It's an interesting time for electric scooters - visit a US city and you see them strewn around everywhere, but they are perfectly legal. 

Meanwhile, in the UK they remain illegal (which may change) yet largely ignored by overstretched police. Certainly, scooters aren't yet an organised pest on the streets. 

The matt black $400 Turboant X7 is a fine electric scooter that ships to both the US and UK - it's powerful with a top speed of nearly 20mph and tubeless tyres. You can get the Turboant imported to the US and UK easily and it goes up against scooters from the likes of Xiaomi, Gotrax and more. 

Range is pegged at around 15 miles, meaning that it's ideal for a commute where it's likely you're only going to be covering a few miles anyway. Naturally, the actual range you achieve will depend on several things such as the terrain and hills you climb. 

Turboants X7 electric scooter image 1
Pocket-lint

We were sent one to check out and were amazed at how quickly we were zooming around the area we live in. Blow up the tyres, charge the 36V battery, fit the handlebar column (which houses the battery) and off we went.

Turboants X7 electric scooter image 1
Pocket-lint

You will need to periodically re-inflate the tyres with a standard pump just as you would with a bike - however, you may need a connector tube for the front tyre because of the location of the valve. 

The standard speed is quite serene and will be speedy enough for many (you can see what mode you're in using the handlebar display). Once you've sped up and have been holding the throttle for six seconds, the scooter is then in cruise control until you brake. 

Ramping things up to the speediest setting is quite something - you really are zooming along and it's definitely helmet territory. It isn't the best on the hills though and can slow to a crawl. 

There's a rear disc brake - slowing down can be instigated by clicking off the throttle but, as is more likely with most scenarios - you'll brake by pressing down on the rear mudguard with your heel. 

Turboants X7 electric scooter image 1
Pocket-lint

The scooter is foldable, but it isn't that light at around 12-13kg or so so it really is too cumbersome to take it on a bus or similar and isn't quick-release.

It'd happily fold down into a boot/trunk though. You do need to ensure it is secured properly every time, however. 

Turboants X7 electric scooter image 1
Pocket-lint

There's a really bright LED headlight for night-time use, with a permanent flashing red rear LEDs. 

Because the battery is removable, you can easily take it into work or the house to charge it up. You'll probably want to do that anyway if you keep the scooter in a cold place.

Turboants X7 electric scooter image 1
Pocket-lint

Of course, one bonus is that you can get hold of a second battery to extend the range - that might be handy to keep one at work, for example. However, the battery on the Turboant website is quite costly at around $210.

All-in-all, we're very impressed by the Turboant X7. But if portability is key, we suggest you look elsewhere. But should you not need that, it's an extremely good option. 

Turboants X7 electric scooter image 1
Pocket-lint