MadChargePriced around $1200 USD, the Booster V is a mid-end scooter meant for those of us who like the Xiaomi M365 but are willing to pay some extra money to get a vehicle with better specs.
Lightweight, fast and extremely portable, the Booster V offers a lot of features found in high-end scooters such as double spring suspension and a comprehensive LCD dashboard with a wide gamma of customizable options. Designed and manufactured in Romania, the Booster V is very accessible to those of us who live in Europe.
Overall, the Booster V is an intermediate model that combines the best of the two worlds. Besides, even those of you who have the means to buy a ~$3000 USD scooter might still find the Booster V interesting because of its superior portability. Expensive racing scooters might be fast, though the bigger the motors and batteries they come with, the more weight you have to carry.
E-Twow Booster V Review
Riding Experience and Maneuverability
Compared to the previous E-Twow models, the Anniversary Edition drives the best. While previous models were all but bad, this one has smoother acceleration – even if you go full throttle from the start, you will have an easy time keeping balance and standing on your feet. Lightweight and agile, the Booster V is definitely one of the most user-friendly scooters I have reviewed here.
Just like with most scooters of this price category and (small) size, the Booster V features regenerative brakes on the front wheel and mechanical brakes on the rear one. Regenerative brakes are the ones you might be using the most – they don’t lock your wheels, which means you can use them to gently control the speed of your vehicle.
The rear brake is more of an emergency one – if you have to stop as quick as possible, just step on the brake pad. Make sure to lean back a bit because the scooter will stop almost instantly. Since the scooter has only one motor, the regenerative brake is only installed on the front wheel.
The Booster V features an LCD control panel with several buttons that allow you to change the most important parameters on the go. Here are what I believe the most relevant ones:
- Cruise control – by turning it on, you can release the throttle and give your thumb a break. As always, activating the brakes will immediately turn cruise control off.
- Light control – the Booster V comes with quite powerful LED headlights, enough to allow you to drive at night. Besides the expected on and off controls, you can also set it to automatic mode- lights will automatically turn on as soon as you enter a dark area (such as a tunnel).
- Horn – the scooter comes with an electric piezo-ceramic horn you can activate by pressing the button on the far left. The only caveat of this horn is that its sound is not as loud as you might want it to be. Besides, it’s a sound that’s pretty unique to this scooter, which means that certain pedestrians do not identify it as a horn and don’t even try to look in your direction.
Looks and Durability
The Booster V comes in seven different colors to chose from: users with minimalist tastes might want to go with white, gray or black, while the most informal ones might experiment with blue, red, green or purple.
Thin and elegant, the Booster V looks nothing like a toy. Its fully metallic frame looks rugged and feels sturdy. The few plastic pieces we can see are actually covers. Once we unscrew them, we can see that there is metal underneath.
Made of aluminum alloy (which is the standard for any modern mid- high-end scooter), the Booster V has a really solid feel to it. Upon close inspection, I haven’t noticed any parts that could potentially break first. Eventually, E-TWOW took everything we liked about their previous models and combined them with some of the improvements we wanted to see.
Comfort
The scooter comes with solid rubber tires. As we know, solid rubber is more resistant compared to inflatable tires (no flats, better wear and tear protection), however they offer a tad less cushioning too. To make up for that, the scooter features double spring suspension. The rear one is hidden under the standing pad but if you flip the scooter upside down you will be able to see it. I’d say, without those shocks, the scooter would be a pretty bad choice.
However, thanks to the shocks and pretty big wheels, I find the Booster V a smoother ride than a Xiaomi M365. I know we are talking about different price categories here, though most of you are probably familiar with the M365. If you liked how the Xiaomi one rides, you will definitely like the Booster V too.
The adjustable bar makes the scooter comfortable to ride for anyone who is between 1,60 m and 1,85 m (5.2 – 6 ft) tall. The anti-sliding coating allows your feet to have excellent grip with the pad even if it’s wet. While I wouldn’t recommend you driving it under rain, the Booster V is waterproof and has good protection against any sort of hazards such as impacts and moisture.
My only gripe with this scooter is that the handle bar is pretty narrow. When driving, your hands are located very close to each other, meaning that it might take a bit of practice to learn how to keep balance properly. That being said, this is by no means a deal breaker since over time, you will eventually get used to it and will learn how to keep proper balance despite this design flaw.
On the other hand, shorter handles allow you to carry the scooter with more ease, especially when you have got to take it to public transport. So yeah, as always, a compact design has its own pros and cons. It’s good to know those details to be able to choose the right scooter model that would fit your needs the best.
Another thing I think the Booster V could use is a crutch. This particular model cannot stand on its own – you have to either fold it or put it against a wall. I mean, the Booster V is not a motorcycle so it’s not that big of an issue, however sometimes I wish it had that accessory.
When it comes to folding, the process is similar to most other electric scooters – All you have to do is press the little lever at the base of the main bar with your foot and gently pull the handles. Once you bring the bar to the standing pad, gently press it against the mudguard until it clicks. Then, you can also fold the handle bar too. I am still not sure why wouldn’t they make it a bit longer since it can be folded anyway, though they must have had their reasons.
