Razor EcoSmart Cargo: One-minute review

The Razor EcoSmart Cargo is a newer electric scooter from Razor, the brand behind perhaps the most iconic kick scooter ever. While the company has a smattering of electric scooters, the EcoSmart Cargo actually shifts more towards a Vespa-type scooter. It’s built for seated riding with a step-through design and wide deck. 

While this approach makes for incredibly easy riding, anyone expecting a kick scooter should just look elsewhere now. The EcoSmart Cargo serves more as an electric bike alternative. Unfortunately, it serves as a poor alternative. While it can get up and go, cruising around at close to 20mph, it’s not a great ride by any stretch. 

Even with its padded seat and fat tires, it’s a stiff ride that lets us feel the bumps in the road too much. Braking performance is atrocious, with only a rear disc brake (and a cheap caliper) trying to slow down a fast and heavy ride. Then there’s the reality that Razor used a chain-driven rear wheel (instead of the common hub motor), which introduced a new component that can rust and break, and which also creates a ton of noise. This thing is truly obnoxious to take down quiet neighborhood streets. 

It might have had a bit more promise if it could have just gone further. But it has a short range and, unlike an e-bike, can’t be pedalled back home once the battery dies. With all that, the only positive attribute is its cargo-carrying options, which plenty of e-bikes can match. 

Razor EcoSmart Cargo: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $1,099 (about £965, AU$1,705) 
• Where is it available? Available now from Razor and Target 
• Where can you get it? Available in the US 

The Razor EcoSmart Cargo is a new addition to Razor’s lineup of electric mobility devices. It comes at a higher price than most of the company’s other scooters at $1,099. Currently, it’s available in the US directly from Razor and at Target stores. While Razor offers its scooters in the UK and Australia, the EcoSmart Cargo hasn’t arrived in either market yet.

• Value: 2 / 5

Razor EcoSmart Cargo: Assembly

• Very simple assembly
• Weight calls for help
• Recommends six hours of charging

The Razor EcoSmart Cargo comes in a massive box that will all but necessitate help moving. Part of the size stems from the convenient fact that Razor ships the scooter mostly assembled. Opening the package, you’ll just have to attach the handlebar stem and front wheel. These parts need to be tightened after slotting them on, but Razor includes the necessary tools for tightening everything down.

Though the packaging was fairly simple, without a lot of cushion or protection, the EcoSmart Cargo arrived in excellent condition, with no issues that we could spot. Due to the weight of the package, you may want to seek some help getting the scooter assembled. Lifting it out of the box is a struggle, though it’s possible to just cut the box open if you don’t foresee needing to return it. The kickstand holds the scooter up well, making it a bit easier to attach the front wheel and handlebars without needing to balance it.

While the unit arrived with its display showing a fully charged battery, Razor nonetheless recommends plugging it in to charge it for at least six hours to ensure the battery is truly topped out.

• Assembly score: 4 / 5

Razor EcoSmart Cargo: Design

• Convertible rear segment
• Seated, relaxed riding position
• Robust build

The Razor EcoSmart Cargo isn’t your typical scooter. It’s an evolution of the company’s EcoSmart line, which are fat-tire scooters, with this model offering wide, 16-inch tires. An earlier model introduced a seat and basket attachment. This model verges on being a Vespa in form, showing far more similarities with that seated, step-through, motorized ride than with the kick scooters that made Razor a household name.

The EcoSmart Cargo is built on a heavy-duty metal frame that includes a rear rack and seatpost. This makes for a robust build that feels quite sturdy. There’s no folding mechanism to shrink the EcoSmart cargo down, but it wouldn’t help much if there was. This is a sizable ride that weighs in at 78.2 pounds. You won’t want to have to carry this anywhere, especially given there’s nowhere convenient to hold while picking it up. The parking strand does a great job holding it up and in place, though.

The driver’s seat is a terribly firm cushion that’s sizable and offers quick height adjustments. Behind it is a passenger seat that matches the driver’s seat in style. Perhaps the EcoSmart Cargo’s biggest perk is how easy it is to get on and off, with a low seat and plenty of space to step through, which could be a boon for riders with limited mobility.

The scooter has a wide, grippy deck with a bamboo finish that’s plenty roomy for even large feet but not spacious enough to comfortably stand and ride. The deck is fairly low though, and it can easily scrape if going over a curb.

