Premium or economy scooters? As with any vehicle, this choice is important when it comes to mobility scooters. This article is here to help you pick the right scooter for your budget and needs.

What is an Economy Mobility Scooter?

Economy mobility scooters are available throughout product classes. You can buy economy boot scooters, economy folding scooters, economy large scooter models – the lot.

We’re not talking so much about discounted second-hand, ex-demo, or approved used scooters in this article. No, this is really about scooters purpose-built for buyers on a budget.

Let’s start with boot scooters. These are always a popular choice, and will be amongst the most familiar types of electric mobility scooter. Falling within Class 2 for official UK government purposes, boot scooters are small and easily transportable. Does this mean that all boot scooters are economy products? No, there is very much such a thing as a premium boot scooter. Lifestyle & Mobility sell many premium boot scooters ourselves, this being very much a growing part of the market.

The ATTO Sport Max is a top-of-the-line premium boot scooter

As a rule of thumb, if you can buy any new boot scooter for under £1000 it is probably an economy model. Not that there is anything wrong with this. Firstly, if you are planning to mostly use your new scooter on pavements, in shopping centres, or on other flat manmade surfaces, an economy boot scooter may be perfect for you. Second, even with boot scooters, the line between premium and economy scooters is becoming more blurred.

What Features Can I Find on an Economy Scooter Today?

Certain features once only found on premium mobility scooters are becoming more common on economy models. For example, full suspension – now well-established on economy boot scooters such as the Drive Scout Explorer, shown to the right.

That being said, there will always be features which set premium scooters apart from economy models. Within the product area of small scooters, one major dividing line is that between folding and boot scooters. There are some economy folding mobility scooters, but fewer, relative to the whole, than is the case with boot scooters. This partly has to do with the more sophisticated engineering required for automatic folding mobility scooters.

Can I Buy an Economy Folding Mobility Scooter?

There are economy folding mobility scooters available to buy. These are of the manually-operated variety. Ultimately, automatic, powered, folding is considered a premium feature amongst mobility scooters. So, if you want to buy a folding mobility scooter on a budget, then manual folding is the way to go. A popular model in recent times is the Drive Manual Fold Plus. This model is shown below, and is currently available to buy online from Lifestyle & Mobility.

There’s more that could be said about premium and economy scooters, especially about premium mobility scooter features, but for now, that will have to wait until another blog!

Thank you very much for reading, and, as always, if you have any questions, you can find out how to contact us via this link.