Review: Kugoo S1 Plus
Our editorial rating is based on product testing.
- low price
- solid build
- good suspension
- easy folding
- no Bluetooth
- not suitable for taller people
- the screws need to be sealed
- no disc brake
The basic scooter model Kugoo S1 impressed right after its debut mainly with its low price, which made electric scooters accessible to a wider audience. However, due to several shortcomings, it was criticized by many. This time, its successor arrives in the form of the Kugoo S1 Plus, which promises to address the main problems of the older version.
Did the manufacturer manage to improve the folding system and eliminate the annoying rattling while riding? Read our detailed review.
Where to buy the Kugoo S1 Plus?
Kugoo e-scooters are sold by an international seller of this brand – Geekbuying. Its price stays consistently below 300 €, absolutely beating most other e-scooters on the market.
Kugoo S1 Plus
PL warehouse
TIPExpress delivery from the Polish warehouse with no customs duty and VAT.
This product will be delivered to you express from a local Polish warehouse. Shipping from Poland usually takes 7-10 days and is handled by a courier. When it arrives, you don’t pay any extra fees—no customs duty or VAT.
You’ll also be happy with the availability in the European warehouse, so you don’t have to wait months for the scooter. It will be delivered by courier directly to your home with no extra charges — without needing to pay VAT and customs duty.
Packaging and its contents
The Kugoo S1 Plus electric scooter comes in a black box with printed graphics, which is also placed inside another protective box sealed with plastic film. Inside, you’ll find the scooter itself, which is ready to ride right away.
In the box, it’s folded the way you can fold it whenever you need to carry it by hand. That means there’s no need for any additional assembly. All you have to do is take the scooter out of the box, slide the handlebars into place, and lift the entire handlebar stem into the vertical position.
So there are no screws or keys required for assembly included in the package, which is a shame because not all the screws were tightened enough. Besides the scooter, you’ll only find a brief manual and a charger. That makes the package very simple and containing only the essentials. You’d at least expect spare screws to be included.
Build quality and construction
At first glance, the scooter’s entire construction feels very solid and sturdy. Its total weight is 12,5 kg, which is slightly less than the main competitor’s scooter from Xiaomi. Most parts are made of metal or from durable plastics that also feel high quality.
The footrest area measures approximately 53 x 15.5 cm, which is more than enough. It’s covered with rubber in gray, where dirt is immediately visible, but thanks to the material used it provides enough grip and your shoes won’t slip. However, this rubber isn’t attached with very high-quality adhesive.
The scooter has a telescopic handlebar, so you can adjust the height of the handlebars — but only to two positions. In the lower position, the handlebar height from the ground is 88 cm, and in the higher position it is 105 cm. So it’s more suitable for shorter riders. Our editor, who is 185 cm tall, would need the handlebars a bit higher, so for him the ride wasn’t completely comfortable.
The manufacturer states a maximum load capacity of up to 120 kg. The wheels have a 8″ diameter and they are solid, rubber tires with holes around the rim. To the touch, these tubeless tires feel hard, but there’s no need to worry about punctures while riding.
Dual suspension
Because the scooter has solid (tubeless), rubber tires, it needed to be suspended for a more comfortable ride. On the rear, you can see the classic spring shock absorber at the bottom, and at the front the suspension is hidden under the cover.
We have to admit that the suspension actually works surprisingly well. When riding over bumps, the scooter isn’t completely silent and you can feel vibrations and sometimes hear slight knocking, but it absorbs uneven surfaces very effectively.
Compared to a classic Xiaomi scooter that doesn’t have suspension but has pneumatic inner-tube tires, riding the Kugoo S1 Plus is more comfortable.
However, there’s one problem the manufacturer hasn’t solved. During the ride, the screws that secure the handlebars to the telescopic stem loosen. We tightened everything before the first ride, but even so, we managed to lose one of them during our first, one-hour test ride.
It’s a shame there are no replacement screws, because finding identical ones in local stores may be difficult. So we recommend sealing these screws with thread-locking glue before the first ride.
Kugoo S1 Plus folding mechanism
One of the annoying problems with the first version of the Kugoo S1 scooter was the folding mechanism — many people needed a hammer to be able to fold the scooter. Later, a guide appeared on how to do it by leaning the scooter against a solid obstacle, but it still wasn’t ideal. So the folding mechanism was genuinely solved in a rather unfortunate way.
The Kugoo S1 Plus, however, brings a completely different and finally functional folding mechanism. On the side, there’s a plastic latch that you just lift together with a small safety catch, and then you can fold the scooter easily without any problems. The latch is large enough and works very conveniently.
Even the handlebars fold as well: you need to release them by turning the red levers next to the throttle and brake controls. Once unlocked, they pull out of their position and can be folded parallel to the telescopic stem.
