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Mobility scooters offer more than convenience—they can make a real difference in quality of life for older adults who otherwise cannot leave home. “As people are living longer, being able to maintain independence in older age becomes more important,” says Alan Castel, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and author of Better With Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging. For people whose ability to walk is diminishing, a mobility scooter can provide a way to remain independent and stay connected to friends and family.
To identify the best mobility scooters of 2022, the Forbes Health editorial team analyzed data on nearly 200 scooter products. From price to comfort to portability to usability, see which scooters stand out as our top picks.
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Pride Mobility Go-Go Elite Traveller 4-Wheel
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This scooter is solid, safe and comfortable, with adjustable back support, armrests and seat. While it can carry up to 400 pounds, this 3-wheeler remains maneuverable with a turning radius of 60 inches. It can also travel up to 31 miles on a single battery charge (if the rider weighs less than 220 pounds).
This portable 4-wheel scooter is light (just under 100 pounds), stable and affordable. It’s also simple to take apart and reassemble for easy transport.
Solid and sturdy, this 4-wheel scooter weighs 340 pounds and has a ground clearance of 5.5 inches. The high back support, armrests and seat are all adjustable, and the steering column can be adjusted to fit your body and comfort as well.
This scooter is compact and light, yet sturdy enough to support 300 pounds safely. It’s also easy to disassemble and load into a car or van.
This 4-wheel scooter provides a stable riding experience. And because it’s light (just 94 pounds) and easy to disassemble, you can transport it in the trunk of your car. The adjustable, well-padded seat also makes the scooter comfortable for short trips.
With a total weight of 127 pounds, this scooter is easy to take apart—the seat and tiller both fold, and its heaviest piece is 44 pounds. It provides plenty of foot room, and it’s also easy to drive, as the tiller can be steered using either hand.
With an adjustable seat, armrests and tiller—and plenty of room for your legs and feet—this scooter can meet most user’s comfort needs. It can safely support up to 400 pounds and travel up to 24 miles on a single battery charge, depending on the weight it’s carrying.
With a weight capacity of 500 pounds and a battery that can power travel up to 43 miles on a single charge, this 4-wheel, 221-pound scooter can handle rough terrain with its ground clearance of 8.5 inches.
This sturdy, full-suspension, 4-wheel scooter can safely carry up to 450 pounds and features a top speed of 9.6 miles per hour. It also has bright LED headlights, turn signals, an adjustable tiller, a swivel seat, a high backrest and two rearview mirrors.
This 3-wheel scooter features a top speed of 18 miles per hour and can travel up to 43 miles on a single battery charge. It’s also easy to handle, with a turning radius of 50 inches.
A mobility scooter, or a power-operated vehicle (POV), is a personal transport vehicle with either three or four wheels that runs on a rechargeable battery. “Mobility scooters come in several sizes,” says Tab Black, a RESNA-certified assistive technology professional and business manager at Mobility & More in Loveland, Colorado. “Many are portable and can be disassembled.” RESNA stands for the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America. Black himself has been in a wheelchair since 1984 and has worked in the industry since 1993.
Anyone who has issues with mobility, such as weak legs or knees or general unsteadiness on their feet, can benefit from using a mobility scooter.
“The best candidates for mobility scooters are people who are in senior living facilities, or assisted living, or even at home,” says Black. “They can use a scooter to drive in a facility or go from building to building within a complex. Those who live at home may be people who can’t walk distances, so a scooter can enable them to go to baseball games or see their grandchildren play soccer or go to the grocery store on their own.”
There are several types of mobility scooters, including:
Travel scooters are usually smaller than other scooters, and since they’re made for easy transport, they’re lightweight and can be disassembled easily and stored in a car trunk. “Smaller scooters have a [travel] range of 8 to 10 miles,” says Black, referring to the distance a person can travel on a single battery charge.
Many small and medium-sized mobility scooters are designed to be taken apart and folded to transport in a car—a big advantage if you relocate often or want to use your scooter in a mall or park. If you’re in the market for a scooter you can take with you, pay particular attention to whether it can be disassembled and the weight of the heaviest part of the scooter. (If it’s too heavy, it won’t be easy for you to lift into your car). Most small and medium-sized scooters come with solid tires.
For people with wide hips or long legs, a medium- to large-size scooter is best, says Black. Large scooters usually have four wheels, are designed for all terrains and have batteries that can travel up to 40 miles before they need to be recharged, he says.
And there’s another advantage: They can hold more weight. How much weight a scooter can carry safely is called “weight capacity” on a spec sheet. “If you weigh more than the capacity, you lose the warranty, and it’s a big liability,” says Black. “The rule is you need to weigh at least 10% less than the weight capacity.”
Large, heavy-duty scooters can carry the most weight and go the longest distance on a single battery charge. Most scooters have a ground clearance of 3 to 5 inches, but some heavy-duty models sit even higher above the ground, making it easy to travel over rough terrain.
