NIU KQi3 Pro review

Mavericks KQi3 Pro: A one-minute review

The NIU KQi3 Pro lets us do what the TurboAnt V8 dual battery has already started. We’ve always believed that the best electric scooter for city commuting has to be three things: sleek, lightweight, and compact. but we are ready to admit That may not be the case, and the impressive yet affordable offering from NIU confirms that.

It turns out you don’t have to have the biggest tires to get the smoothest ride – they just need to be fatter, according to the NIU book, and that’s a boon. Its 9.5-inch pneumatic tires offer better shock absorption than any 10-inch tire we’ve tried This is mainly because they are 30% fatter.

It turns out that e-scooter manufacturers can afford to deliver top-notch quality products without road robbery. Compared to many competitors, the NIU KQi3 Pro offers better performance, better features, and a better build at a better price. it may not be The cheapest electric scooter on the market, but it’s certainly the best value for money.

At the risk of sounding unprofessional, we’re now big followers of the NIU KQi3 Pro, and for good reason. This is simply the best electric scooter for student professionals, casual commuters and even the occasional trail rider.

NIU KQi3 Pro: Price and Availability

•  How much does it cost?  $799 (£699, ‎AU$1,279)
•  Where is it available?  Available now
•  Where can you get it? Available in US, UK and Australia

The NIU KQi3 Pro is surprisingly affordable at an entry price of $799 (£699 AU$1279). That’s still a lot of silver bucks for consumers on a tight budget, and there are certainly plenty of cheaper e-scooters out there that are impressive in their own right.

For example, the Gotrax APEX LE we’re currently testing is a sleek and stylish option for under $400/£400. There’s also the TurboAnt M10, which offers strong performance and a solid build for less than $500/£500.

Having said that, the NIU KQi3 Pro beats most of its direct competitors on price, while completely owning them on performance. This makes it the best value electric scooter we’ve ever ridden.

•  Value: 5 / 5 

 NIU KQi3 Pro: Assembly

•  Minimal setup 
•  Partly charged 

Proof that the NIU KQi3 Pro is perfect for most e-scooter riders, including novice riders, is its incredibly simple assembly. If you haven’t even ridden an electric scooter before and want to buy one, but are afraid of the possibility of setting it up, this is the scooter for you.

Literally all you need to do is take it out of the box, easily connect to the mainline connector slot on the handlebar, secure it with four screws, and you’re ready to go. For some e-scooters you also have to set the brake line, which requires some upper body strength and probably a lot sweating.

The NIU KQi3 Pro is partially charged, so you can start practicing right after setup. You don’t even need to link it with the app (or “bind” as NIU calls it) if you don’t want to – though we definitely recommend it, as the app gives you access to more features.

Remember, as a safety precaution, you cannot use the sport riding mode with a top speed of 20 mph until you have driven 200 meters on the e-scooter. NIU just wants to make sure you know your unit well before riding at top speed.

 NIU KQi3 Pro: Design

• A rugged road bike reminiscent of a design
•  Spacious deck, wide tires 
•  Not sleek or lightweight 

It’s not easy to differentiate yourself from the sea of ​​scooters these days, but the NIU KQi3 Pro manages to do this by combining the homogenous look found on most electric scooters with plastic (and one above the headlights) and off-roader elements like the Halo. Combining headlights and rich reflector. Even if we’re not partial to the traditional dirt bike look, we love the finished product.

Adding these elements can also make the e-scooter look like “I can handle anything you throw at me” without making you feel awkward taking it to work. In fact, it manages to find the sweet spot between sportiness and elegance, making it suitable for almost anywhere. If you often commute to get off work in a suit, you won’t be in conflict with this ride.

There’s a lot else we like about the NIU KQi3 Pro. Fair warning before buying: we wouldn’t classify it as portable or lightweight. It’s one of the largest and heaviest commuter electric scooters we’ve tested. But the days of being slim and easy to carry are no more these days Carrying the same weight as before. After all there are plenty of bike racks to hold these EVs on, and if you have something sturdy like this, you’d expect that you’d be taking it all the way to your destination instead of taking it to your destination and riding it bus or train.

But we digress. The best thing about this e-scooter is that since it doesn’t really care about portability, it can take a lot of stuff — especially with its very roomy deck and its tires that are 30 percent wider than most e-scooters. scooter tires and So it’s better in terms of shock absorption. And because it’s a heavyweight is unapologetic, you get a plethora of accessories here – there are two brake levers, a sizable Halo headlight (again), lots of reflectors, a decent sized one dash and a sizable battery.

