GoTrax G4 Review

Who is it Best For?

Will the GoTrax G4 Be a Good Fit For You?

Feature-wise, the G4 is a step up from its fellow GoTrax compadres. It’s better-built and goes further. But, most of all, it has a faster top speed – which means it is better suited to those riders that fancy taking their first steps beyond the industry standard of budget scooters (15.5 mph).

The G4 is also an excellent commuter scooter. Easy to fold, highly portable, and with enough juice to get you from A to B for short commutes, it’s by far GoTrax’s best offering for the working rider – and it won’t break the bank, either.

Pros and Cons

Ride Quality

Is the GoTrax G4 Comfortable to Ride?

Before writing this review, Coleman, our resident GoTrax scooter tester, put the G4 through its paces around the streets of Glendale, Los Angeles. Here’s what he found:

Fitted with chunky, super-sized, shock-absorbing pneumatic tires, the G4 makes up for a lack of conventional suspension.

And those hoping for a balanced ride certainly won’t be disappointed either. The scooter’s low center of gravity – which is helped along by the deck-located battery – means it’s simple to get the hang of.

Overall, the G4 is up there with the likes of the Turboant X7 Pro as one of the best budget scooters for ride quality.

Design

Handlebars

The G4 doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel with its handlebars, and – like the rest of the GoTrax line – they’re a comfortable and functional part of the scooter.

Compared to GoTrax’s other budget scooters, including the GXL V2, Apex, XR Ultra, and Elite, the width of the handlebars are a little longer, though. This is a welcome improvement thanks to the increased stability and control it affords.

Both the bell and handbrake are well-positioned, allowing easy access when you need to stop or let people know you’re overtaking. Likewise, the thumb throttle is conveniently located (particularly for you right-handed folks), meaning you can easily control the scooter’s speed and acceleration.

In the middle of the handlebars is the G4’s commanding LED dashboard. The screen (which is a little in-your-face, but in a good way) juts out between the handlebars, displaying you all you need to know about your speed, battery life, and cruise control status at a glance. More on the dashboard later.

Frame

Sporting a matte-black body with finishes of red and white trim, the G4 is a stunner.

With the black, the G4 bears the family resemblance of the GoTrax line. Still, with its striking accents and robust design, there’s more than enough pizzazz here to give the scooter a distinct character of its own.

Color-scheme-wise, it shares most of its DNA with GoTrax’s XR Elite. A less discerning eye might even mistake them for identical twins.

But look closer, and you’ll see that the G4 cleverly sidesteps some of the design pitfalls its siblings plunged headlong into. It avoids, for instance, the clumsy way in which the XR Elite’s exposed brake cable runs the length of the stem. Better still, its LED dashboard has more in common with the beefed-up display of the Apex than it does with the smaller iterations found on the GXL V2 and XR Ultra.

Deck

As with the GoTrax Apex, the G4’s battery is integrated into the deck.

This gives the G4 a low center of gravity, which in turn lends it a more balanced ride – something that’ll come in handy when it comes to braking.

However, this particular design feature can expose the battery to damage if you manage to take some hard hits to the bottom of the deck – so, avoid bunny hopping up curbs. Plus, the battery pack isn’t detachable (unlike, for instance, the Turboant X7 Pro). This means you’ll have to plug the whole scooter into the wall, rather than just the battery – and this isn’t always convenient. Nevertheless, the location of the battery does mean that the handlebar stem is nice and thin (some scooters store the battery in the stem) making it easy to grab and hold when folded.

Comfort-wise, the G4’s deck ticks all the boxes. It’s wide enough to strike a sturdy stance on and is covered with a veneer of grippy, patterned rubber for stability.

Wheels

There’s no shortage of reasons why the G4 is GoTrax’s most premium budget model. If I had to pick my favorite, though, it’d be its wheels.

With 10-inch, pneumatic tires that more than compensate for the scooter’s lack of traditional suspension, the G4 is a stable, secure ride. This is particularly important when you consider the lofty top speeds it’s capable of hitting.

My preference is always for air-filled (pneumatic), rather than solid tires – especially if you’re planning on traversing less well-maintained pathways. Air-filled tires, like the G4’s, also have the bonus of generating more traction in wet weather – which makes them a safer bet when you’re riding in the rain.

The catch with pneumatic tires, though, is that you’ll still be running the risk of picking up a puncture or two.

