TurboAnt X7 Pro review: A well-priced, well-built e-scooter with a removable battery
The TurboAnt X7 Pro is a nippy, well-built machine that’s straightforward to ride with the standout feature of a removable battery
Pros
- Strong construction
- Removable battery
- Reasonably lightweight and portable
Cons
- More hill-climbing speed would be welcome
- Battery position makes it front heavy
Electric scooters offer some real advantages over electric bikes; they’re often lighter and more compact to store and less expensive to buy.
The Turboant X7 Pro hits a design sweet spot in many ways, being a great e-scooter for fun, leisure and commuting, and also a great introduction to e-scooters.
TurboAnt X7 Pro review: What do you get for the money?
The X7 Pro consists of a solid aluminium deck with a grippy, studded rubber surface producing a decent standing area about 14cm wide by 40cm long. The folding stem drops down, securing onto the rear mudguard, making a handily long, slim, folded package measuring 108 x 42cm (a bit narrower if you unscrew the handlebars) x 45.5 cm. The 14.6kg weight helps make it reasonably portable and it compares well with the other e-scooters in our 2022 best scooter guide, which range between 14kg and 17.5kg.
Everything about the build of the X7 Pro feels solid and well made. The deck is rigid and strong, as is the hinge and clamp and the bottom of the front stem. There’s also a securing latch that slides over the stem to stop the clamp getting knocked open. Testimony to the strength of construction is the class-leading 125kg maximum rider rating.
It looks sleek as well, with all the cabling concealed in the front stem and the bijou front light nicely integrated into the stem and the rear light highly visible at the back of the rear mudguard.
The TurboAnt X7 Pro is one of only a handful of scooters that has a removable battery. This has several benefits: it gives the possibility of a lighter folded package, you can carry a spare (£166) for extended range and swap it on the go, and you can bring the battery inside for charging or warmer storage if the scooter is stored outside. The battery itself locks solidly into the front stem.
The central display is clearly legible in most conditions, showing speed, battery capacity and the chosen power level, and the handlebar controls are also intuitive to use. There’s a trigger throttle that’s simple to operate and a button that toggles between three power modes: Eco (6mph max), Comfort (9mph max) and Sports (20mph max).
Braking comes courtesy of a single brake lever, which controls a rear mechanical disc brake, with extra braking supplied if you depress the sprung rear mudguard with your foot. TurboAnt says the front hub motor also provides braking when you depress the rear brake level, but I found this hard to detect in practice.
Rounding off the package is a jolly-sounding and highly audible bell.
TurboAnt X7 Pro review: How does it ride?
As a safety feature, the throttle only kicks in once you reach around 2mph, but that’s easy enough to disable; I actually felt safer being able to accelerate straight away from a standing stop and attain my balance more quickly.
Once on the go, the X7 Pro’s 350W motor delivers a smooth and reasonably quiet ride, with effortless acceleration on the flat up to about the maximum assisted speed of around 20mph. That’s quicker than most e-scooters can manage and you also get automatic cruise control, which kicks in when you reach your desired speed, saving you having to hold the thumb throttle down to maintain speed. This can be disabled if you don’t get on with it.
READ NEXT: Are e-scooters legal in the UK?
On the downside, I found that anything steeper than a mild hill would mean the 350W motor gradually dropping speed until, on very steep hills, it eventually ground to a halt. TurboAnt says the scooter is only capable of climbing 15-degree inclines, so that’s not surprising.
Range from the removable 36V 10Ah battery, however, is pretty decent. It’s quoted at a maximum of 30 miles but that’s in ideal conditions on flat roads in Comfort mode. If you stick to using Sport mode, as I did, and your terrain is moderately hilly you’ll get around half that, and if you’re heavier than me (68kg), range will fall even further. The battery charges from empty in around six hours.
Still, that’s competitive with rival scooters and the X7 Pro quickly gets back to winning ways with exceptional ride comfort thanks to its 10in pneumatic tyres. Most e-scooters have 8in tyres, and the extra couple of inches make all the difference, helping the X7 Pro roll over fairly bumpy surfaces, including well-made canal towpaths and smooth, well-cut grass.
The braking system of rear disk brake and friction brake worked pretty well, too, and I felt confident it could stop me pretty quickly even on fairly steep descents. The trick I found was to keep my weight towards the back of the scooter when braking. I also found that a good technique to make the most of the X7’s agile handling.
Finally, the lights are highly effective, the 3W front LED providing plenty of illumination on unlit paths and the rear being highly visible, with the bonus that it blinks when braking. My only quibble was that, being mounted quite high up, the front LED can be somewhat blinding for oncomers.
TurboAnt X7 Pro review: Should you buy one?
Overall, the TruboAnt X7 is a great ride so any criticisms feel a little picky. First and foremost, I would have liked a bit more hill-climbing power, although a motor that slows down on hills is certainly not uncommon in this class of scooter.
Second, I found the rear tyre in particular a little tricky to inflate as the valve is difficult to access. Additionally, although it should be fine to ride in the wet, it would be nice to see a higher water resistance rating than the X7 Pro’s IPX4. Lastly, I’d like to see a two-year battery guarantee as is common in the e-bike world instead of the one-year guarantee offered here.
In summary, however, the TurboAnt X7 Pro does a lot of things really well. It’s a quick-folding and reasonably light e-scooter with smooth power application and a decent top speed, and handling and braking are very good as well. If you’re looking for an e-scooter with a easily removed battery, it’s probably the best choice out there.
E-scooter use in the UK
Despite the fact that they’re now a common sight in UK cities, you should be aware that private electric scooters are currently classified as “personal light electric vehicles” in the UK, which means that you’re only legally allowed to use them on private land with the landowner’s permission. If you’re caught riding one on roads or pavements, you could be fined and receive six points on your driving licence. This situation may be about to change, however, with the UK Government setting out plans to expand the legal use of e-scooters in the Queen’s Speech on 10 May 2022. The only way you can currently ride an e-scooter legally in the UK is to rent one via one of the legal pilot schemes operating in some cities.