Move Electric verdict: 3.5 stars out of five
In short
A brilliant first take on two-wheeled city e-mobility from one of the leading brands in the market.
What is it?
It’s called the Piaggio 1 and is, in my humble opinion, possibly a bit of a game changer in electric scooter terms. It is made by a recognised manufacturer of petrol powered scooters, with all the heritage, brand equity and experience that comes with decades in the marketplace. It’s also priced properly and something that will appeal to fashion conscious teenagers almost as much as it will commuters that have had enough of playing on their phones on packed busses and tubes.
But what actually is it?
It’s part of a range of electric scooters that the Piaggio Group are introducing over the next couple of years.
There’s two models of Piaggio One to choose from. The base model has a 1.2Kw motor, while the Piaggio One Active produces 2Kw. Flat to full charging takes six hours and is achieved by removing the battery from the scooter and carrying it to wherever you’re going to charge it. This makes charging easy, providing you can carry the battery. It also opens ownership up to a much wider audience than for bikes that have a fixed battery and need a charger cable running to them.
The Active model is the faster of the two and is good for nearly 40mph, while the base model tops out at 25mph. A full battery offers thirty miles of range, which sounds pitiful but isn’t when you sit down and work out what your city commute looks like. Piaggio is predicting that after 800 charges the Lithium Ion battery will have lost approximately 30 perc ent of original capacity.
The cheapest model costs just £2011 with the Government EV grant. The One Active costs £2411 with the grant applied.
What’s it like to ride?
Annoyingly easy once it’s live and you’ve selected a rider map to use. Keep the key fob in your pocket once you’ve used it to unlock the bike. There’s a knob to twist, a brake lever needs pulling in while you select the riding map and confirm your choice with a double tap, and after that the throttle is live and you’re ready to go. It’s every inch a traditional step thru scooter; your feet sit flat in front of you and your legs are nicely shrouded from the elements.