But fear not – here’s where the G4’s class (which is, in large part, what you’re paying for) shines through. Its tires come pre-coated with an innovative tire slime. Effective against nicks of up to 6 mm deep, the slime automatically pours into them when something sharp pierces the outer lining of the tire.

Oozing into action like an amorphous superhero, the slime will plug up these small nicks without requiring any intervention from you. It’s a seriously impressive feature – especially when you consider that you usually only get tire slime with scooters in a much pricier bracket – like the Ninebot Max, at $350 more, for instance.

Build Quality & Durability

The G4 sports a sturdy, reliable frame made of GoTrax’s tried-and-tested, aerospace-grade aluminum alloy.

As well as being built to stand the test of time, the architecture of the G4 makes more sense than some of GoTrax’s previous models. As previously mentioned, the battery, for instance, is integrated into the deck, affording the G4 a more streamlined, economical feel.

Plus, the exposed cable running down the length of the tiller – something that irked me about the XR Elite – is gone. To me, this shows an extra neatness and attention to detail about the design that’s not seen with all scooters in the G4’s class.

Weight & Load

Weighing in at 36 lbs, the G4 tips the scales as the heaviest of the GoTrax range, joint with the more premium model, the GoTrax GMAX.

I’m not willing to ‘fat shame’ this one too much, though. After all, considering how much the G4 beefs up the features and specs of its GoTrax predecessors, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s a little heavier.

Another reason you shouldn’t pay too much attention to the G4’s weight is that, even at 36 lbs, it’s still plenty easy to fold, lift, stow away, and carry around – so commuters should have no worries at all.

To further put the weight into perspective, the G4 solidifies its place in the top 32% of scooters, where it is lighter than 68% of all other models (based on 99 scooters).

In terms of load, the G4 can support a maximum weight of 220 lbs. This is pretty standard for scooters in the G4’s class – just about all Segway’s scooters have the same, as does the rest of GoTrax’s range.

However, if you’re looking for something with more serious load-bearing capabilities, I’d point you in the direction of the Turboant X7 Pro (275 lbs), or FluidFreeRide’s Horizon 10.4 (265 lbs).

Folding & Portability

Part of what makes the G4 so well-qualified as a top commuter scooter is its no-frills, no-nonsense folding mechanism.

The G4 folds in a single step. You simply pull the lever at the bottom of the tiller and then collapse it until it hooks into the rear fender buckle.

Here's the folding latch:

And here's the folding buckle on the rear fender:

As with the rest of GoTrax’s models, the handlebars don’t fold. I’m confident you won’t find this too much of an issue, though – when folded, the G4’s dimensions shrink to just 45 long, 17.9 wide, and 20 high (inches). It’s small enough to fit inside your trunk.

To top off the simple folding mechanism, the thin handlebar stem is easy to grab and hold, even if you have small hands.

Assembly

Unlike several of the other GoTrax models, which can be a little finicky to assemble (the Apex being particularly tricky), the G4 arrives pretty much fully assembled.

All you have to do is unfold it, and then insert the handlebar console into the top of the tiller, tucking away any exposed cable as you do so. Then, it’s simply a matter of tightening up a couple of screws, and hey presto – you’re ready to ride.

Performance & Safety

Speed & Acceleration

Zooming onto the scene with an impressive top speed of 20 mph, the G4 is easily the fastest scooter in the GoTrax range.

In fact, it’s the only GoTrax model, alongside the more premium GMAX, that breaks through the 15.5 mph ‘speed barrier’ – a limit the GXL V2, Apex, XR Ultra, and Elite all failed to cross.

Despite it topping the speed charts of the GoTrax range, the G4 is still far from the fastest scooter on the market – and, if thrill-seeking is high on your agenda, you’re better off splashing a bit more cash for the extra boost the Horizon 10.4’s 25 mph provides ($699).

Oh, and as far as acceleration is concerned, you should bear in mind that, as the more sedate scooters of the GoTrax line, the G4 is a kick starter. This means that acceleration may not be as fast as you’d like, since it takes its time to kick into action. To reach 20 mph from a stationary start it’ll take you around 12 seconds.

Range

If you thought the 18.6 mile range of the GoTrax XR Elite was impressive, you’d better make sure you’re sitting comfortably because the G4’s 25 mile range blows away not only the rest of its predecessors, but pretty much every scooter available for its price, too.