The handlebars are basic, but since they’re not supporting any real weight, they serve their purpose just fine. The left side houses the single brake lever and the scooter’s control unit, which has a basic digital display showing speed, battery level, and power mode — all easily viewable in daylight. It has a power button and a headlight button on the left side, while power levels are set by rocking the whole unit forward or backward. The ride handgrip includes the scooter’s half-twist throttle, which is fairly sensitive. Unfortunately, the brakes aren’t nearly as sensitive. 

Though the scooter uses a disc brake system, it’s the simplest sort and only on the rear wheel. This offers very limited braking power on top of being a basic caliper that’s hard to center correctly and works poorly with the squishy brake lever.

As sturdily built as the Razor EcoSmart Cargo feels, it’s not using a lot of quality-feeling parts.

• Design score: 3 / 5

Razor EcoSmart Cargo: Features

• Cargo seat, basket, or rear rack
• Non-removable, 355Wh battery
• Chain-driven rear wheel

Cargo is promised in the name, and Razor delivers in that regard. Not only is there a passenger seat, but that seat opens up to reveal a small storage compartment about a liter in size. The frame includes folding metal footpegs for the passenger. It would be a bit of a squeeze for a tall passenger above 5’6”, but the Razor EcoSmart Cargo shouldn’t carry to larger adults given its max payload of 300 pounds.

That passenger seat can swap out for the included rear basket, or the slot can be left open, providing space to attach other bike gear, like panniers.

The scooter offers built-in fenders and a headlight and taillight, with the rear light reacting and the motor disengaging when the brake lever is pulled. 

That’s about the extent of the features though. The scooter has a 1,000W motor situated behind the seatpost and in front of the rear wheel. It uses a chain to drive the rear wheel. This is different from a great many e-bikes and scooters that feature a hub motor in the rear wheel, allowing for chainless operation and occasionally regenerative braking. The chain also introduces a ton of noise — a ton — making for an obnoxious ride that’s not typical of electric vehicles. 

The scooter’s battery is mounted underneath the deck and isn’t removable. That’s bad news if you don’t have a garage and live in a walkup because you’ll need to haul this almost 80-pound unit up to plug in regularly.

• Features score: 2 / 5

Razor EcoSmart Cargo: Performance

• Modest acceleration
• Weak braking
• Limited range

The Razor EcoSmart Cargo has a bit of get-up-and-go to it thanks to the 1,000W motor and gear ratio. It feels fairly zippy and offers a top speed of 19.9mph. That motor is doing all the work, too, as the seated scooter doesn’t really allow any way to easily help push it along. It gets up into the 13-15mph range quickly but does take a little longer to ultimately reach full speed. The motor can also push through small grades well enough, going over some sloping overpasses in our testing without slowing much.

While speed is good, the ride has some faults. Even with the big, fat pneumatic tires, the EcoSmart Cargo is rather bumpy. We feel lots of jolts that travel right through the firm seat. It feels like we may as well be on a thin-tired road bike. The seat position is at least a bit more relaxed. The weak brakes also require extra caution, as they don’t slow down the scooter nearly as fast as we’d like. We’ve tested e-bikes going 28mph that could stop faster.  

The range is also a sour point. In our testing, the EcoSmart Cargo could go just over 10 miles on a charge. While an e-bike or electric kick scooter will still let you ride them analog once the battery dies so you can reach your destination, the EcoSmart Cargo is effectively dead in the water once its rather impish 355Wh battery tires out. After we reached 10.1 miles, the battery gave us about 0.3 miles more power at rapidly dwindling speeds to finish up our ride. Fortunately, we weren’t far from home at this point. 

• Performance score: 2.5 / 5

Should I buy the Razor EcoSmart Cargo?

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Razor EcoSmart Cargo: Report card

• First reviewed April 2023

How we test

We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.

Read more about how we test

One-minute review

The Roidmi S2 was launched in March 2022 to bring designer style and environmentally friendly cleaning to the home, with claims that it will save you money on the monthly energy bills.

It might well be a contender for our best cordless vacuum list. Roidmi has a large range of cordless vacuums available in the UK, but offers a far more paired-back selection stateside, with this model being one of them. The S2 is a contemporary, stylish, matte white floor-cleaning appliance that will look at home in modern interiors. 

Fortunately, it isn't all style over substance. It comes with a thoughtful range of accessories that feel sturdy and well made; it offers three suction levels, selected via a button on the handle; and even the wall-mounted charging dock is small and discreet.

