CIRCOOTER Raptor vs APOLLO City 2022 - Rugged Street Brawler Meets Polished City Slicker

Fast Answer for Busy Riders ⚡ (TL;DR)

The APOLLO City 2022 edges out as the better all-round scooter: it rides more refined, brakes more smartly, shrugs off rain, and generally feels like a finished transport product rather than a fast toy. If you want a comfortable, low-maintenance daily commuter that still has some punch, the City is the safer, more grown-up choice.

The CIRCOOTER Raptor makes more sense if you care about off-road capability, a massive rider weight limit, and raw hardware per euro more than polish, app tricks, or brand sheen. Bigger riders, gravel-trail dabblers and budget-minded performance hunters will find more to like in the Raptor.

If you want something that behaves like a small vehicle rather than a project, look at the Apollo; if you don't mind tinkering and prefer a tougher, more "garage-built" feel, the Circooter is your lane. Both can be fun - they just scratch very different itches.

Stick around for the full breakdown before you drop a four-figure sum on a scooter you'll be lifting, cursing, or loving every single day.

There's a particular category of scooter that tries to do it all: fast enough to be fun, sturdy enough to feel safe, civilised enough for daily commuting. The CIRCOOTER Raptor and APOLLO City 2022 both live in that space, but they come at it from opposite directions.

The Raptor is a chunky, industrial-looking bruiser that feels happiest when the tarmac ends and the gravel begins - picture a budget trail bike with a number plate missing. The Apollo City 2022, meanwhile, is the office-friendly city commuter: sleek frame, integrated cables, clever regen braking, and an app because of course there is.

On paper, they overlap heavily. On the road, they feel like two very different interpretations of "serious scooter". Let's dig into who each one really suits - and where their compromises start to show.

Who Are These For, and Why Compare Them?

Both scooters live in that mid-range performance bracket: faster and heavier than entry-level commuters, but well below the psychotic "hyper scooter" class. They're what you buy after you've outgrown your Xiaomi or rental clone and you've decided this is now transport, not a toy.

The Raptor comes in at a noticeably lower price, with a big single motor, proper suspension and knobbly tyres. It's clearly aimed at riders who want off-road flirtations, big-rider capacity and maximum hardware per euro.

The Apollo City 2022, especially in Pro dual-motor trim, is more expensive but also more sophisticated: integrated chassis, self-healing tyres, sealed drum brakes, high water-resistance and an app. It's targeted squarely at daily commuters who value comfort, reliability and design polish as much as speed.

They compete because a lot of riders are exactly on this fence: "Do I throw money at a refined commuter, or grab the cheaper, tougher-looking thing with the big motor?"

Design & Build Quality

Pick them up (if your back permits) and the difference in philosophy is obvious. The Raptor feels like it was designed by a workshop that also welds roll-cages: thick aluminium tubing, exposed bolts, visible springs, and a cockpit that screams "function first". It's solid and confidence-inspiring, but nothing about it whispers refinement.

The Apollo City 2022 is almost the opposite. The frame is a flowing, custom-moulded structure with hidden cables, tight panel gaps and a rubber-topped deck that cleans up with a wet cloth. It feels like a deliberately designed product, not a parts bin special. The stem latch clicks home with a satisfying clunk, and even the fenders feel like they belong there, instead of being bolted on as an afterthought.

In the hands, the Apollo simply feels more cohesive. The Raptor counters with sheer heft and lack of plastic fluff - it's the one that looks happier being dropped, scraped or coated in dust. If your "build quality" definition is tank-like over tidy, the Raptor scores points. If you care how something looks parked in the lobby at work, the Apollo walks away with it.

Ride Comfort & Handling

Both scooters take comfort seriously, but they go about it differently - and it shows after a few kilometres of ugly city paving.

The Raptor runs dual hydraulic-style suspension with long travel and fat off-road tyres. Over broken asphalt, cobbles and gravel paths, it softens blows nicely. You feel the weight, but the chassis doesn't crash or clatter, and that very wide deck lets you shuffle your feet till you find a stance that works. On loose surfaces, those knobbly tyres dig in and give you an easy, lazy kind of stability - point it and roll.

The Apollo City 2022 uses a triple spring setup with tubeless self-healing tyres. It's firmer and more controlled rather than bouncy. On city streets, it genuinely feels like gliding: potholes thud, but they don't sting, and expansion joints turn into muted bumps. The round tyre profile makes carving lanes surprisingly fun; where the Raptor feels like you're wrestling a small dirt bike, the Apollo feels like a heavy, well-sorted bicycle with a motor.

On fast sweepers and tight turns, the Apollo is more precise, especially in the Pro dual-motor version - quicker to lean, easier to place. The Raptor's wide bars and long wheelbase give security, but also a bit of "freight train" behaviour at higher speed: stable, yes, but not exactly eager to change direction.

Performance

Both scooters sit in that "probably faster than your mum would approve of" category, but how they deliver that performance is very different.

