The five parts of a score
The overall score is a weighted average of five parts. The weighting shifts by category — a first bike for a teenager does not need to be judged hard on performance, and on a high-performance scooter how small it folds matters less than how far it goes.
- Range and battery (30%): real capacity, cell chemistry, whether the pack comes out, charge time.
- Cost of ownership (25%): purchase price, replacement battery price, subscription cost where there is one, warranty.
- On the road (20%): speed, hill climbing, brakes, suspension, payload.
- Living with it (15%): storage, charging in a flat, water resistance, luggage space.
- After the sale (10%): service network density, parts availability, frame and battery warranty length.
What the score does not say
Scores compare machines inside a category, not across categories. A folding scooter on 8.4 and an electric motorbike on 8.4 are not alternatives to one another — they each simply do their own job well.
Treat two machines within 0.3 points of each other as level. At that distance the price at your nearest dealer and whether anyone within reach can service the thing will decide more than any number of ours.
What we do not do
We do not measure road range with instrumented test gear, we do not open packs to count cells, and we do not test brakes in a lab. Where a number is the manufacturer's, the review says so.
We also do not rank by page views, sales volume, or how loud a brand is on social media.
Sources and evidence
Specifications come from the manufacturer's official page at the time of writing. The screenshots in a review are real captures of that page, not mock-ups. Where a fact comes from somewhere else, the review cites it.
Prices move month to month and differ by market and dealer. The figure in a review is an indicative list price, not the price you will pay.
Updates and withdrawals
When a model gets a significant revision or is discontinued, the review is updated and dated. A score can change when a price changes — a machine that is 20% cheaper is a different machine in value terms.