Swagtron Swagger 5 - $379
Picture of Paul Somerville Rider Guide's Editor and Chief
Paul Somerville
July 21, 2019

Rider Guide’s Editor-in-Chief is a seasoned expert in the electric scooter industry. With a wide-ranging background that includes managing scooter warehouses, selling thousands of motorcycles, and restoring high value (+1M) European sports cars, his expertise is unmatched. Having personally tested more than 100 electric scooters, he offers invaluable insights and recommendations to our readers. We are fortunate to have him as part of our team, as his diverse skill set and extensive experience ensure top-notch reviews.

swagtron swagger 5 electric scooter full
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Swagtron Swagger 5 Review

In this Swagtron review, we cover the Swagger 5 Elite -- a lower-priced competitor to the Xiaomi Mi M365. The Swagger 5 is the faster of the two but has less range and other trade-offs. Overall, its a fun little budget scooter.
PROS
Fun
Built-in LED display
Good design
cons icon of thumbs down
CONS
Short range
Cheap fit and finish

Technical Specifications

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Tested Top Speed:
18.0 mph**
water resistance icon of raining cloud
Water Resistance:
IPX4**
Tested Weight icon of a scale
Max Rider Weight:
320 lb**
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Weight:
28.0 lb**
tested range icon of a path between to points
Tested Range:
8.6 mi**
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Acceleration:
-**
**Based on our independent performance tests which may differ from manufacturer’s claims.
The Swagtron Swagger 5 is available in United States from Amazon.
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Swagtron Swagger 5 Alternatives & Competitors

TurboAnt X7
turboant Logo
X7
A Lightweight Electric Scooter with a Removable Lithium-ion Battery Pack. The Scooter is Compact and Budget-Priced
See Full Review
gotrax Logo
GXL Commuter v2
ec winner Logo
The Perfect, Affordable Scooter for Beginners
See Full Review
The Swagger 5 (full name is Swagger 5 Elite) was Swagtron's best offering for 2019, but has since been replaced by their new flagship mode, the Swagger 7. However, for under $300, the Swagger 5 has punchy acceleration and an 18.0 mph top speed -- faster than other scooters at this price range. The build quality is acceptable for a budget scooter, but a notch down compared to its more premium-price competitors.

We think the features of the Swagger 5, its built-in LED information display, and its design make it an attractive entry-level scooter for a lot of riders beginners. The scooter is easy to use, durable, but still very fun.

Performance Summary

Acceleration

The Swagger 5 has a 250-watt electric motor that is integrated into the front wheel and relatively quiet. Acceleration is surprisingly zippy, and in its default zero-start setting, the scooter can be launched quickly.

The electric motor accelerates quite quickly up to about 10 mph, then it takes quite a bit longer to reach its top speed. For a short commute to work, even 16 mph feels quick and is about all you'll need.

Hill Climb

front wheel of the swagtron swagger 5 electric scooter
The Swagger 5 has acceptable, but not excellent hill-climbing performance.

The Swagger 5 took 24.3 seconds (5.6 mph average speed) to complete our standardized 200 feet, 10% grade hill climb test with a 165 lb rider.

Top Speed

The Swagger 5 Elite has a top speed of 18.0 mph, which we confirmed during our performance tests.

Range

The Swagger 5 has a range of 8.6 mi, according to our RG certified range tests. This is less than Swagtron's claim of 12 miles, which is under ideal conditions.

All our range tests are performed on the same test loop by the same 165 lb rider. The loop has frequent stops/starts, hills, and rough terrain. The scooter is ridden as fast as possible in its quickest (least energy-conserving mode) mode. The test is a rigorous simulation of fast, real-world riding.

The Swagger 5 has a 216 watt hour lithium-ion battery pack, which is a good size for such an inexpensive scooter. It's nearest-priced competitor, the Gotrax GXL V2 has only a - battery, yet gets 10.1 miles of tested range. However, due to its higher top speed (the GXL V2 tops out around 14 mph), the Swagger 5 depletes its bigger battery much quicker.

If you ride it in one of the lower-speed modes, you'll get a significantly greater range.

Braking

The Swagger 5 has a rear disc brake and is aided by an electronic brake on the front wheel. The electronic brake is all-or-nothing and activated as soon as the brake lever is pulled.

The brake lever doesn't feel amazing — it feels cheap and has some drag when you pull down on it. We noticed that the brake cable is encased in a long and tortuous long housing -- the likely cause of drag in the brake cable.

Out of the box, the brakes were quite loose, and the tension screw needed some adjustment. Due to the tortuous brake cable, there is a lot of tension on the adjustment screw. This made adjusting by hand a bit difficult, but otherwise not a problem.

Ride Quality

The Swagger 5 has decent ride quality and is best suited for roads that are in good-moderate condition. If you end up riding on poor terrain, you will get rattled around.

The Swagger doesn't have a mechanical suspension, so the only cushioning you'll get comes from the tires. Its combination of a pneumatic (air-filled) front tire and rear honeycomb (airless) tire provides a surprisingly smooth ride.

The rear tire has an internal polyurethane honeycomb structure that acts as springs and provides a much better ride than a typical solid rubber tire. The outer rubber of this tire is actually quite supple --it provides good traction compared to other solid tires we've tested.