The battery offers up to 60 minutes of vacuuming, and, under the hood, HEPA filtration ensures it emits only clean air. What’s more, the soft fluffy roller brush promises to be kind to hard floors whilst offering excellent suction. 

During my time using the Roidmi S2 I was impressed by its pick-up; it left both carpets and hard floors free of mess. The selection of tools found accompanying the S2 make it a versatile, if a little long and heavy, handheld vacuum. If you can find it for lower than its list price, the S2 is a great option for lots of homes. However, for larger homes or busier households with children and pets, the small dustbin that’s messy to empty is likely to become a frustration.

Roidmi S2 review: price and availability

•  List price: $359/ £419

On the face of it, the Roidmi S2 isn’t a budget vacuum, but the recommended list prices above don’t reflect some of the bargain prices we’ve seen it at. In the UK, in particular, it’s priced at under £100 at a number of online retailers. And in the US, we’ve seen it reduced to $175. So if you can get it at these lower prices, it certainly counts as a budget-friendly choice – and since it isn't designed to be a budget model, it represents fantastic value for money.

At full price it's available direct from Roidmi or Amazon US, but we'd recommend hunting around.

• Value score: 5/5

Roidmi S2 review: specifications

• Price:  $359/ £419
• Bin volume:  0.1 gallon/ 0.4 liters
• Speeds: 3
• Filtration: Five-stage filtration system including one HEPA filter
• Suction power: 435W/ 2.35kPa
• Battery: up to 60 minutes' runtime
• Weight: 3.3lbs/ 1.5kg
• Additional tools: 2-in-1 crevice nozzle and dusting brush, mattress brush

Roidmi S2 review: design and features

• Compact, wall-mounted magnetic charging dock
• Automatic sensor headlight
• HEPA filtration

The sleek, curvy matte white exterior of this vacuum gives it a stylish appearance, and featuring just two buttons, it’s unfussy and effortlessly cool. Both buttons are conveniently positioned on the large curvy handle that sweeps around the top of the vacuum. The lower one is the power button, which needs to be held down for one second to start up the vacuum. A higher button allows you to cycle through the three power levels; Eco, Standard and Boost.

Below the handle are five tiny lights; four of them illustrate the battery level, while the fifth indicates that the dust cup is full as well as indicating other faults. But there’s no visual indicator for power level.

The main floorhead has a soft roller brush that’s delicate on hard floors, but also works efficiently on carpet. The light on the front of the floorhead is sensor activated, so it turns on only when vacuuming in dimly lit areas.

In addition to the main floorhead, there are three tools supplied in the box for using the S2 as a handheld vacuum. The brush tool is useful for all kinds of surfaces and, when removed, the tool switches into a crevice nozzle. Then there’s what Roidmi calls a mattress brush; it’s a mini motorized tool that can be used on carpet and upholstery, too. All the tools lock into position and are removed by pressing the button, meaning they don’t accidentally fall off in use.

The charging cable plugs directly into the vacuum. Alternatively, there's a charging dock. Attach the small hockey-puck-size charger to the wall and connect it to a power outlet, then you simply lean the vacuum against it for wireless charging – it's a neat solution.

The design takes a turn when it comes to emptying the small 0.1-gallon/ 0.4-liter dustbin. First you have to remove it from the vacuum, then unscrew and remove the lid, which also pulls out the metal filter assembly. And if you’re unlucky, half the dust, fluff and dirt comes out with it, so it’s best to do this part over the trash. All-in-all, emptying the Roidmi S2 is often a messy and fiddly process, and there’s plenty of room for improvement here.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Roidmi S2 review: performance

• Glides across all floor surfaces
• Matte-finish handle is comfortable to hold
• Boost mode is loud and high-pitched

I was surprised by the amount of dirt lifted from a carpet that had been vacuumed with a different vacuum only the day before. And as impressive as it was, I was also somewhat annoyed at how quickly the small dustbin filled up and needed emptying. The motorized floorhead virtually pulls itself along the floor in Boost mode. In fact, it glides well most of the time, no matter the mode selected or floor type. Having said that, on a long-pile area rug, the S2 needed a bit more of a push around.

On hard floors, the Roidmi vacuum coped well with my uneven slate floor tiles and cleaned my wood flooring effortlessly. When vacuuming flour spilt along baseboards, it sucked everything up in one sweep. However, it's worth noting that the vacuum is most effective when running along the baseboard with the side of the vacuum, as opposed to vacuuming up to the baseboard with the front of the vacuum head. 

