Four months and nearly 500 km. These are the stats that led to this test of the Navee S60. The scooter is intended to be comfortable and quite powerful, we will see later that it does not check all these boxes. This does not prevent it from being a good choice, provided you make do with a mediocre application, a large footprint and a more limited autonomy than expected.
A “Cybertruck” design, really?
We start with the design of this Navee S60. The manufacturer openly displays a Tesla Cybertruck on the homepage of the site. Well, a deformed model, but clearly identifiable. Obviously, the design of the S60 is inspired by it. We remain skeptical… Except for the color and the chamfers, there is not much similar.
Let’s talk about the design. The scooter is longer than it looks, with a length of 119.5 cm. The deck is 20 cm wide (17 cm for the grip) by 50 cm long and even 60 cm if we include the footrest which, unlike the competition, can actually accommodate your foot. The stem is high. The handlebars are thus enthroned at 125 cm. A handlebar that integrates indicators at the ends. This gives 60 cm width. Here, no trick to pivot the stem or fold the handles. Several people of different sizes have tried the S60. The result is a minimum height of 1.55 m, for a maximum of 2 m.
The headlight can tilt, unlike the competition. A good point. There are 2 brakes. A drum at the front, another at the rear. A third brake, electromagnetic, is also present. We will talk about it later.
The turn signals are activated by a two-way switch. They do not turn off automatically and you have to press the same direction again to turn it off. There is no reminder on the deck or rear.
The 10-inch wheels are fitted with CST brand tubeless tires. This is the brand used everywhere. The tread measures 2 cm for a tire width (domed) of 75 mm.
As for the weight, the Navee S60 is heavy as we weighed it at 23.5 kg. That’s less than the 24.6 kg announced. But the battery wasn’t fully charged… Sorry, it was tempting.
The black digital screen (like on a Casio GShock) gives the impression of being borderless. In reality, it doesn’t display anything very interesting. The speed is limited to 25 km/h. Nothing to be fixated on. Only the mode is displayed, as well as whether or not the lights are on.
Build quality: It’s sturdy, but cheap
The Navee S60 is doing well. While no parts failed during our various trips, some pieces are still poor quality. The suspension guards, the material for the lock, the brake handles, the seal protecting the charging port, the wiring at the rear wheel (although sheathed), or even the rear mudguard seem fragile.
On the other hand, the tires, the general assembly (nothing moves) and the chassis are qualitative. There is no play. Between the parts. We pushed the vice to jump the sidewalks (with a rider of 100 kg on it), to go down big steps, to jump on it and nothing gave way. The folding system is solid and easy to do with one hand.
Intermodal: it’s a big no
Forget intermodal, this Navee S60 is too bulky. And if only that were all. And it’s not just the 60 cm wide handlebar. The hanging system is poorly made and will require several attempts.. But the worst part is that once the scooter is folded, the stem pivots too easily. Using it as a trolley is impossible. The grip is tricky with a very poorly distributed weight. Transporting it in the subway is unthinkable as soon as the carriage is a little full.
But the most complicated thing will be to go up and down the stairs with it. The grip on the gallows hurts your hands. The general bulkiness risks making you bump into someone. Then the weight is poorly distributed. It does not stand folded and upright on a wall.
Everyday vehicle: the ideal scooter to replace the car
The Navee S60 is a good utility product. Well calibrated, sufficiently powerful, the scooter can claim to ensure your daily journeys. Even in the rain or in winter. As long as you have a maximum of 24 km to do. Which, and this is the purpose of this subtitle, allows you to relieve your car, which will be used for other journeys.
Note that the climate allowed almost half of the test to be carried out in the rain and on wet ground. The scooter also slept on a balcony. No problems to report on this side.
By the way, the handling in the rain is very good. The CST tires do a good job. Add to that good wear resistance and you get a almost non-existent maintenance (except checking the tightening, cleaning the deck, the routine). That’s not all. The indicators are useless during the day, because they are imperceptible. But at night, they light up the road as well as the grey cats. And joke aside, they offer interesting visibility, by adding lighting at the top to the bottom. You are immediately identified as a scooter. The lighting is also correct. It offers a slightly narrow spectrum. But the inclination allows the ground to be lit a little more.