Swagtron Swagger 5 Features

Portability

swagtron swagger 5 electric scooter folded
Overall, the Swagger 5 is a very portable scooter, though not at the level of ultra-portable ones like the UScooters Booster V or Glion Dolly. The main feature it lacks is folding handlebars, which stick out about 17 inches. This isn't normally a problem, except if you try to bring it on a crowded commuter train, where space is limited premium.

The Swagger 5 weighs 28.0 lb. When folded, it is 45 inches by 17 inches by 19 inches. It's compact enough to fit into the trunk of most cars.

The folding mechanics are identical to the M365 and a handful of other scooters -- including both the folding and latching mechanism. This folding mechanism is solid when locked into place, and the handlebars feel stable.

Folding is quick and simple -- you simply rotate a safety plastic collar, then pull down on a lever. A mechanism on handlebars engages with a hitch on the rear fender, securing the stem for carrying. When folded, most people will have no problem carrying it up a flight of stairs.

Cockpit

The cockpit features a bright central display LED that gives battery status, speed, and Bluetooth pairing information.

We consider this an advantage over the more expensive Xiaomi that only displays battery status and requires the Bluetooth phone app for everything else.
swagtron swagger 5 electric scooter cockpit display
There is a single button just under the display of the Swagger 5 that is to power the scooter on, control gear, and turn the lights on. The gear is basically a mode that limits the top speed of the scooter. In gear 3, the scooter tops out at 18 mph.

The handgrips screw into the side of the stem. They have a tendency to loosen spontaneously, which is an annoyance. One trick we discovered is that unscrewing the handlebars was super useful when loading into a packed car. If you do this, be careful that a plastic ring that slips into the side of the thumb throttle doesn't fall out when the right handlebar is off.

The Swagger App connects your smartphone with the scooter over Bluetooth. It is not needed to use the scooter, which is good. Many people don't want to have a phone out while cruising around. The Swagger 5 comes with a free phone holder in case you want to do this.

Like the M365, the app adds little value to the scooter. The main benefit is that it allows you to control the lights, change gear modes, or lock the scooter without having to tap out morse code on the power button.

The app also allows you to deactivate the powered start mode. Turning this off (which will require you to kick start the scooter) will help to extend range significantly because it takes a ton of energy to get you rolling.

Lights

swagtron swagger 5 electric scooter forward facing led high mounted light
The scooter has a forward-facing LED that is mounted high on the stem and rear fender lights. As is the case with electric scooters, the rear light is mounted in a low position on the fender and difficult to see from a distance.

For anything but very occasional riding at night, we recommend additional lighting to improve your safety.

Tires

When it comes to the tire choice for the Swagger 5, Swagtron has split the difference. The scooter comes with 8 inch tires. The front tire is pneumatic, while the rear tire is airless with an internal honeycomb structure. Because rear tires more often get flats, this is a nice trade-off between performance and maintenance.

We universally favor pneumatic tires on all scooters, because they provide better traction in wet conditions and a better ride. However, they come with the risk of flats. Most tire flats can be prevented or easily repaired with slime.

Because the rear tire more often gets flats, by making it airless, the scooter has reduced maintenance concerns. The front tire is also able to smooth out the ride on rough roads and will have better traction.

We also tested the scooter in moderate rain and found that both tires performed very well. The rear honeycomb tire never lost its grip, unlike some airless tires we've tested previously.

Deck

swagtron swagger 5 electric scooter deck
The Swagger 5 has a rubberized deck that provides 17.4 inches by 6.0 inches of room for standing. This is enough to be comfortable but on the smaller side.

Build Quality

The Swagger 5 has an IPX4 IP (water-resistance) rating. This means it can tolerate splashes but not being submerged in water.

Overall, build quality is good when you take into account this is one of the least expensive electric scooters.

Some components, like the brake lever, feel cheap. The brakes needed some adjustment, and the cable routing isn't the best design. The brakes are also a little noisy. Despite this, they are still very functional.

However, things that really affect the overall scooter experience: the frame of the scooter, folding mechanism, motor, and stem all feel very solid. The powder-coated frame and welds, in particular, seem to be nearly identical in design and quality to that of the Xiaomi Mi M365.

Swagger 5: Review Conclusions

swagtron swagger 5 electric scooter front tire and deck
The Swagger 5 is one of the cheapest scooters you can buy right now -- yet it still has a special place in the hearts of some of our team. It has a hilarious name that you either love or hate.

The Swagger 5 isn't a powerful scooter by any means, yet taking off on it feels fast. We love the zero-start mode.

Finally, it is a good scooter for the price. We've been riding this scooter for more than a year and think this is a solid purchase at the low-end of the electric scooter market.

If Swagger 5 isn't appealing, look at our suggested alternatives. You can also check out our Editor’s pick of best electric scooters.
Technical Specs Comparison
model icon of electric scooter
Model
Swagtron Swagger 5
GOTRAX GXL Commuter v2
Xiaomi Mi M365
TurboAnt X7
top speed icon of speedometer
Top Speed**
18.0 mph
13.5 mph
16.7 mph
-
Range**
8.6 mi
10.1 mi
14.6 mi
-
Weight**
28.0 lb
27.4 lb
27.0 lb
-
Price
$379
$299
$599
$699
**Based on our independent performance tests which may differ from manufacturer’s claims.

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