GOTRAX GX3 Review – A Flagship Dual Motor Monster

The GOTRAX GX3 is the fastest electric scooter GOTRAX has ever made, a dual motor flagship performance model from a company known for making budget commuters.

GOTRAX GX3 – $1,999 $1,799

GOTRAX has dominated the casual, single-motor commuter space by delivering the most affordable electric scooters you can buy online or in stores, from a reputable brand with a solid, 2-year warranty. They’ve concentrated their efforts at the budget, entry-level, and commuter end of the market and have done especially well with scooters for kids and students. The GOTRAX GX3 is a major departure.

Overall, the GX series of electric scooters for adults represents something entirely new for GOTRAX. The first two scooters, the GX1 and GX2, give you dual-motor sport scooter specs at entry-level prices. The third in the GX series, the GOTRAX GX3, is not an entry level scooter, and I’m very excited about this one. I’ve been waiting to review it for a while.

The GX3 is GOTRAX’s flagship performance model, and I’m here to answer two big questions in our review:

First, is the GX3 a worthy upgrade from the GX2? We explore this much more fully in our video review below, where I unbox, set up, and test ride the GX3, and give you a spec-by-spec breakdown of how it compares to its predecessor.

Secondly, we wanted to know if the GOTRAX GX3 can compete as a world-class performance scooter. With dual 1000W motors, 11 inch tires with hybrid off-road tread, Nutt hydraulic brakes, and four, fully-adjustable hydraulic shocks, it’s got all the key ingredients. So, let’s find out how the GX3 does.

Who Is This Scooter For?

The GX3 is for buyers who want max performance, max ride quality, and maximum peace of mind. GOTRAX doesn’t offer an app or high tech bells and whistles, but they do build great scooters with excellent 2-year warranties.

This is not an electric scooter for new riders or the average commuter. The GX3 requires some skill to ride, even if it has safety stops in place to keep careless riders from hurting themselves too badly.

Right now, use our exclusive code ESG100 for $100 the GOTRAX GX3, bringing the total price down to $1,699 + free shipping and a 2-year warranty.

The GOTRAX GX1 and GX2: An Even Better Value Six Months Later

GOTRAX GX3 Specs

Our Full Video Review

GOTRAX GX3: Performance

Top Speed

The specified top speed for the GX3 is 38 mph. We saw a speed as high as 38.3 on the speedometer, and our averaged bi-directional speed run gave us a top speed number almost as fast: 37.9 mph.

You can feel the GX3 pushing against a firmware limit; it has more power to go faster. Big companies like GOTRAX, Segway, and Apollo stop their scooters from maxing out their speeds for safety reasons.

Practically speaking, 40 mph is my limit on an electric scooter, anyway. In most scenarios outside of racing, there’s no reason to go faster on such small wheels.

Acceleration

38 mph definitely puts the GX3 in competition with other dual motor beasts like the 37.3 mph Kaabo Mantis V2 and 40.7 mph Apollo Phantom V4.

What really serves a scooter best is not high speed but quick acceleration, and the GX3 has got it. The GOTRAX GX3 has the same 2.6 second acceleration time as the Apollo Phantom from 0 to 15 mph, and it comes close to the Phantom with its 7.4 second acceleration time to 30 mph.

Range

The GX3 has a much bigger battery than the GX2, and GOTRAX rates the scooter for 60 miles of range on a full charge in ECO mode. This might be possible, but we try to replicate real-world riding conditions as much as possible in our range test, and we usually get 50-60% of manufacturer estimates.

Our range test course is hilly and demanding, and I rode the GX3 the way most people will, in full-on Turbo mode. This gave me 28.8 miles of range, or about four more miles than the GX2.

Range is consistent with other scooters in the GX3’s performance class: slightly better than the Apollo Phantom’s 28.4 miles, more than the Mantis V2’s 27.2, and close to pricier beast scooters like the Segway GT2, which gets 32.9 on a single charge.

Braking

The GX1 and GX2 and both equipped with mechanical, cable-actuated disc brakes, while the GOTRAX GX3 uses hydraulic disc brakes. The difference between the two feels downright profound.