At the same time, it manages to keep many important things simple. The power riding mode light and speed unit shown are only one button – the included manual will tell you how many times each function needs to be pressed. The folding mechanism is surprising Simple and easy to use. In fact, it’s one of the simplest folding mechanisms we’ve seen, which is impressive considering the unit’s size and sturdiness.

Its operation is also very simple. It’s an easy-to-use and intuitive electric scooter that even people with zero electric scooter experience can learn to ride in minutes. It also holds all your important parts in place thanks to its rubber handle and textured rubber deck surface.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

 NIU KQi3 Pro: Features

• Sport mode not available until 200m
• Always on Halo headlights and taillights
•  Anti-theft (hurrah!) 

For an electric scooter under $800/£800, the NIU KQi3 Pro has excellent features. It offers some safety features that we think are NIU’s way of hitting back at people who hate electric scooters, like sport mode that doesn’t work until you’ve ridden it 200 times Meter and Pedestrian modes limit the speed so you can ride in high-traffic areas without hitting people around you like a bowling ball.

There are also always-on Halo headlights and taillights, which we thought was a good idea since many riders don’t have the discipline to turn them on even at night. Turning on the light switch will only brighten the headlights, just like when you turn on the high beams Visibility is low.

More experienced riders will also appreciate the cruise control features custom mode and zero start, which basically means you don’t have to give the scooter a useful start (although if you’re a novice you can turn on non-zero start when cornering and it becomes scooter.)

Perhaps our favorite feature is the anti-theft feature, since even pricier scooters don’t have many, which is a bit ironic since these models are more prone to theft. You need to link the scooter to the app to use this feature, but once linked All you need to do to activate it is to press the lock button on the vehicle page. Once it’s activated, it will ring if someone tries to push the scooter away, ride it or turn it on. It will continue beeping until it is left alone.

This anti-theft isn’t powerful enough to know when someone has taken it off and loaded it into the back of a truck, but at least it will prevent thieves from riding it.

Sadly, it’s only IP54 rated for dust and water resistance, which means you shouldn’t be using it in a downpour and a little flood. But who wants to ride an electric scooter in the rain?

•  Features: 4.5 / 5 

 NIU KQi3 Pro: Performance

• Increase speed and 20% incline
• Up to 31 miles of range and a top speed of 20 mph

It’s hard to write about the performance of the NIU KQi3 Pro, not because it’s bad, but because you have a hard time finding something to complain about. This electric scooter is snappy and fast, especially when you turn off the kick and let its throttle move All hard work. That goes from zero to 9 mph in a matter of seconds, which does mean that if you’re inexperienced, you shouldn’t be so generous when you hit the throttle.

The pricier scooter only has a 15 percent hillside rating, but for hillside dwellers like this reviewer, it’s a dream. When tested in our hilly neighborhood in Los Angeles, it maintained 7 to 9 mph on 20 percent of the hills, which is what it’s rated for. Other electric scooters we have The test on this hill struggled to get to the top at a slow 4 mph crawl—and it needed some help from us.

That 700W motor is relatively quiet, actually quieter than some of its competitors. That only adds to its elegance, which you might want if you’re cycling to work in a tailored suit.

Meanwhile, those 9.5-inch wheels are a revelation. Personally, we prefer e-scooters with 10-inch pneumatic tires because they have far better shock absorption, but these smaller e-scooters on the NIU KQi3 Pro were an eye opener. It’s not so much the size of the tire, it’s the thickness Offering a smooth ride, these 2.5-inch thick ones are proof.

We always test e-scooters on a rough, potholed road behind the street, and this was the first e-scooter we rode there, and it actually passed with flying colors. The first time we didn’t vibrate over large cracks, it made for a very pleasant and smooth ride.

The brakes are regenerative, and you can actually choose how much power you want to recover via the app. However, thanks to its powerful battery, with a range of 31 miles, if you commute 10 miles a day, it can last for three days on a single charge if your Commute time is shorter.

On the other hand, if you don’t use it every day, you’ll appreciate that e-scooters seem to improve battery life. If you haven’t used it for a long time, be sure to check the battery level the night before. The time to fully charge is after six hours all.

But be careful with those brakes because they are responsive. We recommend getting used to them before riding at 20 mph; to avoid being thrown off the e-scooter by braking too hard.

•  Performance: 5 / 5 

Should I buy the NIU KQi3 Pro?

 NIU KQi3 Pro: Report card

• First Review November 2022

 How we test

We pride ourselves on our independence and rigorous review testing process, we can keep an eye on the products we review over the long term and make sure our reviews are updated and maintained – no matter when a device is released, if you can still buy it, it’s Radar on our website.