Our Guide to CHOOSING a mobility scooter
A mobility scooter can give you a new lease of life. However, buying one can be daunting due to the wide variety available on the market. We understand how important choosing the right scooter is to get your independence back. So, in this article, we will take a deeper dive into the types of mobility scooters available and hopefully make your experience of buying a mobility scooter easy and stress-free.
Mobility scooters are usually categorised into 3 categories; Road, Pavement, and Car boot scooters. Within these 3 main categories there are smaller groups that we class scooters in, for example within the car boot scooter category there are folding scooters and dismantling scooters (choosing between these 2 is another argument, which can be found in another article here).
Road Scooters
Road scooters are the only scooters that can be driven on the road. They are much bigger than the usual pavement and car boot scooters which makes them much harder to transport. To transport these scooters usually requires a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV). These scooters can go up to 8mph, have the largest range per charge, and generally provide the most comfortable ride. Despite being called Road scooters, some of the scooters within this category can actually go off-road. Whereas, Pavement and Car Boot scooters struggle when it comes to off-road use. So, if you want a scooter for long country walks or you live somewhere with slightly rough terrain then a Road scooter is the one for you.
Pavement Scooters
As the name suggests, these scooters can only be used on the pavement and private land. Pavement mobility scooters are great for short trips out and about, whether you’re off to the shops, running a few errands, or visiting friends. With a maximum speed of 4mph, a pavement mobility scooter will get you from A to B quickly, safely, and comfortably. They are easier to transport than road scooters but don’t tend to be as comfortable and also don’t have a range as large. Pavement scooters provide a good middle ground between road and car boot scooters.
Car Boot Scooters
Car Boot scooters are generally the most popular scooter due to how easy they can be transported. There are 2 main types of car boot scooters, folding and dismantling. Folding scooters are relatively new and appeal to people due to how easy they are to fold. Some folding scooters need to be folded manually like the QFold, and some automatically fold at the press of a button like the Globetrotter. However, folding scooters can be heavy, making them hard to lift into and out of a vehicle. On the other hand, dismantling scooters come into many smaller and more manageable parts (As shown on the right). So, it may take more effort to dismantle the scooter but it is much easier to lift into and out of vehicles. If you think a Car Boot scooter is the right one for you then we’d advice you to read another one of our guides where we looked at the folding vs dismantling scooter debate in more depth (This article can be found here).
Now that we’ve covered the basics of mobility scooters it’s time to decide which is right for you. Everyone has different capabilities, needs, and situations so the most popular scooters might not necessarily be the ones for you. The first thing you need to do when starting your journey into choosing the perfect mobility scooter for you is to ask yourself a few questions. These questions are:
- Do you want to use your scooter on pavements only or roads as well?
- Do you need to be able to transport your scooter, and if so, how big is your vehicle?
- Where will you store your scooter when it’s not in use? Is it big enough to house a Road scooter?
- Are you able to lift a scooter or individual parts of a scooter? If not, do you have an able-bodied person to help you when the time comes?
- Do you want to/have to take your scooter off-road or on slightly rough terrain?
After answering these questions, you should come to some sort of idea of what type of scooter you want and need. You can see our range of mobility scooters (here) and have a browse. Now, all that’s left is for you to come into our showroom and test drive them to see which one feels the best to you. If you still aren’t sure, either pop into our showroom or call us on 01747 829549 and our expert staff will be happy to assist you and find out which scooter is perfect for you.
ADDRESS
‘The Old Wagonworks’
Ludwell
Nr. Shaftesbury
Dorset
SP7 9HH