For some months Horwin has launched EK3 on the Italian market, an electric scooter designed for daily commuting in the city and beyond. Designed in Austria and built in China, this model is; imported into Italy by Vent, a company from Introbio (Lecco) known in the motard and enduro segments of small cubic volume.
For performance it is equivalent to an endothermic 125cc, with a speed; declared maximum of 95 km/h , and there is no shortage of tech solutions such as keyless ignition, cruise control and the anti-theft alarm system. In short, interesting features especially in terms of performance compared to many & quot; colleagues & quot; from the city, which prompted us to try it.
And so it is; the EK3 is became my travel companion for about ten days : I used it in Milan and in the hinterland, to move from home to work and to go out in the evening, both in the city & agrave; that on extra-urban roads, and I must say that in terms of power it has met my expectations, while on some other front it can be; improve. This is how it looks gone.
CLASSIC DESIGN, FUTURISTIC LIGHTS
Turning to the materials, the plastics seem to be of good quality , but the assembly could be more accurate: especially in some points of the handlebar you notice some cracks between one part and the other; the mirrors are a bit small.
Once you get on the saddle the feeling is egrave; that of a classic scooter, quite handy: it weighs 95 kg to which 15 kg of battery pack must be added; the saddle is 780mm from the ground, therefore also suitable for those who are not & egrave; very high, like me. Well the flat and spacious platform on which there is; it was also my gym bag, although I would have preferred the bag hook to be circular, & quot; closed & quot; in short, for greater security of the things entrusted to him.
The saddle & egrave; comfortable, generously sized, it also accommodates the passenger well who can & ograve; hold on to the handle that runs behind the entire rear perimeter. The removable footrests on the other hand are a bit dancers, in the sense that they do not fix themselves in a predefined position when they are open, and therefore the passenger has to manage their oscillations back and forth during the journey.
ELECTRIC MOTOR AND DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Inside is the electric motor, which delivers a power of 6.2 kW with 195 Nm of torque . This means that & egrave; comparable to endothermic models with a displacement of 125 cc, but the performance is superior in terms of recovery and brilliance in traffic. The constructor declares that the speed maximum reaches 95 km/h , and it takes 6 seconds to go from 0 to 60 km/h. The whole is; accompanied by chain transmission and double front and rear hydraulic shock absorbers.
The selector on the handlebar allows you to choose between three modes; driving with a different degree of regenerative braking and speed limitation; and I must say that being a fairly powerful medium I have almost always used the intermediate one (the 2nd) without feeling like giving up anything, also because & eacute; I mainly faced city paths; the mode 3 d & agrave; great satisfaction in restarting at traffic lights, but you also feel safe on extra-urban roads. In short, you won't get bored.
The answer is; fluid and linear, with acceleration typical of electric vehicles ; the speed maxim I arrived at & egrave; of 90 km/h in some extra-urban sections, and I must say that the EK3 is & egrave; demonstrated at the height of all the situations in which I found myself even in the case of holes and roughness, thanks to the tubeless tires of 14 (front) and 13 (rear) with a footprint suitable for the city, of 100/80 and 110/70.
Some slight difficulties; I found it only in the sections with tram tracks and pav & eacute; , where the suspensions hold up well but the combined CBS braking, which distributes the braking force between the front and rear discs, is turned out to be quite “long”.
BATTERY AND AUTONOMY technological equipment ; a lot , and includes cruise control – which I personally haven't used much in the city; – a super-sensitive anti-theft alarm system that is triggered as soon as you handle the scooter without having the remote control nearby and a keyless technology that allows you to turn it on without a key, simply by exploiting the proximity.
A Speaking of starting, I found the ignition knob in place of the key unintuitive : between pressures and half turns you have to familiarize yourself a lot to understand how it works, especially as regards the opening of the saddle pad (for the record, you have to press, release and then do a half click back from the unlock position). Also present is the reverse gear, which I had never seen on any scooter so far and which for & ograve; I found some dangerous.
Turning to the handlebar I found the display very practical: large, clear, & egrave; divided into four quadrants showing the main information and & egrave; delimited by a light strip that changes color depending on the speed; of gear. Curious is the presence of a touch-to-start strip that allows you to start or turn off the vehicle simply by swiping your finger.
An aspect that left me quite surprised & egrave; the acoustic one, intended just as ringtones: the EK3 in fact has a soundtrack for switching on and off – and so far so good, since they don't feel that way after all; often – but also for the arrows, which instead could be a bit embarrassing at traffic lights, when the beautiful silence of the electric vehicle is broken by the sound a bit intrusive associated with direction indicators. This is serious; perhaps the aspect that most recalls the Chinese matrix of the vehicle.
The compartment behind the shield also has a USB socket to recharge electronic devices, and in general I appreciated the spaces for storing objects, starting from the saddle where a helmet fits comfortably enough; something not taken for granted on electric scooters, where often that space is; all occupied by batteries. Had it been a couple of centimeters more? large, the power supply would also have entered the measure, which instead remains a bit inclined.
PRICE AND CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, l & rsquo; Horwin EK3 & egrave; available in four colors: red , like the model I tried, white, black and gray . The list price is; of 4,490 euros : not particularly cheap, but with the incentives and scrapping you can & ograve; go down to around 3,000 euros . Of course, many traditional scooters of similar category have perhaps a higher price list; affordable, but & egrave; clear that those who focus on the electric make a very specific choice.
There are all the advantages of an electric vehicle , from free road tax to less expensive insurance, passing through inexpensive maintenance and minimal fuel costs: a full tank costs much less than a euro. In short, it pays for itself using it: therefore excellent for those who use it often, in the city; and not only.
Another question concerns the unknown of a brand that has just arrived in Italy , especially as regards the ;support; & egrave; also true for & ograve; which, being electric, does not require particular maintenance, so the problem is limited to spare parts in cases of accidents or falls, but the presence of an Italian distributor should make us feel quite calm.
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technological equipment ; a lot , and includes cruise control – which I personally haven't used much in the city; – a super-sensitive anti-theft alarm system that is triggered as soon as you handle the scooter without having the remote control nearby and a keyless technology that allows you to turn it on without a key, simply by exploiting the proximity. 
In conclusion, l & rsquo; Horwin EK3 & egrave; available in four colors: red , like the model I tried, white, black and gray . The list price is; of 4,490 euros : not particularly cheap, but with the incentives and scrapping you can & ograve; go down to around 3,000 euros . Of course, many traditional scooters of similar category have perhaps a higher price list; affordable, but & egrave; clear that those who focus on the electric make a very specific choice.