Yadea is a big name in the electric scooter space and the ElitePrime is a prime (heh) example of why! Durable premium construction, amazingly comfortable polymer shock absorbers, intuitive lighting & signaling systems... there's a lot to love about this scooter, and we haven't even mentioned the impressively zippy motor yet. It is on the pricier side, and some features aren't quite dialed in yet - we're looking at you, buggy Yadea smartphone app - but all things considered this scoot is definitely worth a closer look.
Video Review
General
Frame and Contact Points
Electronics
Scooter Components
Written Review
Hello fellow e-scooter enthusiasts! Today I'm reviewing the ElitePrime, a futuristic-looking electric scooter that lives up to it's name.... mostly. It's made by Yadea which is one of the bigger companies in the PEV space; according to them, they're the world's largest producer of two-wheeled electric vehicles. That's pretty impressive, and I could tell an immediate difference between the ElitePrime and many other scooters I've ridden on. This sleek scoot is built well, designed well, and packed with premium features. Without further ado, let's dive in to the details!
Design: Futuristic and Minimalist
Yadea is really leaning hard into the "minimalist urban adventure scooter of the future" vibe with the ElitePrime, especially on their dedicated marketing page. They've done a good job; The ElitePrime looks sleek as hell, and I really like the single cantilever design of the polymer shock absorbers. This probably does reduce the overall weight limit somewhat, but it can still carry up to 246 pounds of rider weight. Full plastic fenders provide good coverage in case you get caught out in inclement weather.
Cables are cleanly and cleverly tucked away inside the frame, and the headlight & display are both integrated into the stem. It's a good design that both looks sleek, and means you don't have lights or a screen jutting out where they can get bumped and damaged easily. The handlebar is also extended forward a good six inches which makes it easier to hold, and easier to view the display... but it also makes mounting a stem bag difficult. Yadea actually includes a nice hardshell stem case with the ElitePrime, but I wasn't able to fasten it on due to the handlebar design (and that's probably why you don't see the case mounted in any of their marketing materials).
I'm a big fan of the colors on the ElitePrime; Almost everything is a dark slate-ey gray, with some tasteful orange accents, and of course the solid black for the tires. Is the dark color scheme not your thing? Too bad, because that's the only color you can get!
Like most scooters, the ElitePrime folds for easier storage and transportation. It has a magnetic lock to secure it in the folded position, and it's impressively well balanced; just grab it by the middle of the stem and carry it wherever you need to go. Granted, it does weigh 65 pounds, so it's not exactly a "carry on the subway with you" scooter... but for loading into your car or short trips up and down the stairs it's surprisingly easy to maneuver.
Ride Feel is Among the Best
There's no two ways about it: The ElitePrime feels amazing to ride no matter where you're going. It's definitely designed for city and urban use, commuting, running errands, and such... but if you get the itch to go adventuring off the beaten path, this scoot is up to the task! The dual polymer shock absorbers have about 60mm of travel and boy howdy do they work great. These feel much softer and smoother than typical coil or spring suspension, which has a much more aggressive "bounce back" effect. By contrast, these polymer absorbers sort of just "absorb" the bumps, nice and smooth like. It's tough to explain the difference but when you feel it, it's huge.
Power delivery and braking are smooth as well; even if you go from zero to full throttle immediately, the roll-on of acceleration is a nice smooth curve that feels relaxed, but can still get you up to top speed in just a few seconds. When you first squeeze the brake levers you activate the electronic brakes (more on those later), and they also kick in lightly at first before ramping up to bring you to a halt.
To top things off the ElitePrime is very stable and maneuverable. Granted, the top speed of 19mph isn't super fast, but I still felt rock-solid stable without any hints of speed wobbles. Carving turns at that speed is a lot of fun, and when you're going slow it's impressively nimble. I was able to execute a U-turn on a sidewalk without even putting my feet down!
One Motor is All You Need
The ElitePrime has a single motor in the rear rated for 800 watts, so I wasn't expecting much in terms of acceleration. Lately I've been riding powerful scooters with 1200 watt motors - usually two of them - so you can imagine my surprise when the ElitePrime beat all of them in acceleration! Well, at least it beat them up to its top speed of 19mph. Most of those dual-motor scooters can go 30-40mph, but if I'm being honest it's a bit sketchy to go that fast on a scooter, especially in busy urban areas where the ElitePrime is intended to be used.
Anyways, this single motor peaks at 1500 watts with 40 newton-meters of torque which helps explain the powerful acceleration capabilities. You have to be riding in Speed Mode to achieve this, which is un-lockable in the paired smartphone app after you've ridden at least 1km. After a lot of riding I think I understand why; Speed Mode is peppy enough to do an accidental wheelie if you don't have your weight leaning forward, so use it with caution!
Smartphone App Leaves Much to be Desired
A lot of PEVs have some form of smartphone app integration these days, but Yadea is all-in and requires you to install and use their app in order to activate the scooter and get rolling. The app has some cool features and definitely a lot of promise... but unfortunately it's also buggy, and all of the instructions were obviously written by someone with a weak grasp of the English language. Why don't these companies ever hire a native speaker to proof-read their content for them?!
