Every scooter has a quoted maximum range, and every one of those numbers was measured in the best possible conditions. That does not make them dishonest — it makes them a laboratory figure, and you need to know how to read one.
How the number is produced
Maximum range is typically measured on flat, smooth ground, in mild weather, at a steady speed, with a rider on the lighter side, on a new and fully charged battery, with no stopping and starting.
Your Tuesday morning is not that.
What actually eats range
- Hills. The biggest single factor by a long way. A hilly route can cut range dramatically.
- Cold. Batteries hold less charge in winter. Expect noticeably fewer miles from December to February.
- Your weight, plus shopping. Quoted figures assume a lighter rider and nothing in the basket.
- Stopping and starting. Pulling away uses far more than cruising. A town trip with twenty kerbs and crossings costs more than an open path of the same length.
- Soft tyres. Easily overlooked, and a real cost if yours are pneumatic. Check them monthly.
- Rough ground. Grass, gravel and broken pavement all take more power than tarmac.
- Battery age. A three-year-old battery does not do what it did when new.
A sensible rule of thumb
For planning, assume you will get somewhere around two thirds of the quoted range in ordinary use — less in winter or on hills.
Then apply the important part: your journey is a round trip. The distance that matters is there and back, with something in hand. If the shops are two miles away, that is a four-mile trip, and you want a scooter that will comfortably do six.
Running a battery flat is not just inconvenient — repeatedly draining it shortens its life.
Work out what you actually need
Write down the journeys you make most weeks and double each one. Most people are surprised by how modest the real figure is: for a lot of buyers, everything they do is inside eight miles a day, and a scooter quoting fifteen is plenty.
Buying far more range than you need has a cost. Longer-range scooters carry bigger, heavier batteries — which makes the scooter heavier to lift, harder to store and more expensive. That is a good trade if you need the miles, and a poor one if you do not.
Getting the most from what you have
- Charge after every use, not when it gets low
- Keep tyres properly inflated
- Take the flatter route where there is a choice
- Don't carry more than you need to
- Steady speed beats accelerating and braking
Tell us your route
Ring free on 0800 593 0400 and describe where you actually go — distance, hills, surfaces. We will tell you what range you need, and we will happily tell you that a cheaper scooter is enough.
Or answer a few quick questions and we'll shortlist by range.