Power
The Booster V comes with a 500W brushless motor that requires no maintenance. Its maximum speed is 36 Kmh (22 MPH), which can be reduced to any other number from the LCD dashboard – you always want to set the speed limit according to the regulations in your city.
This means that the Booster V is not a racing scooter. Its motor is powerful enough to give you decent acceleration, and small enough to be lightweight. If you are using your scooter mostly for your daily commute, the Booster V might be a great option. Especially because despite having a relatively small motor, the scooter features great 25 degree gradeability.
Range
Some scooters start losing a big chunk of their speed when the battery goes lower than 50%. Some models, even those on the expensive side, can lose up to 30% of their maximum speed when battery is more than half depleted. Luckily for me, the Booster V keeps a consistent maximum speed all the way to 0%.
I mean yeah, max speed obviously decreases to up to 28 kmh/h (17 mph) when the battery is about to run dry, though that’s definitely not bad when compared to even more expensive models.
When driving on flat surfaces you can expect a range of up to 40 Km (25 Mi). We’ve been testing it with a driver who weights 60 kg (132 lbs). From there, the range will slightly decrease with every hill you climb and every time you reach top speed. Frontal wind can further reduce range by another 10%.
Overall, the range is great for a scooter of this category. It is a scooter meant for the daily commute and I honestly believe that 30-40km (18-25 Mi) is more than enough range for most of us, especially if you use it to go shopping and to get to the metro/bus station.
Charging time is up to 4 hours. In theory, you can charge it in your office while you’re at work, in case the ~40km range is not enough to get to your work and back in one take.
E-TWOW Dashboard
As usual, having a dedicated LCD screen built into the scooter is a very handful feature to have. Budget scooters often come with no dashboard; instead, they allow you to connect your phone to it via bluetooth to be able to access important data such as remaining battery, speed, etc.
The Booster V displays you the most important information such as battery life, current speed, temperature and mileage. Compared to previous models, the Booster V has better precision when it comes to battery life – the sensors are way better than on, say, an S2 Booster Plus.
The only thing that could improve is the screen brightness. While the current brightness is enough for a cloudy day, it is definitely lacking for a summer sunny day. The other thing to keep in mind is that the speed indicator is a little bit on the optimistic side – my phone GPS app usually shows 2 km/h less than the LCD panel.
Those details aside, the LCD dashboard does what it is supposed to do and I don’t find those downsides to be anywhere close to a deal breaker.
E-TWOW Booster V Specifications
Max Speed: 36 Kmh (22 MPH)
Max Distance: 40 Km (25 Mi)
Charge Time: 3-4 Hours with a 3A charger
Battery: Li-Io, 36 V; 10,5 Ah
Available Colors: 7 (white, gray, black, red, green, blue, purple)
Motor Wattage: 500W brushless, consumption of 7.7 Wh/km
Weight: 11.3 Kg (25 lb)
Max. Rider Capacity: 125 Kg (275 lb)
Gradeability: 45% (25°) Max Road Inclination
Tires: Solid Rubber
Suspension: Front and rear spring shock absorbers
Brakes: Front and Rear Disk Brake with ABS braking system, as well as Regenerative Braking
Lights: LED lighting group + LED light sensor + Rear Stop Light
Dashboard: Cruise control,
Material: Aluminum alloy
Folded Dimensions: 970 x 330 x 145 mm (38x13x6 inches)
Unfolded Dimensions: 1020 x 1160 x 380 mm (40x45x15 inches)
Water and dust resistance IP54
About E-TWOW
Founded in 2013, E-TWOW is a Romanian company that designs and manufactures bicycles and electric scooters. Over the years, the company received several awards for e-scooter design innovations – a list can be found on their Romanian website. With facilities both in Romania and China, E-TWOW offers faster shipping times, less shipping fees and regional tech support to their customers who live in both Asia and Europe.
Where to buy E-Twow Booster V
Join the forums to discuss more about the E-Twow Booster V
Recommended Accessories and Upgrades
- Protective gear: https://www.madcharge.com/electric-scooter-riding-safety-and-protective-gear/
- Helmet: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-helmet/
- Extra front lights: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-lights/
- Turn Signal Widget: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-turn-signal/
- LED Backpack: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-backpack/
- Phone Holder: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-phone-holder/
- Mirror: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-mirror/
- Bag: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-bag/
- Horn: https://www.madcharge.com/product-tag/electric-scooter-horn/
In Conclusion
The Booster V is a decent upgrade to the previous E-TWOW models most of us like. Relatively cheap, fast and lightweight, this scooter is a great companion in the daily life. While it’s nowhere close to be called an offroad racing beast, the Booster V is a great urban scooter that is a great bang for the buck. If you loved the Xiaomi M365 but you can spend some extra money on something a bit better, the Booster V might be what you are looking for, especially if you happen to live in Europe.
