NAVEE S40 Electric Scooter review

REVIEW – I can appreciate a bold design choice when I see one, and taking design inspiration from the infamous Tesla Cybertruck is certainly bold.  NAVEE thinks so too, and have incorporated the clean lines and colorway of the Cybertruck into their newest model lineup.  We’re hopping on the S40 to see if it rides as good as it looks.  

What is it?

The S40 is a commuter electric scooter by NAVEE, which is designed to deliver a comfortable and performant ride in urban settings.  

NAVEE is a relative newcomer having been established in 2021, and has several e-scooter models across the commercial and consumer market. 

What’s included?

• NAVEE S40 Electric Scooter
• Power brick
• Manual
• Assembly hardware

Tech specs

Design and features

Something may look familiar about the S40, and NAVEE is up front that it’s design aesthetic is inspired by the Tesla Cybertruck.  The colorway and sharp lines throughout certainly achieve the cyberpunk style that NAVEE was going for, and the deck absolutely has that Cybertruck vibe going for it.

The S40 has a typical design for an e-scooter.  Front and center is the built in display which will give you speed, ride, mode and stats at a glance.  On the left handle we have the hand brake, blinker control, and bell.  On the right handle we have the power/mode button, and thumb actuated throttle.  Cutouts are at each end of the handlebars where the orange LED’s sit for signaling.

Moving down the fixed height stem, there is an adjustable angle headlight and further we have the folding mechanism, which folds at a joint from the stem to the fork.  The bell in the handlebar plays a dual role as also being the latch piece to secure the handlebars to the rear of the scooter when folded.  

The deck is comfortably wide and very grippy, with a textured, rubberized surface.  NAVEE has gone with a tubeless tire in lieu of a solid tire to help keep the ride smooth.  This pairs nicely with their suspension system.  At the very back is a brake light which illuminates when the brake lever is pulled.  There is also an integrated kickstand towards the bow of the deck, which keeps the S40 well balanced and stable when not in use.  

Other notable features of the S40 include: 

• Regenerative braking
• Apple Find My support
• NAVEE App 
• Electronic lock

Assembly, Installation, Setup

The NAVEE S40 scooter arrives mostly assembled, with the handlebar separated from the stem.  Attaching it takes less than five minutes to line everything up and secure it with the included hardware.  

I found the S40 arrived with about 20% charge, so I hooked it up to power. There is a waterproof cover over the barrel plug charging port. Charging does take a while, and the quoted six hours are on point.  

The S40 isn’t compact, and takes up much of the trunk space in our Honda Pilot.  This is a larger scooter and feels best suited to be a primary point A to point B means of conveyance.  

While the packaging appeared robust, I did notice what appeared to be some shipping damage to the side of the deck.  Initially, I thought this was just dirt, but the paint was unfortunately rubbed away in these spots.  

Performance

For a commuter scooter, I’m looking for a comfortable and smooth ride – the S40 delivers both.  One gripe I’ve had with other scooters has been a narrow deck which can make a comfortable riding position elusive.  NAVEE has designed a deck that’s wide enough to support my size eleven shoes in any position, and also includes an angled back plate for more positioning options.

The choice to go with tubeless tires lends to a far more forgiving contact point with the road, and is paired well with an effective suspension system.  You’ll still feel sharp changes in the road surface such as the edge of a manhole cover, but normal road imperfections and transitions in surface are taken in stride.    

Looking at the performance stats, real world use of the S40 tracks within reason to the advertised range and speed metrics.  The following ride through my neighborhood included some hills, and was carting around my 190lb frame at full throttle.  This ride took the battery down to 30%.  Despite being in cruise at 20mph, the scooter would drop to around 9 or 10mph when ascending hills. 

Braking with the S40 was good, though the lack of a secondary brake made me slightly uneasy.  Braking systems are a ‘one is none’ category for me, no matter how responsive the scooter is to letting off the throttle.  Having even a basic back tire step brake would be welcome here.   

From a UX perspective, the S40 is pretty simple, though does require the app to fully tweak settings to your liking.  On the scooter itself, you can toggle between three modes by double tapping the power button: walking, driving, and sport.  Walking is great for when you want to hop off and get a little motor assist to push the scooter with.  Drive is the ‘normal’ mode which is capped at 15mph, and sport puts a little extra kick in the acceleration and will take you up to 20mph for the US model.  The display will helpfully give you status information at a glance, and is bright enough to work even in direct sunlight.  

With the app, you can also toggle cruise control, energy recovery, lights, or the electric lock. 

I have two nitpicks with the S40, one being with the display.  When the headlight is on, the display will dim – similar to what you might see on your car’s dashboard when you turn the headlights on.  Unlike in your car though, you can’t turn the brightness back up.  Why does this matter?  If you want to run your headlight during the day for safety, you then need to contend with a dim display, potentially in full sun – making it very difficult to see.  

Lastly, the cable management with the wires leaves a bit to be desired.  I’d like to see more internal routing to keep those cables tidy.  

What I like about the NAVEE S40 scooter

• Smooth, comfortable ride
• Really nice QOL features like cruise control, and adaptive headlight
• Solid build quality with good safety features

What needs to be improved?

• Single brake system
• Cable management
• Protection in shipping

Final thoughts

I’ve been enjoying my time with the NAVEE S40, and find it to be a plenty capable electric scooter to get you around town.  It’s a risky play to declare the design muse to be that of the polarizing Cybertruck, but NAVEE hit the right notes and found a good balance without being tacky.  The clean aesthetic and solid performance make the S40 worth a look as a commuter.  

Price: $699.99
Where to buy: Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by NAVEE. NAVEE did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.