2019 Nanrobot D4+ Review

Video Review

Written Review

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter is frighteningly powerful, terrifyingly fast and an adrenaline rush waiting to happen. 

Nanrobot has a handful of powerful electric scooters to choose from; this one, the D4+, is one of their more affordable options but still packs some mean power into a relatively small package. The D4+ comes stock with full suspension, an integrated headlight, two hub motors, a telescoping stem and strong electronic braking and mechanical disc brakes. This machine is ready to tackle practically any urban environment and some light off-road trails too.

Power — 2,000 watts

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter has two hub motors, each with an output of 1,000 watts for a combined total of 2,000 watts of power. This puts the D4+ in the upper echelon for power output, comparing it to the likes of the Dualtron electric scooters. 

It’s unclear whether the wattage listed on the website is nominal watts or peak watts, but what is clear is the pull the D4+ has off the line. It gets going incredibly quick and can reach top speed in just a few seconds. There are also a variety of different configuration options including dual drive or single drive, eco mode and turbo mode. 

Speed  — 40 mph

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter has a top speed of 40 mph, which is extremely fast and we strongly recommend wearing at least a full face helmet for maximum cranial protection. Despite the high top speed, the D4+ feels surprisingly stable when clipping along near 40 mph, thanks in part to the largish pneumatic tires. The Nanrobot website says the tires are 10 inches, but the model we received has 8 inch by 2.5 inch tires. It seems the speedometer is programmed to measure the rotation of 10 inch tires as the indicated speed is far greater than the actual speed, and we couldn’t find a way to adjust the wheel size in the settings.

Battery and Range — 52 volt 23 ah, 35 miles

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter runs on a 52 volt system and has an massive 23 ah battery for an estimated max range of around 35 miles. As with all electric vehicles, the real world range will depend largely on rider weight and style, terrain, weather and speed. Because the D4+ is so powerful, riding at full speed will drain the battery far more quickly than casually riding at around 20 mph. 

The battery itself is housed in the deck of the D4+, keeping the center of gravity very low and making for a well balanced scooter. The battery is also protected from dirt and debris and some water. The D4+ is IP53 rated for water resistance, which protects it from dust for the most part and “water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60 degrees from the vertical.” In other words, it should be fine to ride this in the rain and go through small puddles, but it’s not that waterproof so be sure to keep the deck from being entirely submerged in water.

Display — LCD

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter has an LCD display on the right side of the handlebars with a nicely shaped trigger throttle and independent voltage meter along with a key operation. The display works well enough and while some functions can be adjusted in the settings, it appears there is no setting for wheel diameter. However, the display does show what power level is currently being used (1-3), battery level, ride time, tripometer, odometer and more.

Frame and weight — Aluminum alloy, 60 pounds

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter has an aluminum alloy body and weighs in at nearly 60 pounds. This is a heavy scooter, no doubt, but when folded it’s not too difficult to carry. The folding mechanism on the frame is also of good quality, with a two-stage locking mechanism to ensure the stem does not collapse even if the primary locking mechanism fails or comes unlatched while riding. 

The D4+ also has an optional seat for an additional $99.

Suspension — Spring suspension

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter has four sets of spring suspension in the front and a single spring suspension in the rear. The full suspension setup here does a good job of mitigating some minor bumps but the suspension will bottom out pretty easily (it’s unclear exactly how much travel they have, but we approximate around 30 mm). There is no rebound or preload adjust for the front suspension and the preload adjust in the rear suspension does not change the properties of the coil much. Still, the full suspension and the pneumatic tires together do offer a comfortable ride that allows the D4+ to tear through the city and glide along some dirt trails too.

Brakes — electronic, mechanical disc

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter has some of the best electronic braking we’ve ever seen. It’s so powerful that it will throw you off if you’re not ready for it. Thankfully, the power of the electronic braking can be adjusted in the settings, but we ended up leaving it on the factory setting of 2 which works out pretty well.

The mechanical disc brakes on the other hand do not offer much braking power at all. The overall quality of the brake assembly is such that even when the brake levers are fully depressed there isn’t much pressure being asserted on the rotors. We tried adjusting the calipers, the tension of the cable and even the entire brake assembly, but regardless of what we did we couldn’t seem to get much braking power of the mechanical disc brakes. This is, in our opinion, the one thing that needs to be improved on the D4+. Although the electronic braking is — and I can’t believe we’re saying this — strong enough to stop the scooter even from full speed, if the electronic braking fails for some reason we don’t have much confidence that the mechanical disc brakes will be enough to prevent an accident in an emergency situation. 

For those interested in investing some extra money into the D4+, we suggest snagging an aftermarket brake assembly and installing them on the scooter.

Warranty — Optional 1 or 2 year extended warranty

The Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter offers an extended warranty service of 1 year or 2 years, for an additional cost of $99.99 and $189.00 respectively. It’s unclear what this warranty covers. 

Price — Starting at $1,349

Starting at $1,399, the Nanrobot D4+ folding electric scooter is feels appropriately priced and a fair deal considering the extremely high powered motors and massive 23 ah battery pack, but underwhelming mechanical disc brakes. Even still, this is one of the most powerful electric scooters we’ve tested, and one of the most fun too.

Who’s it for — Scoommuters on a budget

This feels like a good choice for those who need a serious scoommuter for longer treks across some less-than-ideal roads, and maybe even some off-road sections. This is for someone who needs power for steep hills and to quickly accelerate in-between traffic or across an intersection. This is for someone who needs a big battery for extended ranges. And this is for someone on a budget. Now, that’s not to say the D4+ is cheap, but as far as truly high-power electric scooters go, it’s one of the more affordable ones on the market, and while our biggest gripe about it is the mechanical disc brakes, the electronic braking is exceptional and overall the scooter feels like it’s pretty well made and is incredibly fun to ride.