Review: Apollo City (2022)

Shopping for an electric kick scooter can be frustrating. Pay too little and you sacrifice range and the speed you need to climb steep hills. Pay up and you'll have a hulking vehicle that's difficult to lug up a few flights of stairs when you're done riding. Apollo's newest escooter doesn't break the mold—it sits firmly in that latter camp with its fancy features and high price.

The Apollo City 2022 is a very nice scooter. It rarely gave me range anxiety, I had no trouble scooting up slopes, and it's comfy to ride—it even has turn signals! This is important, considering the $1,499 asking price. But it's 57 pounds. I visited a colleague last week in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, and had to carry this thing up three flights of stairs because I was paranoid someone would steal it if I left it outside. My back didn't thank me. If you live in a walk-up, this isn't the scooter for you. 

But if that's not an issue, there's a lot to like about the Apollo City. There are a few questionable choices that make it a bit quirky, but it's an otherwise nimble and stable ride that's great for anyone seriously considering an electric kick scooter as their primary means of transportation around a city.  

Photograph: Apollo

There are two versions of this scooter: the Apollo City 2022 ($1,499) and the Apollo City Pro 2022 ($1,799). I tested the former, but the latter has a dual 500-watt motor that lets it go faster, with higher torque, plus a beefier battery for better range. It can also handle a higher weight capacity (265 pounds versus 220 on the standard Apollo City). The downside? The Pro is even heavier, at 68 pounds.

Most people will be happy with the performance of the standard Apollo City, though. The single 500-watt motor never felt too slow when kicking off at traffic lights, and its top speed of 27 miles per hour is handy when you need that power to go up hills. It rarely felt limiting. That said, just because an average car can hit 120 mph doesn't mean it should—make sure you're always riding the legal escooter speed limit for your city. (The Apollo City Pro can hit 32 mph.) 

The scooter itself has a few modes you can cycle through to regulate speed via the LED display, but I recommend using the Bluetooth companion app (not required) to restrict the scooter's top speed. You can see other ride data here and even tweak the acceleration and the regenerative braking system (which recovers some energy when you brake). 

For the most part, I was able to get by just fine using the unique regenerative brake throttle on the left handlebar instead of the front and rear drum brakes. On city streets, it really doesn't take much to stop when you're going 15 mph. That said, I wouldn't have minded a bit more braking power when utilizing those 25-mph speeds. (I tested it in an empty parking lot deep in Brooklyn in the dead of night.) I stopped, but the braking distance was more than I'd have liked to see. This won't be an issue most of the time, but it is odd that the pricier Apollo City Pro doesn't upgrade the drum brakes to more effective hydraulics. 

Photograph: Apollo

Usually, when a company claims its scooter benefits from a regenerative braking system, I take it with a grain of salt. I rarely notice the system extending the range of the scooter. But that wasn't the case with the Apollo City. Riding the escooter at 16 mph, I was able to go from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, over the Williamsburg Bridge, all the way up to Columbus Circle near Central Park in Manhattan, and back home with one bar left—a 16-mile trip. 

When I disabled the speed limiter and rode the scooter at its max power, frequently using the regenerative braking system, I still had about 26 percent left after a little more than 12 miles. I could see it going a few more miles before tapping out; I recommend maxing out the regen system in the app and using it often to get the most mileage out of this thing. Apollo claims a range of 25 miles (the Pro supposedly can go 38 miles). My results fell short, as is usually the case, but I'm a 6'4" man who totally doesn't weigh more than 220 pounds (ha! totally). Physics dictates that most people will be able to eke out more miles. 

The ride itself is very comfy. The triple-spring suspension system provides a relatively smooth road feel—you'll still notice those bumps and dips, but it never felt too rough. The 10-inch tires absorbing some of those impacts help, and I really like that Apollo uses self-healing tubeless tires, which can purportedly take up to 2-inch nails without puncturing. That generally means less maintenance for you. 

A few other perks? It's easy to set up (just screw in the handlebars with the included hex key), the kickstand is easy to access and is reliable, and the scooter is IP56 water- and dust-resistant. You still shouldn't ride in the rain, but it'll be fine going through puddles and slush. I like the City's understated and slick design too. The deck elevates you off the ground quite a bit, but the handlebars remain easy to reach. 

Photograph: Apollo

There are a few things I'm a little confused by. First, the handlebars: They're some of the longest I've ever seen on a scooter, measuring nearly 25 inches long. That's great for attaching accessories like a phone mount, but I did encounter a few situations where I had to awkwardly maneuver the scooter through narrow doorways, elevators, tight stairwells. It would've been nice if you could fold the handlebars down. 

Photograph: Apollo

Remember how I said there are turn signals on this scooter? They work really well, but I wish Apollo implemented nicer buttons. The current ones are mushy and difficult to find without looking down—something I want to do as little as possible when I'm riding in New York. You get a bell, taillight, and headlight, too, but I found the latter to be largely useless. Apollo says it's a 500-lumen light, but it barely lit up anything on the road at night.

Finally, there's the folding process. It's actually very easy to fold up the Apollo City. What I find incredibly frustrating is the manner in which you affix it to the deck to carry the scooter by the stem. There's a hook you can stick out of the stem and attach to a metal loop on the deck to make carrying the whole thing easier, but the hook doesn't stay fixed when you stop carrying it. Instead, it disconnects, and the stem just limps to the side. Every time I drop the City down to the ground, I need to constantly reattach the hook to the loop before I carry it again. It's baffling that this $499 Gotrax G3 scooter has a much smarter way to lock the stem to the deck than a $1,499 model.

I tested a preproduction model of the Apollo City and ran into one manufacturing issue: The throttle tends to stick. That means after braking, there's a small chance the scooter starts to move again if the throttle isn't set to the default position. Apollo says this won't be an issue with the final version, but it's something to keep an eye on. 

You might notice that the Apollo Ghost, another high-end scooter from the same company, starts at $1,499 (or is frequently discounted to this price). It goes faster, has better range, and is similarly heavy. (It also has folding handlebars!) So why buy the City? 

I see the City as the friendlier escooter of the two. Features like turn signals, puncture-resistant tires, better water resistance, and speed-limiting capabilities make it a great option for casual riders and newcomers alike. It's the comfortable, family-friendly scooter that will satisfy most people—so long as you have an elevator.