General hard floor pick-up is very good, but I noticed that some larger debris such as a dried leaf near the front door appeared to have been sucked up, only to be deposited again a few minutes later.

The vacuum defaults to Eco mode every time it starts. I found that increasing it to the Standard level was good for general pick-up on floors without causing the battery to drain too quickly. The Boost mode gives a more thorough, deep clean on carpets, but it certainly isn't needed on hard floors most of the time.

I'm not a fan of having to hold in the power button for one second to start and stop the vacuum; it feels like longer than it need be, and it took me a while to get used to. I’d prefer a more reactive button that starts and stops the vacuum immediately. 

In addition, while the button to adjust the power level is well located on the handle, it can be frustrating that there’s no visual display to indicate the current power level. So, when cycling through the power levels, you rely on the change in pitch of the vacuum to figure out whether it’s on a higher or lower suction – which isn’t ideal if you have any kind of hearing impairment.

The long body makes it a bit cumbersome when used as a handheld vacuum. And if vacuuming overhead, you’ll need to plan in regular breaks, because it starts to feel heavy pretty quickly. 

These issues aside, I found the tools useful. I like the large dusting brush, with which I could cover a lot of ground when vacuuming a large shelving unit; plus it quickly converts to a crevice tool. The mattress tool makes short work of crumbs spilt on sofa seats, but I also found it particularly effective on carpeted stairs.

The headlight on the front of the vacuum is activated when the sensor detects low light, and I definitely noticed this working when I pushed it under furniture or in dimly lit rooms. But I also noticed times when I wanted it to come on and it didn’t. However, there’s no denying that a sensor headlight instead of one that’s always on will help to conserve battery.

Before I even measured the sound with a noise meter, I noticed that the Roidmi S2 is quite loud when on the highest suction level. On carpet, I recorded 85dB in Boost mode and 65dB in Eco mode (lowest suction); noise levels were similar on hard floors. In addition, the sound itself is quite high-pitched, which is particularly irritating.

The vacuum does have an accompanying app, which is quick and easy to connect to. In truth, though, there’s little point. It doesn't offer much information apart from some vacuuming stats. The only useful information is the battery percentage and advice on when the filter needs cleaning  – although you could just clean it every three months as directed in the manual.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Roidmi S2 review: battery life

• Battery isn’t removable
• Lights displaying battery level are very small
• Battery life comparable to other cordless vacuums

When vacuuming carpet on the maximum suction, the battery was drained in around 10 minutes, but that’s fairly standard when using a cordless vacuum on its highest power setting. The battery can last up to 60 minutes, so you get the most out of it by cycling through the suction levels as needed.

The battery level is displayed via four small lights; the lights progressively go out as the battery runs down. When it gets close to cutting out, the final light flashes as a warning. Then, as it recharges the opposite happens, with each light staying on until all four are lit and the battery is fully charged. I found a full recharge takes around 2.5 hours, which is pretty speedy.

The battery isn’t removable; the charging cable plugs directly into the handle or it can be charged via the wall-mounted dock, should you choose to use that. And if you decide to download the app, you can check the exact battery percentage there, and it also tells you how much time is left until it’s fully charged.

• Battery score: 4/5

Should I buy the Roidmi S2?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if...

Also consider

If you’re not sure about the Roidmi S2, here are a couple of other options to consider...

How I tested the Roidmi S2

• I tried all the suction levels and accessories
• I vacuumed wooden floors, tiles, area rugs and carpet
• I used it for a week in my own home

I’ve reviewed hundreds of vacuums since I first started reviewing household appliances at Good Housekeeping UK in 2007. And my wealth of experience means I’m quick to draw conclusions about a vacuum and its features. I’m especially critical of gimmicky features and poor build quality.

However, until you use a vacuum in your home, there’s no way to really know how it performs. So I used this vacuum for a week in my home for regular cleaning as well as occasional spills and even some DIY dust. I used it on several floor types, sofas, stairs, shelves and in hard-to-reach corners.

Not only did I time how long the battery lasts and how quick it is to recharge, but I also measured the noise level with a decibel meter. Plus, I assessed how heavy it feels, how easy it is to switch between accessories, and even the comfort of the handle. Since there’s an accompanying app, I downloaded it and connected it to the vacuum to see what it offers.

Read more about how we test.

[First reviewed April 2023]