Unagi The Model One E350 Single Motor

Filed warranty service claim within 2 months – I’d recently moved workplace to an exceptionally convenient location to where I live and simultaneously switched mobile phone plans, which also conveniently came with a JB Hifi voucher, which I used to purchase the Unagi E350. Given the distance to work is only 9km and relatively flat, half of which is bike lanes, I saw no point in purchasing a… Read more

bulky, high powered, suspension wheeled escooter. I wanted something light (12kg), compact, sleek, with sufficient battery for a round trip (range is 24km), fits under my desk (folds down nice and small), and looks unassuming (almost looks like a manual scooter). The e350 literally ticked all those boxes. Whilst the speed limit maxes out at 25kph, I wasn’t buying this to feel the wind in my hair. I just needed a commuter.

After watching numerous YouTube videos, with all hailing this as a great all rounder, I pulled the trigger and bought one.

Unfortunately, 2 months later, the rear wheel started making a scrapping noise, a visual inspection yielded no reasons, and one week later the battery would abruptly die from 3 out of 5 bars remaining, within a few minutes.

I took it back to JB Hifi and because of their safety protocols, staff are unable to operate escooters in-store to recreate the issue and they instead, referred me back to Unagi (email as this is a Chinese company). Unagi were actually pretty good, they tee’d up an inspection service with Mini EV’s within days, and confirmed that it was a valid warranty claim, citing a malfunction with both the rear wheel and battery.

Mini EV’s replaced the wheel and battery within about 2-3 weeks, with the biggest delay coming from delivery of the parts to their shop.

For the most part, it has lived up to the hype but the fact that the E350 had significant faults within 2 months is a major let down. Also, the honeycomb wheels offer very little dampening in the ride. There are two short, maybe 20m wooden boardwalks I go over each day and it’s jarring to say the least.

To conclude, it you’re going to spend nearly $700 on an escooter, just go the full hog and get a powerful one.