As a long-time rider of Segway electric scooters, my expectations are quite high for new brands looking to climb their way up to the standard that the household-name has set in stone at this point. Only within the last few months did Navee come onto my radar, with the brand offering me the chance to test out its latest flagship model, the ST3 Pro Electric Scooter, which has been quite the surprise, to say the least. At first, it seemed like it was full of gimmicks that were destined to fail, but after riding around for several weeks now, I can happily say that Segway may just have found a new challenger. Head below to get my hands-on impressions of this high-end e-scooter that still retains accessible pricing for the stunning list of features.
Unboxing Navee’s ST3 Pro Electric Scooter
If you’ve read my EV reviews before, you’ll know that one of my biggest focuses when it comes to various models is how much I struggle to get them up my stoop to my second-floor apartment. Navee’s ST3 Pro e-scooter weighs in at 55.8 pounds, so in its box with all the accompanying bits and bobs, it wasn’t a near-Sisyphean struggle like many of the e-bikes I’ve owned, which usually took two people to get upstairs. As it was delivered just before a venture down south to see my family, I thought it was the perfect place to really test things straight out of the box, literally.
Everything was neatly organized within the box, with less padding than I’ve seen other brands use, but still a significant amount of Styrofoam to keep it secure and safe. It came almost fully assembled, with the handlebar section being the only real assembly that was required, which amounted to fitting the two sections together and securing them with four screws (two in front, two in back) using the included tool.
Once it was assembled, the plastic removed, and all was ready to ride, the next step was powering on the scooter and pairing it to the app. This involved registering my account profile with an email address and code, followed by Bluetooth pairing. While it took a little playing around with toggling the Bluetooth on and off via my phone, it eventually appeared on the “recognizable devices” page, and from there it was smooth sailing.
Navee ST3 Pro Electric Scooter features and performance
Let’s start with the Navee ST3 Pro e-scooter’s main claim-to-soon-fame feature (in my opinion, among other features): the automotive-grade damping arm suspension system. As I’ve noticed many people point out when seeing the scooter for the first time (including myself), this seemed like it was going to be a more gimmicky addition to the design, which I expected to fail on me after some heavy riding (and the crash I endured, but more on that later).
It’s made up of four polymer arms divided between the scooter’s front and rear, and it does an excellent job at smoothing out my ride – both bumps and vibrations. Now, for comparison’s sake, I go for more of the entry-level and mid-tier Segway models, which do tend to rattle and bump when on uneven terrain – so much so that it’s difficult to wear glasses while doing so through certain areas of NYC that have gone years without being re-paved.
That is not the case with the ST3 Pro, as you might feel a little terrain when riding through rough pavement and grassy areas, but nowhere near as much as my Segways do. This dampening system is truly a standout feature worth putting front and center, as the brand regularly does. Your adventures even come bolstered by vacuum jelly tires, which are puncture-resistant, so your ride won’t easily be ended by random debris you’re riding over.
Now let’s get into what I know most people want to know first and foremost: speed and travel range. Navee rates the 12.75Ah battery in this model for up to 46.6 miles on a single charge, with the 600W motor able to reach top 20 MPH speeds. Unlike many other scooters that often sport a named eco mode, this one instead provides a walk/pedestrian mode (up to 4 MPH max), a drive mode (up to 12 MPH max), and a sport mode (up to 20 MPH max).
Anyone who has ridden an e-scooter knows that what a company suggests as its theoretical range often falls short in actual performance. It should come as no surprise that Navee – just like Segway, NIU, GoTrax, Razor, and others – has pretty much done the same here. Even when keeping things in drive mode, I was only usually able to push close to 30 miles before it would need a charge, though I am one to start heading back at certain battery levels out of fear of getting stranded, so I never stretched things to their absolute limits.
I much preferred riding in the sport mode, as it allowed the motor to peak up to 1,350W so that acceleration was noticeably faster, and it allowed the full unlocked 20 MPH speed. Keeping things in this mode saw a decrease in the travel range, usually lasting around 20 to 25 miles, depending. While I could certainly get anywhere in Brooklyn and back home with no problem, the longer space between destinations in Virginia definitely affected this, though even with this lesser range, I would still highly recommend this model. One minor gripe is that the scooter does seem to take much longer than any other I’ve had to charge, often needing 8 to 10 hours when the battery has been run completely down.
Now, falling short of the prospective 46.6-mile range, it still held up quite well, and even 30 miles of travel is a solid distance to cover most people’s commuting needs, especially, as I said, in cities like NYC, where you’d only actually be going a handful of miles at best. I assume that the range it does provide, considering how wild I tend to ride scooters, should owe credit to the triple braking system, of which one is an electric regenerative brake that recycles momentum when slowing to extend travel times – and it’s adjustable in-app between low, medium, and high recovery.
