Review: Segway P100S

The first time I went to take the Segway P100S for a spin, it was as though I’d touched a Lawmaster Motorcycle from Judge Dredd. The whole thing started flashing lights and blaring a loud siren. That's when I realized it has an anti-theft alarm on by default that detects “unusual movements.” I promptly turned this feature off, but I suppose it’s a nice deterrent if you have to leave this thing outside for more than a few minutes.

The P100S is a bulky, burly electric kick scooter, and it’s one of Segway’s pricier models at $2,000. But that means it is fast, has pretty great range, and includes plenty of bells and whistles you’d want, including turn signals and customizable speed modes via the companion app. Price isn’t the only sacrifice for the feature set though—it’s 73 pounds.

If you're not in a walk-up and the weight hasn't put you off, then I have to say that the P100S is quite possibly the smoothest ride I've ever experienced on an escooter. The acceleration from the 650-watt brushless DC motor doesn't have any sudden jolts—it's a nice buildup. This coupled with the scooter's 10.5-inc tubeless tires and the double-wishbone suspension also makes for a buttery smooth roll on flat roads. You'll still feel the deeper bumps on the road, but I was super comfortable riding this thing all around New York City.

Some scooters with app connectivity just let you use the app to check your ride data and turn some features on or off, and then there are others that let you go crazy and tweak a bunch of things. The P100S falls into the latter camp, and I love it. I was able to customize the Drive mode to only go 15 mph, as per New York City law. Then I let Sport mode hit the max speed of 24 mph (you can toggle on a setting to let it go even faster at 30 mph, but it's overkill).

The app also lets you change the RGB lighting on the scooter, set a charging limit to protect the lifespan of the battery, and set the strength of the regenerative braking. The latter automatically kicks in when you let go of the throttle. Otherwise, you'll have to rely on the front and rear disc brakes. These brakes have helped me come to a fast stop several times, but I do suggest you tighten them to your liking when you first get the scooter. They're quite soft out of the box—that is, you have to push far down on the brake levers to get the braking power you need.

The lighting system, whether it's the RGB visibility lights or the front light, is plenty bright. There's also a loud horn and really loud turn signals. I love having turn signals on an escooter—it gives me a boatload of confidence when I have to make a quick turn in traffic. But the P100S' turn signals are so loud I've been a little embarrassed to use them sometimes. They sound like a truck backing up, and you will easily be the loudest thing on the street in that brief moment. It's great to let cars know where you're going, but maybe I'm just a little too self-conscious.

Slopes are no real challenge for this scooter. I was going up the tougher side of the Williamsburg Bridge and the P100S cruised uphill at a respectable 18 mph in Sport mode. As for range, Segway claims a total typical range of 62 miles, and 31 miles if you're going at high speed. At Sport mode's 24-mph speed, I typically had 35 percent left in the tank after a 16-mile trip (that involved going over and back on the Williamsburg Bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan). Easy peasy.

If you bring that down to a more sensible speed of 15 mph, you can extend that range much further. Keep in mind that I'm 6'4" and 240 pounds—the lighter you are, the longer your range (the P100S is rated to carry up to 265 pounds). I do want to note that this scooter comes with a charging cable that does not have a bulky power brick attached to it, making it really easy to bring the cable with you wherever you go. That's because the scooter itself handles converting AC power from your wall outlet to DC power. Neat! (It still takes seven hours to fully recharge, though.)

One weird thing about turning it on: Usually, you press and hold the power button on a scooter. Not here. When that didn't work, I pressed the power button once, pressed the mode button, and double-pressed everything out of frustration. Eventually, something turned it on. It turns out that all you have to do is just press the power button once and don't hold it. Oops.

The next is the folding process. Release the latch at the stem and bring down the handlebars. Use the hook to affix the handlebars to the deck. This part is pretty easy. It's getting this hook out of its secure spot that's annoying and requires a bit of effort. Once you figure all of that out, the scooter is easy to grab because of the thin stem, but it's hefty. You really don't want to be taking it up and down more than a few flights of stairs, if any.

It's a smidge lighter than the Apollo Phantom V3 I recently tested, which also costs $2,000. However, the Phantom's control system feels more accessible and not as intense (despite the scarier name). The display isn't as easy to read as the P100S screen and it takes five extra hours to charge to full, but I do like its folding system and quieter turn signals a little more. Its range seems to be a tiny bit better, but it really depends on the settings you choose and rider weight. If you need a long-range commuter scooter, you can't go wrong with either.