The suspensions are not left behind. Finally, the slats that act as suspension, because there is no spring. Considering the price, it is already impressive to have cushioning on each of the wheels. The roughness is not erased, you do not have to push. But the comfort is appreciable.
Finally, we welcome the presence of three brakes, two of which are drum brakesA brake on each wheel, now that’s a good idea.
To illustrate the thing: with a rider of 100 kg thrown at 25 km/hthe S60 took 5 meters to stop using both brakes and the magnetic braking set to maximum. Using only the front brake, the S60 took 5.7 m to stop. With the rear brake alone, the distance increases to 6.3 m. On wet ground, using both brakes limits the risk of slipping. The advantage of the drum is twofold: it is easy to maintain and its bite is progressive. The disadvantage is that it brakes longer than a disc equivalent.
We must talk about the footrest. Made of metal, it is sturdy and can really support your weight. It also serves as a grip element for the handlebar, once the scooter is folded.
Performance: just right
The engine delivers 500W nominal power. The latter goes up to 1000W at peak. Unlike electrically assisted bicycles, the electric scooter is not limited on power. It can therefore hold for a long time at peak, as long as the battery allows it. Still with 100 kg of rider on it, the Navee S60 was able to climb a 4% hill at 25 km/h. The limit was reached on a 10% slope. Under these conditions, the speed of the S60 quickly dropped to stabilize at 15 km/h.
Autonomy and recharge: too short and too long
The 60 km range announced is absurd. You will actually reach 23.8 km (our average over all journeys in various conditions). In sport mode, at 25 °C, with a 100 kg rider and on a mixed course with a few climbs (and therefore as many descents). Which is average considering the volume and especially the weight of the machine. Average, because this range only offers a radius of 12 km round trip per charge.
Navee highlights its BMS (battery management system). We haven’t noticed anything transcendental about it. Or at least, nothing better than the competition.
The S60 has a battery of 10.2 Ah at 48V. Like the Xiaomi Electric Scooter 4 Pro 2nd Gen, tested on the site, the Navee reaches its maximum speed until the electron tank is exhausted. This allows it to display 23.8 km of real autonomy.
Regarding recharging, you will have to be patient. The manufacturer announces 8 hours to go from 0% to 100%. In reality, it is less, but still long. Thus, starting from 0%, it takes an hour to reach 25%. Two hours allow you to display 35% and it takes three hours to cross 50%. The rest takes about an hour for 10% gained. There is no fast charger provided, but a modest 2A.
An application that lacks interest
The S60’s screen doesn’t display anything interesting. So Navee has opted for a virtual dashboard. You have to launch the application and carefully wedge your smartphone onto a support that is not provided.
Unfortunately, despite some real visual work (it’s refined), the display is small (while it could better exploit the excessive surface area of our current smartphones). No accessible stopwatch or timer. Autonomy is not even calculated depending on the current usage. Therefore, the 60 km drops quickly.
Finally, we were unable to pair the S60 with Apple Find My. The procedure in the user manual was followed:
- “Find my function switch” option (these are the terms) enabled on the Navee app
- Turn on the scooter, apply the brakes and press the accelerator 3 times.
Despite this, I had to disable the option in the app, turn off the scooter, close the app. Then turn the S60 back on, enable the option in the app and try again to find the scooter in “Apple Find My”. Finally, the object was found, but the pairing does not go through and the scooter is not added.
We will also note that the application is available in questionable French, due to a Google translation.
While we’re at it: the tire pressure sensor doesn’t exist (we deflated them to check). That’s a bit much in terms of promises sold and not kept.
Verdict: good, but too short for some trips
The Navee S60 is a good proposition on the scooter market in the range (500-650 euros). You will be satisfied with it if and only if the 23.8 km of autonomy is enough for you for a trip. In this case, you have a robust, comfortable, affordable, rather pretty and safe machine. Displayed at 499 euros At the time of writing (against the official price of 599 euros), the S60 is excellent value for money.
But we will have to think about the 23.5 kg when going up the stairs and forget about public transport like the bus or the metro. Elements that remove all interest from this model. For the rest, it is a scooter with a utilitarian vocation, tinged with a bit of fun, which will save you time daily, whatever the climate, for a quarter of the price of an e-bike positioned at the bottom of the low-end basket.
Source: www.journaldugeek.com