You can do quite a lot in the app, but by far the most useful feature is locking and unlocking the scooter. Locking it engages the brakes so it can't roll anywhere, and moving it around will trigger an alarm mode with loud beeps and flashing lights. It's a great anti-theft feature! You can also trigger this alarm mode manually, though I'm not sure why you'd want to... maybe if you can't find your scooter at the rack, but you'd still have to be within bluetooth range to do that.
You can also use the app to change your riding mode between Walk, Drive, Sport, and Speed. Walk is handy if you're walking the scooter (duh), Drive is slow but useful if you're around a lot of pedestrian foot traffic, and Sport is more peppy and let's you get up to the top speed of 19mph. Speed Mode, as mentioned earlier, has the same top speed but much more peppy acceleration. While it's nice to be able to change them in the app, you can also just change them directly from the scooter display by double tapping the power button... which is much easier in my opinion.
Another handy feature is changing the display units from metric to imperial, and you can also change how aggressive the electronic brakes are (which regenerate battery power), but here we have to discuss the app's bugs. Customizing this stuff doesn't get saved when you power off the scooter, which means every time you start it up you have to go into the app and change it again... which takes longer than it should, because the app doesn't connect to the scooter automatically, and there's no "Connect" button. You basically have to tap around and try to change things until a new screen pops up with a connect button on it. It's a frustrating user experience and hopefully Yadea will address it in a future update.
Doing Safety Right
There's a lot to talk about in this section! For starters, Yadea uses automotive grade 21700 ternary lithium cells in their battery, and it's UL certified which is fast becoming a requirement for PEVs, especially if you like not accidentally burning your house down. The charger connection is also magnetic meaning it can break away if needed, similar to a Macbook MagSafe cable.
There are three redundant braking systems so you can pretty much stop on a dime at any time. Up front is a mechanical drum brake, in the back there's a mechanical disc brake with a 120mm rotor, and then on top of that you've got an electronic braking system. Lightly squeeze on the levers and you'll only activate the electronic brakes, which automatically recharge your battery - pretty handy! Then if you really squeeze down on those levers you'll activate both mechanical brakes for some seriously impressive stopping power.
There's also a full array of lights and signals, and I love that the headlight is positioned up high in the handlebar! This makes it much easier for other people to see you, especially vehicle drivers who may not be able to see the ground level due to the angle of their mirrors. The taillight is still down low, of course, but it's fairly bright and has a bright flashing mode when the brakes are active. The turn signals are in the rear but wrap around the side of the frame so that they're visible from the side, but not really from the front, and they're also not very bright so most people won't notice them during the day. The turn signals turn off automatically after five seconds which is nice if you're like me and always forget to turn them off. Less nice is the fact that the scooter beeps loudly while the turn signals are active. It's annoying for me as the rider, and nearby people always stop and look around confused to see what all the beeping is about. It honestly makes me want to avoid using the turn signals and I hope Yadea adds a way to disable the beeps in their app.
Lastly, let's talk about the tires. These MPN tubeless tires have a grippy water-breaking tread that has amazing grip on asphalt in any riding condition. Even better, they're self-healing, able to seal any accidental punctures immediately. This is obviously great for convenience - no one likes dealing with flat tires - but it's also important for safety, as blowouts while riding often result in a crash.
Closing Thoughts
Despite it's shortcomings the ElitePrime is still one of the most refined and well built electric scooters I've ever ridden on. Since most of my complaints have to do with the smartphone app and electronics behavior, I'm hopeful that Yadea will address these issues with future updates, making the ElitePrime an even sweeter ride. Thanks for stopping by to read this review, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below. Until next time!
What Other Experts Are Saying
"The ElitePrime houses a 696Wh battery, a solid capacity for a scooter in this price range. One thing I do love is the MagQuick charging! Chargers are getting better this year, but the charger here made me feel like I was plugging in a MacBook Pro. Unlike a MacBook Pro, this thing is IP67 rated, so water and dust aren’t an issue for the ElitePrime. While the scooter's minimum range is quoted at 20 miles, keep in min..."
"The Elite Prime is outfitted with a full suite of lights. The headlight comes on automatically every time you turn on the scooter, something that you seemingly can't change in the companion app. A rear light helps you stay visible at night. While many scooters have lights, far fewer have indicators, but the Yadea Elite Prime does. These are only located on the back of the scooter, so you’ll need to rely on hand sig..."
"With a robust 800W motor that can peak at a staggering 1500W, the elite prime electric scooter effortlessly marries power with grace. Whether you’re gliding through city streets or taking on more challenging terrains, the scooter’s consistent power output ensures a ride that’s both thrilling and smooth. On my hill tests I was able to easily tackle slopes at 30° or more and still sustain a speed of 10-12mph. Th..."
"Featuring an all-aluminum frame, a powerful motor, and large-capacity battery, the ElitePrime Electric Scooter will completely change how you commute. It boasts a reliable braking system and also has widened handlebars for maximum user control. Although the scooter is not as fast compared to most offerings in its price range, it is durably built and equally easy to operate, making it a great choice for everyone!..."
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