Emove Touring 2020 Review

Review Summary

Emove Touring Specification Score

Note: All scores are derived directly from scooter specifications using consistent rules. This enables objective comparisons between products.

Emove Touring Specification

Note: Fixed color coding rules are applied consistently across all products to ensure objective assessment of specifications.

Who SHOULD buy? A great all rounder which is particularly suited to rides where there may be changes in terrain or bumps in the road. Great if you want something a little faster than an entry level scooter, without compromising portability.

Who should NOT buy? The solid rear wheel does impact the ride quality on rough surfaces. If you don’t need such portability or speed so much then options like the Ninebot Max may be worth considering.

Alternatives to the Emove Touring

• Segway Ninebot Max: The Max is slightly cheaper than the Touring, with more gadgets and in many ways a more refined design. But it does not have the speed of the Touring or the suspension, and the Touring is much more compact when folded.
• Furo Fuze: A similar specification to the Touring but also benefits from the comfort of larger wheels. However, it is slightly bulkier and heavier than the Touring.
• Kugoo Kirin M4: The lower cost alternative to the Touring is the Kirin M4, which offers outstanding specification for the price. But the the Kirin M4 is heavier and does not have the same customer support as the Touring in case anything goes wrong.

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Product Overview

The Emove Touring is sold by the highly regarded Voro Motors, who are US based (with some presence internationally in the UK and Australia). It is effectively the model down from the outstanding Emove Cruiser. Some key differences between the two is a much shorter range (Touring 24 miles vs Cruiser 62 miles) and smaller wheels (Touring has 8 inch wheels compared to the Cruiser 10 inch). Despite these smaller wheels the Touring offers a very good ride quality thanks to its highly effective suspension. The Touring also has an unusual combination solid rear and front and pneumatic tyres. The solid rear tyre hardly impacts the ride quality whilst offering the advantage of significant puncture protection (as most punctures tend to occur on the rear wheel).

A great compromise: The Touring is a great compromise which takes many of the advantages of high end models such as speed and quality suspension, but has slightly lower battery capacity reducing cost and weight. This enables it to compete with mass market mid-range scooters on price whilst delivering higher speed, better portability and better ride than most. The Touring truly is very good at everything – but it’s main negative is that it is outstanding at nothing! But finding bad things to say about this scooter is hard.

Recent upgrades: Major upgrades to the Touring were implemented in 2019, but there are a few more recent 2020 upgrades including a brighter front light, a branded LG battery, ‘plug-and-play’ cables (making it easier to remove, change or repair components) and some adjustments to the front step to improve its stability. This is just polish on an already outstanding scooter.

Design

Like the bigger Emove Cruiser, the Emove Touring goes for function over form. It will appeal to those who care about what it delivers in ride, range and all round performance, not so much what it looks like. That said it has the look of a serious product, not a toy and the design platform allows for it to be folded into a very compact shape. Some prefer the more clean looking designs of brands like Xiaomi, Ninbot-Segway and Unagi, but others prefer the mote utilitarian look that comes with products like the Touring.

Speed: A maximum speed of 24 mph makes this relatively scooter fast, even for a mid-range priced scooter where some competitors (like the Ninebot Max) go significantly slower. Achieving these speeds is really only safe with 8 inch wheels thanks to the excellent suspension. Tests and reports from owner indicate it is able to reach this claimed speed on good flat conditions.

Range: Claimed range for the Emove Touring is a respectable 25 miles. Multiple owner reports suggest that real world range tests achieve in the region of 20 miles, or slightly less if riding on the fastest mode all the time. Just like its bigger brother the Cruiser, this real world range is much closer to the manufacture claimed range than the majority of electric scooters. 20 miles is perhaps the perfect compromise in range considering the added weight and cost of scooters with a longer range.

Power: Rated power of 500 W and a peak output of 750 Watts means this has enough power for decent acceleration and limited loss of speed on uphill climbs. The smaller than average wheels are not ideal for ride quality but they actually help in delivering more torque at lower speeds giving it an advantage in acceleration. One thing that was noticeable about this scooter was the motor is a little loud when accelerating compared to others, but once it reaches its cruising speed the noise reduces.

Max Passenger Weight: The Touring is rated for a max load of 140 kg which is well above the standard 100 kg max of most scooters on the market. At this price bracket this is also a higher load than most competitors. This makes it ideal for the larger rider and it is a good indicator that the scooter and its components are able to take higher forces than most.

Wheels: The Touring has 8 inch wheels which is relatively small for a scooter of this specification. Oddly it also has a combination of front pneumatic and rear solid tyres. In theory this should deliver a fairly average ride quality but in practice it is a very clever compromise, because reduced ride quality from solid rear tyres is much less noticeable than it would be if it was on the the front. Combine this with rear suspension and the reduced ride quality all but disappears, whilst vastly reduce the risk of punctures which are most common on the rear.

Suspension: Incorporation of good quality upgraded in suspension really sets this scooter apart from some rivals. The front dual suspension and rear spring suspension have enough movement to help eliminate most smaller bumps in the road and provide a big compensation for only having 8 inch wheel diameter. Without this suspension it would be quite dangerous for this scooter to reach its 24 mph hour top speed!

Other factors: In addition to the suspension the Touring has a notably longer and wider deck than most. This doesn’t just provide more space but also helps deliver increased stability and overall improvements in ride comfort by spreading the wheels further apart. It is hard to make direct comparisons with competing scooters like the Ninebot Max because it really depends on terrain. On smooth terrain the Ninebot Max will have a better ride due to its 10 inch pneumatics. But if you introduce uneven surfaces and small bumps then the Touring wins due to its suspension.

Weight: At 17kg, the Touring is light considering its overall specification and battery capacity. This makes the prospect of carrying it on public transport, up stairs or into the office a much more realistic prospect. There are certainly lighter scooters out there but few which offer the same overall specification as the Touring.

Fold Size: Similar to the Cruiser, the Emove Touring employs a three point folding / compaction system which is enables it to deliver an excellent level of compaction. The scooter folds at the stem, then the stem can be shortened and tucked in and lastly the handlebars can fold in to reduce the width of the scooter. All this means it is extremely compact for a it’s level of performance.

Capacity: The Touring has a substantial 624 Wh capacity and a newly upgraded LG battery helping it to deliver close to its manufacturer claimed range.

Charging: Charge time is just 4 hours which is very quick for the capacity. It represents about 6 miles of range added per hour of charging which is certainly on the higher end.

Display: The Emove Touring user display module and integrated throttle, and it is a similar design to the module used on many electric scooters. It is generally reliable and effective. The display panel allows you to switch between three speed modes as well as providing battery level indicator and other information.

Lights: The Touring has deck lights with separate on off switch on the deck in addition to a low mounted front headlight. For most users this will be sufficient but for regular night time riding it is worth attaching an additional handlebar mounted headlight.

Brakes: Drum brakes on rear are easily adjustable. Electronic brakes are also adjustable via the display module. For gentle braking whilst riding both are effective and but when combined the brakes do a very good job at rapidly slowing the scooter down when needed.

Additional: The Emove Touring comes with a standard bike bell which is actually a welcome change compared to some of the more offensive sounding electronic horns that are used on some scooters. The 2020 additions also includes an electronic bell. One of the modes enables this scooter to start without kicking forwards to a minimum speed first (so engaging throttle from standstill is possible). Upgrades undertaken in 2019 mean that the scooter is sufficiently waterproofed to ride in the rain.