Navee N65 II

A while ago, Navee sent us no fewer than three scooters in one go: an ST5 Pro SE, a GT5 Max, and an N65 II. It's the latter that we're reviewing here as the icing on the cake. The reason I'm bringing the first two reviews into the picture is that Navee's range seems unnecessarily convoluted, with no clear correlation between price, functionality, weight, and range. You can pay a lot and get practically less, or vice-versa.

And things don't get much better here. Navee's own recommended retail price is around €500 for the N65 II, roughly the same as the GT5 Max, despite the latter having a higher rated power (700W versus 600W), a higher battery capacity, a longer range, suspension at both the front and rear, and better performance on steeper gradients. Admittedly, it weighs 800 grams more and has a load capacity 20 kilos lower, but judged by these key parameters, the GT5 Max is surely the obvious choice, isn't it?

It should be noted, however, that the GT5 Max has been on the market for longer and is currently available at relatively aggressive prices, but this still points to a product range that appears somewhat confusing to the average consumer.

On the other hand, there are some new features on the N65 II that are worth mentioning and which may help to explain the confusion. First and foremost, it's constructed from so-called QSTE 420 high-strength steel, and features much stronger hinges, making it incredibly robust to use. You can see with the naked eye that the build itself is more solid, and this is naturally reflected in a maximum load capacity of 150 kilos, rather than 130 kilos.

They naturally share a lot of handy features too. There's Apple Find My functionality, 10.5-inch tubeless tyres, and a rather handy 4-inch colour LED display, which offers a wealth of informative little icons. The front light is bright, the TCS system keeps you stable on the road, and the brakes are absolutely brilliant.

In other words, the N65 II is by no means a poor electric scooter, and compared with other competitors, Navee offers a top-of-the-range model that can easily hold its own. But it's worth returning to the GT5 Max once more, unfortunately, even though Navee are probably sitting there slightly baffled that I'm devoting so much column space to it.

Apart from a few material-specific changes and a more robust construction, there really is no good reason not to just buy the GT5 Max. Nominal and peak power, battery capacity, range, suspension, maximum gradient, it's all better, and it's precisely these parameters that most people will use to make a purchasing decision. If the N65 II had been significantly lighter, it would have been a different story, but we're talking 23.6 kilos compared to the GT5 Max's 24.8 kilos. There is a difference, but both are bulky machines that don't seem particularly manoeuvrable in everyday use, as they all share Navee's "SUV-like" design profile.

It's a mystery to me why manufacturers like Navee feel the need to produce so many different models. For a "daily commuter", there's the V25I Pro II, GT3 Pro, G5, G5 Pro, ST5 Pro, ST3 Pro, GT5 Max, ST5 Pro SE, and now the N65 II. The latter is also placed in the "off-road adventure" category, which is probably down to the wide 80-millimetre all-terrain tyres with a much coarser tread pattern. This means they're designed to perform in mud, gravel, sand, and on forest floors, but I couldn't quite find a scenario where the difference was particularly noticeable.

Again, make no mistake. This is a good scooter. A really good one, in fact. But Navee is shooting itself in the foot with this pricing and model range, so I can't really do anything other than recommend one of Navee's own models instead of this one.