All of the GX models have excellent stopping times, with the GX1 and GX2 coming in at 7th and 6th place, respectively, in their braking distance test from 15 mph.

While the GX3, surprisingly, takes a little longer to stop – 9.7 feet compared to the GX2’s 9.3 feet – there’s no comparing the two. These hydraulic levers just feel amazing, as you’ll hear me say over and over in our video review.

Hydraulic disc brakes are self-adjusting, eliminating the worst thing about mechanical discs, brake rub. They also stop so smoothly and precisely that you always feel in control, even at the scooter’s fastest speeds, with braking power actuated at the lightest touch of a lever.

Hill Climb

One of the reasons people buy dual motor scooters like the GX3 is so they can climb hills faster than with single-motor models. Like most dual motor scooters, the GX1 and GX2 are great hill climbers, but GOTRAX’s flagship GX3 is really great.

The GX3 climbed our 10% grade test hill in a total of 8.7 seconds, just shy of the Apollo Phantom’s 8.8 seconds and touch slower than the Mantis V2’s 8.1 seconds.

For reference, the GX2, with 1,600 Watts of power, climbed our hill almost a full second slower at 9.4 seconds.

Ride Quality

GOTRAX markets the GX3 as their off-road electric scooter, and that’s not only because it has 11-inch knobby, off-road tires, but also because its suspension is fully adjustable. Four hydraulic shocks let you tune preload and damping, while the GX2’s hydraulic suspension only allows for preload adjustment.

Off-road riding is definitely an option with the GX3, but its suspension and tires feel amazing on the road, and allow you to dial in just the right amount of bounce for your riding style and weight.

While all of the GX models have a rider weight limit of 300 pounds, the GX3 will give larger riders the smoothest ride quality and most versatility. It’s also got a larger deck and bigger rear footrest for added comfort while riding.

GOTRAX GX3: Design, Build & Reliability

We’ve given the GOTRAX GX3 a score of 8.3 on our Reliability Index, a number that averages 11 factors such as warranty length, tire type, UL certification, and battery manufacturer.

The score is pulled up by the GX3’s UL rating, which ensures safe charging, as well as its 2-year warranty and outstanding brakes. Build quality is excellent, and GOTRAX stocks a wide availability of parts on their website to keep the scooter going long after its out of warranty.

The GX3 is a little heavier than some other performance scooters – at 88 pounds, it’s right at the limit of what I’d want to haul up stairs. You don’t buy an electric scooter like this one expecting much in the way of portability, however.

There are a few other cons, like the lack of an app and a function called “Park” that all three GX scooters have. It locks the scooter until you unlock it, for safety reasons. You get used to it in about a day, but I don’t love it.

I also would like to have seen tubeless tires with sealant at this price. But these are minor issues, on the whole. There are so many other things to rave about, including dual charging (and the inclusion of two chargers in the box) that brings the total charge time under 5 hours.

GOTRAX GX3: Is It Worth It? Our Verdict

Here comes the final question: should you buy the GX3? If you’re asking whether this is a significant upgrade over the less expensive GX2, I’d have to say yes, I think it is.

The GX3’s added power, larger battery, bigger wheels and deck, adjustable suspension, and its butter-smooth hydraulic brakes are all major upgrades over the GX2 and put this scooter in a different class entirely. Which brings us to the second question:

Can the GX3 – an electric scooter made by a company we’ve known for low-budget scooters – compete with big dogs of scooter performance like the Apollo Phantom, Kaabo Mantis V2, and even the Segway GT2? Not only can the GX3 keep up with the best in terms of speed, but it’s also one of the best in terms of ride and build quality.

If you want raw performance numbers, you can spend less and get more power, but you won’t get nearly the same finesse – or customer care – as you will here, especially at the GX3’s current sale price of $1,799, which makes it all the more worth it, in our opinion.

Right now, use our exclusive code ESG100 for $100 the GOTRAX GX3, bringing the total price down to $1,699 + free shipping and a 2-year warranty.