Razor EcoSmart Cargo review: A clever 2-seater e-scooter, but with some problems

Razor is no latecomer to the micromobility world, having produced awesome scooters for over two decades now. Following on the heels of reviewing the brand’s fun-loving and nostalgic Razor Icon electric scooter, I’ve now gotten a chance to try my hand (and rear end) at a two-person seated electric scooter known as the Razor EcoSmart Cargo.

When I first covered the news of EcoSmart’s launch late last year, I was definitely excited.

A seated electric scooter that could carry two adults, zoom around at up to 20 mph (32 km/h), and do double duty as a utility scooter for cargo? All for just $1,099?! Sign me up! (And no, I’m not ignoring the fact that it’s kind of a scooter rip-off of homage to the RadRunner.)

Having fully tested the scooter now, though, I see that there are some serious downsides to this setup. The quirky little EV has some great selling points still, but I’m not sure this is the utility platform I’d choose for myself.

See what I mean in my video review below, then keep reading for complete specs and all of my thoughts on the EcoSmart Cargo.

Razor EcoSmart Cargo video review

Razor EcoSmart Cargo tech specs

• Motor: 1,000W chain-driving mid-motor
• Battery voltage: 48V
• Top speed: 20 mph (32 km/h)
• Range: Up to 16.6 miles (27 km)
• Weight: 76.5 lb (34.7 kg)
• Load capacity: 300 lb (136 kg)
• Brakes: Rear disc brake
• Wheels: 16?x3.0? tires on spoked rims
• Extras: Front and rear LED lights, LED display with 5-speed settings, center kickstand, folding footpegs in rear, adjustable height seat, rear bench is replaceable with basket, underseat storage section, UL-listed battery

First, what did I like?

There are some really cool things about the Razor EcoSmart Cargo.

First of all, it’s a zippy little scooter. Despite the small size, you can easily cruise around at 20 mph (32 km/h) on this petite runabout. And since it’s got a long bench seat with rear footpegs, you can bring along a friend for the ride. The rear includes clear skirts that protect the pillion rider’s ankles or pant legs from coming in contact with the rear wheel.

Under that rear seat is a small storage compartment that is large enough to fit the charger and some tools, or perhaps your wallet and keys. And if you don’t want to bring a friend along for a ride, you can remove the rear seat and instead install the included cargo basket.

There’s a wide center kickstand to keep the Razor EcoSmart Cargo scooter nice and stable when it’s parked. There’s a pretty bamboo inlay found in the scooter’s deck. The fenders are standard equipment. There’s even a headlight and tail/light brake light. For barely over $1K, they give you a lot of stuff.

And it’s convenient too! The low seat height makes it perfect for shorter riders, and the ability to put your feet flat on the ground at stops makes it more confidence-inspiring for new riders.

Taller riders can raise the height of the seat, though it won’t be in line with the rear bench anymore. Or you can just scoot back on the bench to give yourself more legroom if you leave the front seat in the lowest position.

So there are some nice little features that get built into this rather unassuming e-scooter. And considering the price of just $1,099, that’s a pretty cool setup.

OK, so what are the problems?

Well, there are a few.

Let’s start with the Razor EcoSmart Cargo’s central motor. Despite proving to be a powerful and torquey setup with 1,000W of power, it sounds like a chain saw coming down the road. This is the loudest electric scooter motor I think I’ve ever heard. Check out my video above to hear what I mean.

The motor also doesn’t freewheel, which means that you can push the scooter forward just fine while walking next to it (due to the freewheel in the rear wheel), but you can’t push it backward without serious resistance from having to turn the motor while pushing the scooter in reverse.

That’s not a common occurrence, but each time I would want to maneuver the scooter while parking or any other time I just needed to push it backward a few feet, I found that you really have to put your back into it since you’re turning the motor and the wheels. You can push the scooter forward with one finger if you wanted to. But going backward requires a firm two-handed grip to pull it.

Next, let’s talk stopping power. While the scooter has good pickup from a peppy motor, the braking is very weak. I’ve ridden other e-bikes and scooters with just rear-wheel brakes, and they can stop just fine. So it’s not only that there’s a single brake. Instead, the brake just seems insufficient. Between the heavy weight of the scooter (75 pounds!) and the weak brake, I found that I would really have to plan ahead for my stops to make sure I didn’t overshoot a stop sign or red light. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t lock up the rear wheel. I’d pull the brake lever as hard as I possibly could and just kind of drag to a slow stop.

To be fair, after about a week or so, the brakes slightly improved as the discs started bedding in better. But they never got to a point that didn’t worry me. And having reviewed literally hundreds of two-wheelers with disc brakes, I can say without a doubt that these simply don’t cut it.

The steering also doesn’t turn as far as I would have liked, lock to lock. I’m not sure if that is supposed to be a safety feature (I’m guessing so), but it means that when moving the Razor EcoSmart Cargo around at low speed, you might have to do a couple more back-and-forth movements since you can’t turn the bars as far as you will want to. And since rolling backward is difficult (as described above), it makes the issue even more frustrating.

So then, what’s the verdict?

Look, I’m in an interesting position. As perhaps the most prolific reviewer of e-bikes and e-scooters on the internet, I’m a rare breed of being a professional rider of weird little EVs. I ride basically every day, sometimes all day. And so, while there were some faults with the Razor EcoSmart Cargo, I could ride it just fine and get by.

But this isn’t a scooter I’d put my mom on if that puts things into perspective. The weak brakes are a safety concern for me. The other issues, like motor noise and annoying maneuverability, are quality-of-life issues. They aren’t deal breakers, but they definitely go in the “con” column.

In its current state, I could ride this scooter, but I wouldn’t recommend it to most people, which is unfortunate because it’s such an awesome little platform with so much potential. Two small changes could totally fix this: a rear hub motor and a higher-quality disc brake. That’s it. Those two parts would solve most of the downsides I see here. And they’re both in Razor’s wheelhouse, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see an EcoSmart Cargo Version 2 at some point. In fact, I’d love to because I’m all in on seated electric scooters like these. It’s just that this one has a few issues that are hard for me to look past.