And speaking of these brakes – man, can these things nearly stop on a dime! You’re getting a combination of the regenerative eABS brake, a drum brake, and a hydraulic disc brake, which all work together to provide serious stopping power. The number of times I’ve had to suddenly stop due to careless car drivers, random animals darting across the street (all the squirrels in VA seem to be playing one collective game of chicken with any type of vehicle), or due to my own mistakes has been higher than normal, but never once did I skid past a possible collision by the skin of my teeth.
There are a few fun features I want to make a note of while on the topic of travelling that only enhance the ride further. First is the cruise control that kicks in automatically after maintaining the same speed for five seconds, with it beeping to alert you to its turning the function on, with throttling up or braking deactivating it. There’s also a downhill assist that will lock in your set speed when travelling down a steep incline, as well as the overall traction control system that is a default setting, which you can turn off if you so choose via the app.
On the topic of rider safety, I very much enjoy having the turn signals integrated into the handlebars, as riding along with cars and cyclists becomes less stressful knowing I can relay my directions without raising my hands off the handlebars. They are visible in daylight; however, they’re far better suited for nighttime journeys when they noticeably pierce the dark. Another means to stay visible at night or early in the morning is the auto-on headlight, taillight (with brake lighting), and the side RGB lighting strips.
Lining the sides of the deck are two RGB lighting strips, which are customizable within the app, offering several color patterns and animations, including “always on, breathing, running water, and runway.” These things are so bright that using them at night cannot be ignored, as they easily light up the immediate surrounding area. I preferred the running water and runway modes, but you won’t have any problems being noticed by other riders, drivers, and walking pedestrians when they’re in use.
Next, let’s go over some of my favorite parts of this scooter: the smart features. While I normally do not focus on such features to determine whether I buy it or not, instead concerned about its performance, I have to say that I much prefer these features on an e-scooter, especially the security-minded ones. I’m happy to see the Apple Find My integration here, which will make tracking it down in case of theft all the easier. There’s also the remote locking/unlocking functionality alongside the option to set a passcode too, switched on via the app and completely locking the system so that no one else can ride off with it, but they could certainly carry it off, though that’s when the Apple Find My capabilities are ready to utilize.
The app is a well-polished system and gives users a straightforward means to customize all the settings that I’ve mentioned up until this point. You’ll certainly need to take some time to go through everything and familiarize yourself with their placements within the app, but that doesn’t take long. For the proximity locking feature, specifically, you’ll have two means to control its ability to operate – either slide-to-lock/unlock, or set the Bluetooth proximity locking/unlocking that activates at your preferred distance once your phone is detected. When either of these locking options is on, any movement of the scooter will be quickly met with non-stop aggressive beeping while the motor will spin the rear wheel in the opposite direction you try to move.
Now, my last big detail that I want to get into is one I really hope I’m not going to be testing out for a third time on my next review – and that is a durable build underscored by the aftermath of an accident. Similar to my mistake while riding the Lectric XP4 750 e-bike, I carelessly fumbled in a major way that resulted in some serious injury. Riding through the streets of Virginia during high heat, I began sweating profusely, which eventually ended up running down my forehead and into both eyes. Anyone who’s ever dealt with the same can tell you things can get quite stingy, and that’s when I made my mistake.
As I removed one hand from the handlebars to wipe my eyes clear so that I could see, I accidentally turned the steering just enough to the side that I was suddenly launched off the scooter and fell headfirst into the pavement, skinning the entire left side of my torso while also giving myself a massive gash on my temple. Funnily enough, my first two thoughts were: “oh no, my tattoos!” followed by “oh no, is the scooter ok?” to which I was pleasantly surprised to find it sustained very little damage, with only end of the left handlebar scraping and getting the rubber a little torn up – but it was all cosmetic, as the turn signal still works fine and the overall performance has not changed one bit.
As I said about the Lectric XP4 750 e-bike, this lends some serious credit to Navee’s design, as there was very little damage to be seen despite going the full 20 MPH speed when I got thrown, and the scooter bouncing along the pavement with me. On the plus side, after two accidents, I have happily returned to wearing a helmet any time I ride, as I now fear a hat trick of sorts for the next EV I happen to test.
Final Thoughts
Aside from the minor gripes I’ve already stated, there’s only one other to add to the very short list when it comes to Navee’s ST3 Pro Electric Scooter, and that is its being locked to a kick-only start-up. You can’t twist the throttle when at a complete standstill, which isn’t honestly that big of a deal, but I have seen others report discussing upcoming firmware updates with Navee that will apparently fix this issue, so here’s hoping!
I have to give major credit to Navee, as the company has only been around since 2021, and it’s already released a truly top-of-the-list-worthy e-scooter here, which has since replaced my most recent Segway, though, again, it is just an entry-level model with a 12-mile range and basic features. You can find it on both Navee’s direct website, as well as Amazon, carrying a $949.99 MSRP, though regular sales and discounts have seen it at lower prices ranging from $760 to $899 so far, with occasional free gear tacked on too, so it’s hard to imagine anyone paying full price.
Bravo, Navee, Bravo! I look forward to seeing more from this brand as time moves forward.
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