Segway ZT3 Pro vs Teewing Mars XTR – An Off-Road Challenge
Teewing Mars XTR – $3399
Segway Ninebot ZT3 Pro – $949
The Teewing Mars XTR has been on my shortlist of scooters to test off-road for a while now. It’s a high-end dual-motor scooter with ridiculous amounts of power, knobby off-road tires, dual stem stability, and a motorcycle-style hydraulic suspension.
I’ve also been wanting to ride the new Segway Ninebot ZT3 Pro off-road. As many of you know, this is a scooter on the more budget end, with a single rear hub motor and a long-travel non-adjustable spring suspension. Segway markets the ZT3 as an off-road electric scooter. Is it legit compared to something like the XTR?
Do You Need $3K-4K to Have Fun Off-Road?
There’s maybe no realistic buying situation in which you’d compare these scooters on equal grounds, but the question is whether you need to spend over $3K for a good off-road electric scooter. And the answer is, no, you don’t need to buy a three, four, or five thousand dollar monster scooter for a fun off-roading experience.
I think the biggest thing when it comes to scooters and off-road capability is the knobby tires. You obviously want good suspension, but most scooters except the most well-equipped (we’re talking Wolf King GTR levels of suspension) will bottom out and be a little bumpy off-road, just because of how small the wheels are.
When brands say, “Oh, this is an off-roading scooter,” that means, “it can handle dirt roads.” If you apply that definition, the ZT3 Pro is definitely an off-road scooter. You can kind of hear how chunky the suspension is on big bumps. It’s not amazing, and you can’t adjust it.
The ZT3 does bottom out occasionally for me, a 200-lb rider, whereas Paul (who weighs 165 lbs) found it pretty stiff. But for the price, it definitely gets the job done off-road. In terms of power, even with its top speed of 25 miles an hour, and even uphill in the dirt, I had no issues. I didn’t really feel like I need to go any faster than I did, and the ZT3 Pro feels a lot faster than it is on the trail because it’s built so well.
How Does the Teewing Mars XTR Compare?
The Teewing Mars XTR is honestly too fast for its own good, I think, especially on the trail. I mostly kept it in mode two, out of five. I was hoping it would compete with the Wolf King GTR in terms of suspension, but it has a lot less of nimble feel to it and feels a lot heavier on the trail, so it doesn’t compare well with the competition in its more immediate price range.
Are you getting a significantly better off-roading experience with the XTR over the Segway, however? Well, it’s better, but it’s not three or four times better than the ZT3 Pro. In that sense, Segway has done a good job of putting value into the right areas of their scooter and saying, “Hey, this is an off-road scooter. You can go have fun. You can go zip around trails like this and have a good time.” It definitely works for its intended purpose.
The Segway ZT3 Pro Makes Our List of Best Off-Road Scooters
I think people were disappointed when the Segway ZT3 Pro wasn’t a more high-end scooter like the Mars XTR. The reality, however, is that Segway’s premium scooters – like the GT1 and GT2 – just don’t sell as well for them. They know their riders and they went in more of an off-road-Segway Max G2 direction.
In fact, when we made our list of the 5 best off-road electric scooters, I put the Segway Ninebot Max G2 in there as the best budget option because of its full suspension, hybrid tires, and great reliability. The Max G2 did a decent job in our off-road tests. The ZT3 is even better, and so it takes the G2’s spot on that list.
As much fun as I’ve had on the Mars XTR, however, I definitely don’t think, for the price, that it would replace any of the other scooters on the list. It’s an insanely fast performance scooter and one of the best values in super scooters, but it doesn’t dethrone any of our best off-roaders.
Check out our list of the 5 best off-road electric scooters at Rider Guide, swap in Segway Ninebot ZT3 Pro as the best budget option, and remember to wear a helmet wherever you ride. Stay frosty!
Read our full review of the Segway Ninebot ZT3 Pro
Read our full review of the Teewing Mars XTR