Power, riding modes, and ride impressions
The Kugoo S1 Plus has a power of 350 W with a motor built into the front wheel. The maximum speed is 30 km/h. However, there are 3 riding modes, distinguished based on maximum speed. The first mode is limited to 20 km/h, the second to 25 km/h, and the third can handle up to 30 km/h.
The modes are changed using a button on the throttle lever. With this button, the scooter is also turned on and off (by holding it longer). On the brake lever, there’s another button for turning the lights on and off. Both buttons are rubberized and are pressed relatively hard.
Speed and the currently selected mode are shown on the display in the middle of the handlebars. It comes from the factory with a protective glass, but in our case it wasn’t applied very precisely and it contained not only air bubbles but also scratches right out of the box. However, based on our experience, with the rider’s weight of 78 kg we didn’t reach a speed higher than 30 km/h. The display showed a maximum of 28 km/h.
As we already mentioned above, riding the e-scooter at our height wasn’t completely comfortable, but overall we rate the riding characteristics very positively. It suits shorter people much better. As for hills, the manufacturer states a maximum incline of 15°. During testing, we rode the e-scooter around Košice, where there are plenty of climbs and descents.
Compared to the Xiaomi Mi Electric Scooter Pro, the Kugoo handles hills worse, which is probably due to its weaker battery.
Real range and charging of the Kugoo S1 Plus
Kugoo states a maximum range of 30 km per charge, but it doesn’t specify under what conditions. The battery itself has a capacity of 7.5 Ah at a voltage of 36 V. It consists of several Li-ion cells 18650.
During our range test, we rode mostly on flat ground on the cycle path to avoid having to stop too often, and we were curious what the real range would be. With our weight of 78 kg and continuous use of the fastest mode, we managed to reach a maximum of 17 km before the battery was fully drained.
It doesn’t show the exact battery percentage. On the display, you only see a battery icon divided into 5 parts. From about half of the capacity, you can already feel a drop in performance—this continues to get worse, and near the end it becomes much more noticeable.
The charging port is located near the folding mechanism, on the opposite side from where the latch is positioned. The port is protected by a rubber cover to keep out dirt, but it doesn’t hold in place very well and often falls off.
Charging from fully drained to full takes about 4 hours and 45 minutes using the charging adapter. Charging status is indicated only by an LED diode on the adapter. If we turn the scooter on during charging, it doesn’t display any charging information on the screen.
The lack of a disc brake
Kugoo S1 Plus lacks the classic disc brake. Instead, you’ll only find an electronic brake controlled by a lever on the left side of the handlebars, plus a mechanical brake in the form of a foot-operated fender. The electronic brake is quite effective, but if you need to brake hard and stop as quickly as possible, it isn’t ideal. It also tends to brake more sharply with the initial squeeze of the brake lever, so braking isn’t the smoothest.
In critical situations, you also need to use stepping on the rear fender, which can send the scooter into a fairly quick skid—so you’ll need to get used to this braking style. Personally, we prefer a classic disc brake that we know not only from bicycles but also from other competing scooters.
Eye-catching lighting
What’s interesting is the scooter’s lighting, which turns on with a double press of the button on the brake lever. Red lights are placed in all four corners of the standing/footboard area, and in reduced visibility they look very impressive.
Brake lights are also a given—they automatically light up when braking—and a front white light that turns on together with the red corner lighting.
Kugoo S1 Plus: Final verdict
The Kugoo S1 Plus electric scooter is a great choice if you’re looking for a basic city model at a good price. Besides the low cost, one big advantage is the good suspension—which isn’t a standard feature in this price range—along with solid riding performance, impressive lighting, and a sturdy build.
The range per charge won’t surprise you, but it’s in the average category. Solid tires ensure you won’t get a flat, and the folding mechanism is very simple and practical.
The downsides are the lack of a disc brake and Bluetooth, so you can’t set anything or check the status of the battery cells in the app via your smartphone like you can with competitors. On the other hand, basic information is shown on the scooter’s display, so an app isn’t a necessity.
The Kugoo S1 Plus is also better suited for shorter riders, since a person who is 185 cm tall would need to raise the handlebars a bit higher, which the scooter doesn’t allow. Compared to the Xiaomi scooter in the Pro version, which has a 300 W motor and a 12.8 Ah battery, the Kugoo S1 Plus handles hills a bit worse despite the stronger 350 W motor. The reason is probably the battery, which has “only” 7.5 Ah and the scooter’s maximum motor output. Still, the difference between these scooters is over 100 €, and that’s why the Kugoo S1 Plus performs very well.
Kugoo S1 Plus
PL warehouseTIPExpress delivery from the Polish warehouse with no customs duty and VAT.
This product will be delivered to you express from a local Polish warehouse. Shipping from Poland usually takes 7-10 days and is handled by a courier. When it arrives, you don’t pay any extra fees—no customs duty or VAT.
We repeat that you can buy it from our trusted seller Geebuying, which has it in an EU warehouse. Kugoo scooters also have a service center in Poland, so you don’t have to ship it to China in case of a claim.
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