I rode the Xiaomi Electric Scooter 6 Ultra, and it gives Segway and Apollo a run for their money

The Xiaomi Electric Scooter 6 series was revealed during the company’s big keynote presentation at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This is the sixth generation of Xiaomi scooters, but it’s the first time the range has been so extensive.

Rather than just one or two models, the Series 6 includes five versions, including the Scooter 6 Lite, Scooter 6, Scooter 6 Max and Scooter 6 Pro. The flagship model, though, is the Scooter 6 Ultra. Xiaomi use the Ultra branding for its flagship products in a range of categories from phones to cars, and like the recent Xiaomi SU7 Ultra sports car, the scooter is finished in yellow.

The Ultra is pitched as an off-road scooter and has large all-terrain 12-inch tyres to handle uneven surfaces. However, it outperforms all of the other Scooter Series 6 models in every way. It has a powerful 500W motor that delivers up to 1200W of peak power and can cope with inclines of up to 25%.

The 585Wh battery delivers up to 75km (47 miles) of range, or 55km (34 miles) at its maximum speed of 25km/h or 16mph. There’s also swing arm suspension on both front and rear wheels and disc brakes for safer stopping.

As you might expect from a tech brand, it features a slick 3-inch colour display on the handlebars, to show your speed, riding modes, remaining range and any alerts. It’s also compatible with Apple Find My to precisely track its position in case of theft. There’s also an accompanying app to adjust the settings, view real-time data and lock the motor.

Also on the handlebars, there’s a four-way control dial to adjust the driving mode, turn on the lights and activate the indicators. The throttle has a dual option of either a twist or thumb control on the right-hand side.

For easier travel, storage, or charging, you can fold down the steering column. However, at nearly 34kg, it’s not a scooter you’d want to carry far.

I took the Scooter 6 Ultra on a trail along the coast of Barcelona, using a mixture of cycle paths, roads and tracks. As the use of private electric scooters on public land is still illegal in the UK, it’s difficult to find somewhere to properly test it nearby, but it is available to buy in the UK through the Xiaomi store.

The 6 ultra looks great in person, and the yellow finish really stands out – you wouldn’t mistake it for another boring hire scooter. It has a nice, wide footplate and feels solid when you’re standing on it. I was really impressed by the suspension, as it had a lot of give, and the tyres felt nice and grippy.

In most countries, scooters are limited to a maximum of 25km/h or 16 mph, so although the top speed of the Ultra seems low compared to some of its competition, it’s as fast as you should be going, really – and it gets there pretty fast. In sport mode, a solid press of the throttle catapults you forward at pace, and you really need to hold on. It’s not quite the wheel-spinning power of the Segway GT3 Pro, but it still feels fast.

The scooter is pretty agile, even at slower speeds, letting me make tight turns and navigate tricky crossings. While it was good on most surfaces, it did struggle when I hit loose sand, though I’m not sure any scooter could have coped with that terrain any better.

Xiaomi has form for producing well-specced products at extremely competitive prices, and the Scooter 6 Ultra is no exception. It’s a lot of scooter for money, certainly, and is cheaper than flagship options from Segway and Apollo.

If you’re willing to sacrifice a little of the range and accept a smaller tyre size, the Segway ZT3 and Apollo Explore 2.0 are slightly cheaper options. However, Xiaomi also offers the Scooter 6 Max, which undercuts them all while only losing a little power. It’s also not yellow, should you want something more subtle.

In general, though, the Xiaomi Scooter 6 Ultra is a truly impressive electric scooter. I only wish I could use one as my daily commuter in the UK.