Segway Ninebot E3 Pro scooter review: It will take you for a ride, for not much money

My colleagues at thedriven get to review some pretty fancy and expensive vehicles.

Today, I am confident in claiming that I am reviewing one of the best value vehicles ever to feature in these pages. Although it has a recommended retail price of $1,199, it is available from some retailers for less than $1,000. The Ninebot Max E3 Pro electric kick scooter offers excellent value for money. So, is this the personal mobility device for you?

The Ninebot E3 Pro arrives in a compact cardboard box. The packaging is cleverly designed to make it easy for one person to unpack the scooter and install the handlebars using the four screws and Allen key provided.

Simply plug the scooter in for three seconds to activate it and it is ready to go. Although pairing with the Segway mobility app is not strictly necessary, it is recommended. There were three firmware updates to install. Despite the progress bar not updating in the app, they all installed quickly.

The E3 Pro is less than half the price of the Max G3 that I reviewed earlier this year, but it doesn’t have nearly as many features. Notably absent are the proximity lock and unlock features, although the latter didn’t work very well, so it’s not a major loss.

Once you have paired the vehicle, you are shown a quick rider safety tutorial. This is helpful, although it is not tailored to the specific rules and regulations for e-scooters in Australia.

Useful settings include the ability to set the starting speed, adjust the regenerative braking level, and turn off the pulsing lights under the footboard. The lights are fun, but they don’t really suit my style. Another useful feature is cruise mode, which allows you to set the throttle speed by holding a given speed for three seconds.

Riding is pretty straightforward. Having built up muscle memory for scooting in my last review, I was able to kick off and get going easily. Despite the front and rear suspension, the ride is still fairly direct; you can feel every bump and pebble, but there’s only so much you can do with small tyres and limited suspension travel.

The steering is nippy and direct, and the traction control system keeps everything under control. This scooter only has a front brake to complement the regenerative brakes, but I never found this to be a hindrance.

As with other scooters, there isn’t much luggage space: two standard-spaced bolts where you can attach a bottle cage, an extra battery or a lock, and a hook to hang a bag off.

Slightly disconcertingly, my work bag was just long enough to spring the lock for the folding mechanism as I rode; a smaller bag would have been fine. If you want to lock the scooter, choose your lock carefully, as the only place you can thread it is through the gap between the front fork and the front wheel. Luckily, both my bike locks fit, but a larger chain might not.

In my previous review, I mentioned that scooters don’t really fit my lifestyle: I can’t carry my toddler on one, nor can I do a large shop. More often than not, I found myself picking the bike over the scooter. When I did pick the scooter, it was trouble-free, but I did run into a few issues.

One feature missing from the E3 Pro is the ability to set a maximum speed. Out of the box, it tops out at 25 km/h. Whether you agree with it or not, the maximum speed for an e-scooter in Victoria is 20 km/h.

Whilst the scooter has a big, bright dashboard, it’s impossible to look at it and keep your eyes on the road, which means you frequently find yourself drifting above the limit.

You can use the cruise control feature to set a speed, but this requires you to hold a consistent speed for three seconds, which is difficult to do without looking at the screen. Touching the brakes or throttle switches off the cruise control. Not being able to set a maximum speed is a crucial missing feature.

On one occasion, I also found myself running out of battery. I had to go into the city twice in one day and had left the scooter in Sport mode. On my way home from the second trip, the scooter slowed to a crawl to preserve the battery, and I had to abandon it.

This could easily have been avoided by packing the power adapter, and if I owned one of these devices, I would buy a second one to leave at work. ABC: Always Be Charging!

Running out of battery also exposed me to another problem: Public Transport Victoria has banned e-bikes and e-scooters from its trains following a fire incident. Although they are not banned on trams or buses, I was unable to get one home.

Once again, the influx of unsafe and uncertified lithium-ion-powered devices into Australia is forcing people to make poor choices regarding their mobility. It should be noted that the E3 Pro conforms to the European EN17128 standard for personal mobility devices.

I called an Uber and got to test the folding mechanism. Folding is pretty straightforward once you learn the trick. The app didn’t have the E3 Pro manual in the support section, and it took me a while to find some text-based instructions.

When I finally found them, I almost injured myself. To fold it, you pull on the brake lever and push down with your foot on the locking catch and the base of the handlebar stem.

The first time you do this, the mechanism is incredibly stiff and difficult to activate; I felt like I was going to push the locking mechanism through the sole of my foot! Subsequent use of the mechanism has been much easier — either the mechanism has loosened or I have got the hang of it.

However, it’s still a heavy device. At 17.9 kg, it was difficult for me to lift it into the back of the Toyota Camry Uber that came to collect me. I’ve carried it into a few offices and cafés, and it’s not easy to carry. You can wheel it when it’s folded up, but the catch that attaches the handlebars to the footbed is far from secure.

Once, and only once, it failed to get me up a slope. The E3 Pro is rated at 400 W, which is more than the 250 W of my pedal-assist e-bike. There’s a steep ramp off the Yarra River Trail that I use regularly, and the scooter struggled going up it. It wasn’t a drastic failure, but it was annoying.

There is no doubt that the Ninebot Max E3 Pro is an impressive piece of engineering. Yes, there are a few compromises compared to more expensive models, but you get a lot for your money. A scooter is not really suitable for my lifestyle, but it could be a great fit for many.

However, it must be noted that its utility as a first- and last-mile mobility device has been severely curtailed by its ban on trains in Victoria and the proposal of a similar ban in New South Wales. Hopefully, once we have good product safety standards and have stopped the flood of dangerous products entering the country, these bans can be reviewed and lifted.