of micromobility to the masses, but with many of the early products failing to hold up to the rigors of daily use. The team at Turboant has worked through the early learnings from the first iteration and is now back with the second version of the Turboant X7 that promises to correct the missing handle and loose battery issues that plagued the first of its name.
The company sent us one of its new second generation e-scooters free of charge to run through the paces. At 205 pounds, I, for better or worse, do not make it easy for the things I test to succeed in moving my mass around. Right out of the box, the X7 is in need of two things: a charge of the battery and air in the tires. Neither should be neglected as they are key to getting the scooter into operating condition as quickly as possible. With either a low charge or deflated tires, the scooter will consume more power and achieve a lower top speed.
After a few hours on the included charger and a few blasts of air from my pump, the X7 was good to go. The 350 watt motor on the X7 is embedded in the front wheel. That works extremely well to get it moving, but puts a cramp on the Schrader valve you’ll need to access to fill the tire. To resolve this, the Turboant X7 comes with a valve extension that you screw onto the valve when it’s time to fill it up. It is very straightforward and works well, but also worth taking into consideration when traveling or planning maintenance.
With everything fully charged up, I took the X7 out onto the road. Its 8.5″ inflatable tires absorb many of the bumps that plague scooters with hard rubber tires, but still provide enough control to make it feel nimble navigating around parked cars and bikes on the road. The Turboant X7 has three levels of power that can be selected with a quick tap of the button on the main control bezel. Kicking the scooter into high power mode immediately translated to more power to the ground and a noticeable boost in top speed.
At my weight, I was able to get the X7 up to 19 miles per hour, which felt like I was flying. I personally feel like that is more than enough speed for something like a scooter and found 15 or 16 miles per hour to be a much more comfortable cruising speed. Speaking of cruising speeds, the X7 has a neat cruise control feature that locks in the speed after 6 seconds. An audible chime lets you know that cruise control has been engaged and you’re able to let off the throttle. This is handy for commuters going longer distances and something I found helpful in my longer treks on the X7.
When it comes time to slow down, the rear disc brakes were sufficient to slow me down in what felt like an appropriate distance. At 20 miles per hour, I would prefer a stronger braking effect and maybe even a front brake, but it all depends on how you use it and how fast you are comfortable going. Disc brakes by themselves were a nice option to have on a bike at this price point.
The Turboant X7 stem folds near the base and now latches onto the rear fender to create a nice wide handle to carry it from. At 29.7 pounds | 13.5 kg, it was not a problem for me to carry around, but could be for smaller riders. This will vary based on who is riding on and carrying the scooter, but the geometry of the folded scooter made it easy to adjust where I grabbed onto it to find a comfortable, well-balanced position.
The Turboant X7 boasts a range of 9.3 to 16 miles | 15 to 25.7 km from its 36 volt, 6.4 amp-hour battery, and in my testing, I consistently achieved a range right in the middle of these estimates. That seems more than fair to me as even though the Turboant X7 has a listed max capacity of 275 pounds | 124 kg, adding more mass clearly takes a toll on the range. Earlier builds of this e-scooter had issues with the batteries jiggling loose when navigating bumps in the road, but based on my experience riding the new version, this seems to have been resolved.
The Turboant X7 feels like a great e-scooter for its price of $499, though it can be had for just $399 right now, thanks to a Black Friday special the company is running. For the money, it feels like a great value, for commuters that only need to go a few miles per day or looking for a last mile solution that will get them to the bus or train in the morning and to work or school on the other side.
All images courtesy Turboant
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