My thoughts on the Supascoota Sport XL

5 out of 5 stars

Still something of a new entry to the market, the Supascoota range is a ground up rethink of what is the norm for a 4 MPH class 2 mobility scooter, gone are the plastic panels and fancy chrome that rusts all too quickly and the total lack of any suspension or springs and dampers as afterthoughts that do very little to add comfort.
The Supascoota consists of a basic tubular frame, with footplates, a sprung seat, a close together set of front wheels and a set of rear wheels powered by wheelchair motors and gearboxes.
The result is a light but robust scooter with a tight turning circle and a neat folding design for lifting. If the weight is still too much, and lets face it many people using mobility scooters for one reason or another cannot lift much at all, the Supascoota takes apart further to make more manageable pieces. I use a hoist myself.
There are 6 models in the range from under £1000 to just over £2000, varying specifications to suit varying needs.
The model I have is the Sport XL, although why “Sport” comes into it I have no idea.
It does however have a 180 watt motor driving each rear wheel which gives a very responsive performance and will take even a fairly steep incline with no drop in speed.
Batteries can be either 14 AH GEL, AGM or 15 AH Lithium, across the range giving a range of 8 to 12 miles depending on model and batteries used.
Most do have an option for a second set of batteries, mine for example has 2 sets of AGM giving a total range of around 16 miles. A lot of my use is on rough terrain, grass, gravel etc, I go off the track in country parks and nature reserves, and the Supascoota so far has proved well capable of the task, bearing in mind that rough terrain and inclines use power a lot more quickly than swanning round shopping centres.
With the front wheels being very close together, it is akin to a 3 wheeler that I know many are wary of considering them unstable, especially on turning. The Supascoota has a neat and unique way to counter this, making tight turns very controllable and stable: As the tiller is turned, a gear engages and signals the motor(s) to slow down, making even the tightest of turns absolutely safe.
As for ride comfort, I was dubious that the ride would be as good as my last scooter, a Road King, which did have suspension that actually worked ( many do not) and I doubted this Sport XL could match it with no suspension apart from a pair of springs under the seat. The ride comfort has proved superior to and of my previous scooters so I need not have worried. Plus a distinct lack of rattles and creaks that plagued my other scooters from new.
A couple of things that let it down for me though:
The charging point is under the seat, only about a foot off the ground, to counter this I bought an XLR extension cable so I just have the cable looped around the armrest ready for when I need it.
No lights come as standard. This was easily put right by spending under a fiver online to get a powerful LED light set for a bicycle, much brighter than any scooter standard offering. The handlebars are actually proper alloy bike handlebars, so bike fittings go straight on.
No reverse beeps…..To be honest, every scooter I have had had such faint beeps I doubt anyone heard them anyway.
These are minor niggles though, outweighed by the above average engineering and thoughtful touches.

All said, very happy with this scooter.