I didn't expect to like this scooter as much as I do. The "damping suspension" looked gimmicky, like a potential failure point, and maybe even a little excessive in the flashy department. I figured it would be another scooter I'd test for a bit before going back to my long-range missile of a scooter.
Well, I haven't. In fact, I haven't ridden my S1F (which I love) a single time since receiving the ST3 Pro. Navee Tech's flagship ST3 Pro is the Rolls-Royce of electric scooters.
TL;DR: Trust me, you want it. Go buy one. Read on for the nitty-gritty.
I'm gonna start with the elephant in the room: the range. Navee claims a 46.6-mile (75-km) range for the ST3 Pro. It absolutely does not get anywhere near that for me. When I did my long-range test, I barely eked out 25 mi (40 km). My average range was between 17 and 22 mi (27–35 km) before it was time to call it a day and charge.
Still respectable numbers for my 6'3" (190 cm), 230-lb (104-kg) dad-bod – and likely close to being achievable for someone half my size/ But let's face it, scooter companies always claim more range than we really get in the wild. Still, the ST3 Pro's promise might be the highest real-world differential I've seen in any scooter besides my first – a claimed 11-mi (17.7-km) Segway that actually gets 3.4 mi (5.5 km).
Now that I've got that off my chest, let me tell you all the reasons why I'd still choose the ST3 Pro, regardless of the range claim.
Like I said, it's the Rolls-Royce of e-scooters. I imagine most people have never driven a Rolls to get a complete handle on what that truly means, so think Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 – all absolutely spectacular machines, but none of which live up to the ride in a Rolls.
The funky-looking "Damping Arm" up front does away with traditional forks and springs and instead uses a swing arm with a highly elastic polymer composite damper within the lever that's compressed and stretched to absorb not only bumps, but vibrations as well. And it does a mighty fine job of it, I must say. The rear also features that same polymer damper, making both ends work in beautiful harmony. Apples to oranges, I know, but it's like the road noise from an open-top Jeep versus a Tesla Model S with the windows rolled up.
There's a section of road near my house that's been chip-sealed with mostly seal and just enough chip to rattle your head and eyeballs so much that it's hard to see clearly at 25 mph (40 km/h) on any other scooter I've ridden. The ST3 Pro barely makes my cheeks jiggle over that same section.
The thing is simply a dream to ride. Comfortable in any situation, even off-road. And because the suspension feels elastic, it's a hoot to chuck wheelies on and even hit small jumps. It almost has a snowboard-like feeling in soft pow when you pump, just without the fear of catching an edge.
How long until the polymer material is crushed or broken beyond its usable life remains to be seen. It feels like it could go on forever.
Unlike every other scooter I've ever seen, the ST3 Pro has three drive modes: W(alk), D(rive), and S(port). Normally, W is reserved for switching on and off with an app, but the Navee switches through it on the dash and eliminates the traditional "Eco" mode entirely from either the dash or app controls. Peculiar.
The Modes:
The Navee is quick in S mode. When the ST3 Pro is shipped to US customers, it arrives locked to a 20-mph (32 km/h) top speed, but there's a little trick you can do by holding the power button and the left brake for a few seconds to pop up a secret menu to unlock 25 mph.
In the app, you have two choices for acceleration modes while in S: eco and turbo. Let's just say that I tried turbo and have opted to keep it in eco instead. It scoots you right up to about 20 mph in the blink of an eye. The last few mph to maximum afterburn takes a few more seconds, but not in a way that leaves you wanting more. It feels perfect. And it's the most stable and smooth scooter I've ever ridden at any speed. I've even taken both hands off the bars while cruising, that's how stable it is – not that I'm saying you should try it.
D mode is a bit of an enigma on the ST3 Pro. It has a top speed of 12 mph (~19 km/h) … which falls in line with most scooters' eco mode. I found that to be a bit odd. My long-range S1F does twenty in D mode while eco caps me to that snail-like twelve.
Basically, the ST3 Pro has slow (D, but acts like eco) and fast (strap on your helmets, lads!).
When I ran my long-distance test, it was in D mode – actually, let's just call it what it really is: Navee's Eco mode, likely built to support that optimistic 46.6-mile range claim.
Starting from 100% state of charge (SoC) and pinned at 12 mph, I logged 15.8 miles before returning home with 37% battery remaining – and a wicked sunburn. That works out to about 25 miles until dead at that rate – or roughly 53% of the advertised max. Still, it's a smooth and comfortable cruise the whole way (minus the stinging of my neck, shoulders, arms, and legs). And not terrible for a 597-Wh battery hauling my larger-than-your-average-bear frame around in real-world conditions.