A four-wheel scooter may provide a better sense of stability than a three-wheel version, but it may feel restrictive for a person with long legs. “A four-wheel scooter has a fender across the front, which limits someone’s ability to stretch their legs out,” says Black. A three-wheel doesn’t have a fender—just a single wheel in the center, so people with long legs may find that style more comfortable.
Depending on how you plan to use a mobility scooter, there are plenty of features to consider. But don’t just look online—if possible, go to a store and explore your options in person. “We are a brick-and-mortar storefront, and we very much encourage people to come in and try a mobility scooter,” says Black.
When it comes to a comfortable fit, scooters usually have adjustable parts to fit your body size and needs:
Safety is always a consideration in looking at mobility scooters, especially ones designed for outdoor use.
If you know you want a scooter that you can pack easily into a car, consider its various weights.
Where and how far you plan to drive your mobility scooter will determine which usability features are important to you.
A mobility scooter can be so convenient that it might lead users to exercise less, according to research in the Journal of Transport and Health (although the study does suggest more research of this possible downside). Lack of training required to drive a mobility scooter can also lead to accidents and other problems. If you’re thinking about adding a mobility scooter to your daily routine, ask yourself two questions:
What are your physical challenges? “People with neurological challenges or who have had a stroke might not have the balance and strength to get on or off safely,” says Black. “Cognition and eyesight are two other issues—they need to be able to see objects and where they are going, see where other people are and be able to make safe turns.” Anyone who has rotator cuff tears or has problems using their wrists or fingers, he says, may not be able to operate a mobility scooter safely.
Where will you use your scooter? This is the big decision-maker, says Black. For indoor use, smaller scooters are best. Measure your hallways to make sure the scooter you want will fit inside your home easily. Consider the space outside your home as well. Larger scooters can be more versatile than small scooters, but they can’t go everywhere—loose gravel and sand are not great surfaces for mobility scooters, says Black.
To determine the best mobility scooters ranking, the Forbes Health editorial team analyzed data on nearly 200 scooter products across 15 companies, with each product’s star rating determined by evaluating a variety of factors, including its price, comfort features, safety features, overall portability, usability and coverage under warranty.
Price: We considered the starting list price of mobility scooters provided by manufacturers on their websites. If they didn’t provide pricing information, we used costs listed by MedMart, Rehab Mart and other major online mobility scooter retailers.
Comfort: This category assessed whether the mobility scooters offered features key to comfort, such as adjustable back support, armrests and seats. It also addressed the level of padding in the seat.
Safety: Mobility scooters received points for including a seat belt, headlights and indicator signals for safe turning.
Portability: Portability scores considered whether a scooter was foldable, how much it weighed with batteries included and its overall dimensions.
Usability: Usability details included a mobility scooter’s top speed, its overall travel range on a single battery charge, its maximum weight capacity and any inclusion of storage space.
Warranty: Mobility scooters received points for their product warranties as well. The extensiveness of these warranties varies by brand. The motor and brakes, electrical components, batteries and scooter frame are often covered by different warranties.
Mobility scooter prices range from $800 up to $3,300.
Medicare will reimburse for some of the cost of a mobility scooter as long as you meet certain criteria, such as a confirmation from your doctor that you have a medical condition that requires you to have a scooter. Black says private insurance companies typically reimburse about $800 of the cost as long as you can prove a medical need for a scooter.
Check your local senior center. Some nonprofits have created durable medical equipment (DME) “libraries” where seniors can borrow mobility scooters that have been donated.
Yes, call your local medical supply store(s) to learn more about options nearest you.
Batteries can last anywhere from 18 months to 3 years, depending on how often they are used. Most come with a 6-month or 1-year manufacturer warranty.
The highest speeds of mobility scooters range from 13 to 18 miles per hour, depending on the weight of the driver.
Scooters not designed to be taken apart must be attached to your car, truck or van with a lift. Lifts are car- and scooter-specific, so you’ll need to conduct additional research to find the right one for you.
Thoreau, Roselle. The impact of mobility scooters on their users. Does their usage help or hinder?: A state of the art review. Journal of Transport and Health. 2015;2(2);269-275.
Medicare’s Wheelchair and Scooter Benefit. Department of Health and Human Services. Revised October 2019. Accessed 6/17/2021.
Discount Health Care Supplies and Medical Equipment. Good Health Will. Accessed 6/17/2021.
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Nicole Gregory is an editor and writer in Los Angeles who has contributed to the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, Vegetarian Times, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, New Woman and Living Fit, among other publications. She enjoys interviewing medical experts and researchers about their work and is passionate about communicating accurate and relevant health information to the public.
Alena is a professional writer, editor and manager with a lifelong passion for helping others live well. She is also a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and a functional medicine certified health coach. She brings more than a decade of media experience to Forbes Health, with a keen focus on building content strategy, ensuring top content quality and empowering readers to make the best health and wellness decisions for themselves.