A 25-mile range is something you’d normally see on scooters in the range of $750+ (with the exception, perhaps, of the Hiboy S2 Pro, which retails for $529).

Simply put, you’ll go farther while paying less. Yet there’s one caveat.

While the quoted specs are indeed impressive, the jury may still be out on this one. During our tests, we were only able to get around 13-14 miles out of it.

If your journey requires the battery to last the full 25 miles, then, I’d recommend not pushing the G4 too hard – you may end up kicking it half the distance.

Compared to the likes of the Turboant X7 Pro, which matches the G4 speed, the additional 5 miles of juice on offer (30 in total), makes the X7 Pro the better choice. Similar to the G4, our tests show a lower range under realistic conditions (around 16 miles). But, the X7 Pro takes the crown when it comes to long rides – especially when being ridden in more conservative speed settings. Plus, it’s $50 cheaper (or $100 cheaper if you use the code TURBOANT).

Hill Climbing

By now, the G4, punching above the weight of its price tag when it comes to features and specs, is becoming a common theme, but how does it stand up against hill climbs?

Well, its hill-climbing capability bucks the trend.

Powered by a 350W motor, GoTrax states that the G4 has enough torque to scale 15-degree inclines. As I mentioned in my review of the GoTrax Apex, which promises to scale 14-degree inclines, the hill-climbing ability is far from what it seems.

The 15-degree angle stated matches that of San Francisco’s menacingly steep Lombard Street. Immediately, this should raise some eyebrows – it certainly did mine. For a budget scooter to be able to scale one of the steepest roads you’ll ever counter, GoTrax must be building their scooters with some sort of witchcraft.

As with the GoTrax Apex, we put the G4 to the test and it didn’t hold to the statements made. In practice, the G4 can scale hills with a 15% incline grade which is a far cry from 15-degrees. In degree terms, this is the equivalent of 8.5, which is more than enough to handle the everyday inclines posed by your local neighborhood – so long as you don’t live in San Francisco.

Shock Absorption / Suspension

To anyone familiar with the rest of the models in GoTrax’s line of scooters, the G4’s lack of ‘traditional’ suspension shouldn’t come as a surprise. Yet, considering the price tag of this model – and its undisputed status as GoTrax’s finest, most feature-rich scooter – it’s reasonable to feel a little short-changed, here.

Until that is, you take a closer look at the G4’s tires.

The G4’s pneumatic tires make up for its lack of shock absorption components. With a new and improved design that sets them apart from GoTrax’s other models, the G4’s tires will do more than enough to cushion your knees and ankles from the road’s impact.

To get the best ride quality, stick to well-maintained roads and sidewalks.

Braking

As we’ve come to expect from a GoTrax scooter, the G4 relies on a dual-braking system. This is made up of a rear disc brake and electronic regenerative brake that kicks into action once the brake is pulled.

This approach comes with pros and cons. The handbrake, for instance, is a convenient feature and gives you more control than other scooters that rely on electronic thumb paddle brakes. And, regenerative braking, which re-uses kinetic energy from the G4’s motor to feed its brakes, is always a plus.

However, there’s no glossing over it – the braking here isn’t as powerful as it would be if both wheels were each fitted with a brake. All the G4’s stopping power is focussed towards the rear wheel, which isn’t ideal – especially when you could be zipping down a street at 20 mph.

We found that the braking power on the less expensive ($299) GoTrax Apex was more powerful than the G4.

Overall, though, the G4’s brakes will bring you to a stop at high speeds if you shift your weight to the back of the scooter.

Charge Time

The G4 can reach a full charge in 4 to 5 hours, which is around the standard rate for the size of the battery.

Commuters, take note – that’s less than the time it takes to work a 9 to 5 business day, so it’s easy to have it charging by your desk and ready for the ride home. If you are working from home though and are looking for a scooter for weekend use and leisurely pursuits, then the charge time shouldn’t pose any problems.

Features

LED Dashboard

As is the case with most scooters, the G4’s LED dashboard is your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know while you’re riding. From here, you can view your speed and battery life, and view the status of the scooter’s cruise control function.

The LED dashboard is also how you’ll enable, activate, and operate the G4’s savvy digital lock (more on that shortly).

Looks-wise, the G4’s dashboard does everything right. It’s slightly raised from the handlebars for easier reading, with a black, futuristic aesthetic that wouldn’t look out of place in a sci-fi movie.