Oh, and it has a fully functional ultra-slow mode in the form of W that actually works! I've never ridden a scooter where the walk function could maintain that 3 mph (4.8 km/h) walking pace without cutting out and stalling.
The ST3 Pro has a 1,350 peak-watt rear hub motor turns out serious torque. So much torque that I could ride around in W mode through grass, over super rough terrain, through inch-deep sand, up steep driveways, you name it! I was totally blown away by that. Not that I use walk mode very much, but it's really cool to know it works as advertised when I find myself in conversation with a pedestrian while still on the move.
When you're bombing around town on your luxury sports scooter, it's inevitable that you're going to need to slow down, sometimes very quickly; the ST3 has the absolute best brakes of any scooter I've ever ridden. The front is an old-school drum brake, but even so, it will do stoppies with ease. The rear is a cable-pull disc brake that you can easily lock up and skrrt-skrrt to your little heart's desire, should you wish.
Coming from a motorcycle background, the brakes are a little confusing; the rear brake is on the right, and the front brake is on the left. It wouldn't be terribly difficult to switch 'em out as they're both just cables with adjusters at the brake end.
The Features:
The Rolls-Royce ... er, the ST3 Pro comes with nifty safety and lighting features. It's got bar-end indicators perfect for skinny folk to be seen from behind and for the rest of us to be easily seen from the front. It beeps annoyingly at you while they're indicating so you don't forget to cancel them. It has blinky LED lights that run the length of the deck on either side that can do a buncha flashy little patterns and colors (I just leave mine solid red for visibility). It has a pretty bright and visible taillight, even in the day, and an adequate headlight. In pitch darkness, the headlight is good enough for about 13-14 mph (21-23 km/h) before you're over-riding your ability to see ahead. And if you're tall like me, the top edge of the headlight will be in your lower peripheral, which is super distracting. A simple 3D-printed hood to block the excess light bleed would be amazing (or in my case, a piece of black electrical tape).
One super cool feature is the auto-sensing light mode. The scooter will detect how dark it is if you have the feature turned on and it'll automatically turn the lights on for you. Though I will say, I generally turn my lights on much sooner than the scooter will on its own – not because I need them to see, but more so that I want to be seen in the fading light.
The scooter also comes with cruise control. Maintain the same speed for five seconds, and it will beep at you letting you know that it's going to keep that same speed until you either throttle up or hit the brake. It's a feature common on most high-end scooters, which is super handy at times, but I really wish there was a separate thumb control to turn cruise on and off – not just on the Navee, but across all brands.
Downhill assist is another one. Rather than having to ride the brakes going down a steep drive or hill, if you have it enabled, it'll lock you to whatever speed you set while heading down a slope. It peaks at 25 mph.
The ST3 Pro has TCS (traction control) enabled by default. It can be turned off. 90% of my riding has been with it off and I haven't accidentally spun the rear yet. Only on purpose while testing out its limits a few times.
Speaking of tires, the ST3 Pro has self-sealing tires in case of a puncture. Having experienced a flat tire on a hub motor before, it's not fun. These being self-sealing means I don't much care about what kind of nails, goat heads, broken glass or whatever I might be running over. Especially since we scooterists tend to be relegated to the dirty parts of the side of the road.
The app is pretty polished, but serves more as a means of advertising Navee products than customizing your ride. It has all the basic functions you'd expect, like the choice between three energy recovery modes and your last ten days of riding history. It has anti-theft in the form of a Bluetooth lock, where the scooter won't work unless it detects your phone nearby, but also slide-to-lock. If you try to move the scooter when it's locked, it beeps angrily, non-stop, and actively resists movement by turning the rear wheel in the opposite direction you're trying to go. It's pretty feisty.
My only actual gripe – literally, my ONLY real complaint – about the ST3 Pro is that it's locked to kick-only mode. That is, there's no option to simply twist the throttle and go from a dead stop. That being said, when I asked Navee about it, the reply was that a September firmware release will take care of that issue. Boom. If that indeed goes through, the the ST3 will be a unicorn come September!
For only having been in the scooter game for about five years, Navee Tech seriously knocked this one outta the park. And frankly, for only $854.99 on Amazon, this thing punches way above its price point. It's an absolute head-turner too. I've never had as many compliments about my scooter as I have while shreddin' on the Navee. It kind of makes me feel like the goofy-but-cool dad.
Source: Navee Tech
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