In terms of functionality, though, there’s certainly room for improvement. During testing, it didn’t take long to realize that the battery reader was quite misleading. When Coleman, our resident GoTrax scooter tester, started his ride, the battery clocked in at around three-quarters full. After riding just a few miles, it dropped to just one-quarter (a little alarming, I have to say) and stayed there.

Yet, when Coleman got home and stopped the scooter – leaving it on for a minute – the battery magically renewed itself, jumping back up to half full capacity.

What was going on? I think there is some kind of misconfiguration and/or miscommunication between the battery voltage and reporting display. Is this issue unique to the G4? No, I’ve also experienced it on other budget scooters, including the Turboant X7 Pro. It’s only when you start to move into the higher-end of performance electric scooters that you can accurately assess battery usage thanks to dedicated battery voltmeters that are often included as standard. My only advice here is to ensure that your G4 is fully charged before you hit the streets.

LED Lights

If you’re anything like me – that is, a self-confessed sucker for a good LED lighting setup – you may be left wanting more from the G4.

It doubles down on the lights, adding a responsive tail light to complement its headlight. By ‘responsive’, I mean that the tail light will blink when you apply the brakes, adding that extra layer of reassurance when it comes to riding in low-light conditions.

But wait, it’s not all bells and whistles. The headlight, to our surprise, was less powerful than its cheaper counterpart, the GoTrax Apex. So, if you plan on riding at night, you will most certainly need to pick up an additional headlight to pierce the dark.

Despite the lackluster headlight, the G4’s frame also comes decked out in six different reflectors for enhanced visibility. While these should never replace high-vis clothing and additional lights – which I always recommend – they’re certainly a nice inclusion.

Cruise Control

For me, cruise control is a staple in any electric scooter. By allowing you to maintain a constant speed, not only will your scooter run more efficiently – meaning more miles – but, you also get to give your thumb a much-needed break on those longer rides.

It’s fortunate, then, that the G4 has cruise control. It is very simple to use – you just have to press the throttle down for 8-10 seconds to activate it.

The G4 will emit a sound to let you know when cruise control has been activated. If you didn’t mean to enable it, there’s no cause for concern – you just have to pull on the handbrake to turn it off it again.

Digital & Cable Lock

Another way in which the G4 packs premium features into its price tag (alongside the pre-slimed tires), is in security features. It certainly ups the ante from previous GoTrax scooters with an all-new digital lock.

This allows you to set your own 3 digit code to prevent a thief from rolling your G4 away. Once activated, the scooter will flash its light and beep if someone tries to move it. This lock is a refreshing new feature not seen on any of GoTrax’s other offerings – or, in fact, on any other scooters in the G4’s class.

However, if I play devil's advocate, there is one glaring oversight. The scooter has to be turned on for the lock to be activated, and let’s not forget that the G4 only weighs 36 lbs so if a thief really wanted your scooter, they could still pick it up and run.

That said, it’s important not to get complacent, so I’d always recommend investing in a physical lock to be on the safe side. Luckily for you, the G4's best-kept secret is that it has a built-in cable lock – this is a rarity on electric scooters, especially budget ones.

Water Resistance Rating

With an IP54 water-resistance rating, the G4 follows the lead of the rest of its siblings. In fact, it is one of the 40% of scooters (based on 99 scooters) that has a certified water-resistance rating (60% of scooters don’t).

Although this makes it splash-proof and you’ll have no issues riding the G4 on rainy days, I don’t recommend it. GoTrax’s warranty is quite strict, and any damage as a result of exposure to the elements – whether that’s splashes, sea breeze, or saltwater – won’t be covered.

If you do need to ride your G4 in the rain, however (i.e. you have no other choice) then you can take solace in the G4’s beefed up tires. Not only does their chunkiness help you maintain traction in less-than-optimal weather conditions, but the tires’ airless design provides greater traction on slippery surfaces.

Battery Management System

You’ll be pleased to know that the G4 boasts a battery management system.

This protects the scooter’s 36V 10.4aH Li-On battery from overheating and short-circuiting. It also helps to prolong battery life by facilitating many recharge cycles before you even have to think about replacing it. In the rare instance where you need to, though, GoTrax handily has instructions on its website to help you do this. For peace of mind, the battery is covered under warranty for 90 days.