The Raptor's single rear motor hits harder than you'd expect for something in its price bracket. From a standstill it surges forward with a noticeable shove, especially in its higher speed modes. You can blast away from traffic lights and keep up with city traffic until speeds that make cycle-lane diplomacy... delicate. On hills, it does surprisingly well, even with heavier riders on board; it slows, but it doesn't die.

The Apollo City 2022 in single-motor form is brisk but civilised - enough pull to feel lively, but with a very smooth, linear throttle. Where it really wakes up is in the Pro dual-motor variant: then you get that "oh, hello" shove off the line that pushes you onto the rear kickplate and keeps pulling almost all the way to top speed. It's still not a drag-race monster, but for a commuter, it's plenty spicy.

Top-end on both is well into "you should be wearing proper gear" territory. The Raptor feels a bit more raw at speed: more wind roar, more tyre hum, more weight underneath you. The Apollo feels calmer, more planted, and crucially, less wobbly in the stem. When you're nudging the upper end of their speed ranges, the Apollo gives more confidence, the Raptor gives more drama.

Braking is where Apollo quietly embarrasses the Raptor. The Raptor's cable-actuated discs plus electronic braking stop you effectively enough, but you'll likely be tweaking adjustments and occasionally listening to a bit of rubbing. Apollo's combo of sealed drums and a dedicated regen thumb throttle lets you modulate braking with almost silly precision. In practice, you often ride the Apollo using just that regen paddle, and the mechanical drums barely see action. It's smoother, and over time, it will also be cheaper in parts and faff.

Battery & Range

On paper, both scooters sit in what I'd call the "decent commuter" bracket - enough juice for most daily there-and-back rides, as long as you're not doing food-delivery mileage or riding everywhere flat out.

The Raptor's battery is a chunky mid-capacity pack. Marketing talks about ranges that you'll see only if you ride like you've got an egg under your thumb. Ride it the way anyone actually buys a Raptor to ride - brisk, hills, mixed terrain - and you're in that mid-double-digit kilometre zone. It's fine for typical city commutes and weekend blasts, but you'll start thinking about a charger if you plan a full day of playground abuse.

The Apollo City 2022, especially in Pro trim, stretches things a bit further. Even ridden enthusiastically, you're comfortably into the kind of distances that cover most urban round-trips with a buffer. The regen brake helps a touch in stop-start traffic, reclaiming a bit of what you throw away at each red light; you won't magically double your range, but it shaves the anxiety a little.

Charging habits differ too. The Raptor's dual-port setup is great if you actually buy that second charger - you can be back to full in roughly the length of a work shift. On a single brick, it's an overnight job. Apollo aims for a reasonably fast full charge out of the box, without needing to juggle multiple chargers. In practice, both are "plug it at work, forget about it" options; the Apollo just feels more set-and-forget, the Raptor more "enthusiast with a spare charger in the backpack".

Portability & Practicality

Let's be blunt: neither of these is a featherweight you casually sling over a shoulder. They're both in the "you start planning your stairs" category.

The Raptor is marginally heavier and feels it. The bulk, the wide deck and the off-road tyres make it awkward in tight spaces. The folding mechanism itself is solid rather than elegant: heavy clamp, safety pin, a bit of wrestling, but once locked, the stem feels reassuringly rigid. Carrying it up more than a flight or two of stairs is a workout you'll remember. It's happier living in a garage, shed or ground-floor hallway.

The Apollo City 2022 is hardly svelte, especially in Pro form, but the slimmer, more integrated shape makes it slightly easier to wrangle through doors and onto lifts. The folding mechanism is quicker to use and more refined, though the hook that's meant to keep the stem attached to the deck when folded can be annoyingly fickle when carrying. This matters if you're doing station steps or wrestling it into a car boot regularly.

For "drive it from front door to office and park it under the desk", the Apollo wins on manners and footprint. For "I don't move it much when it's off; it just lives near the door or in the van", the Raptor's extra heft and trail-bike stance are less of an issue.

Safety

Safety is a mix of how a scooter stops, how it behaves at speed, how well it copes with weather, and how visible you are. Both do some things well and cut corners elsewhere.

The Raptor offers dual mechanical discs plus electronic braking, big knobbly tyres and lots of lighting. On dry roads, stopping power is absolutely fine, and that tyre volume plus suspension means the chassis stays remarkably composed over nasty bumps. In the wet, the off-road tread helps on loose or dirty surfaces but can feel a touch vague on smooth painted lines. Its lighting package, though, is genuinely impressive: deck lights, turn signals, bright front lamps - you look like a small UFO, which drivers tend to notice.

The Apollo City 2022 doubles down on clever safety. The dual drums are fully sealed, so they keep working the same in foul weather, and the regen thumb brake lets you slow progressively without upsetting the chassis. The water resistance is in another league entirely; this is a scooter you can confidently ride in real European weather rather than tip-toeing home at the first drizzle. Lighting is well integrated and clean, though the headlight is more "city street" than "unlit country lane", and the low-mounted rear indicators are not exactly eye-level for SUV drivers.

At speed, the Apollo feels more neutrally stable and less twitchy, particularly the Pro, thanks to better frame stiffness and those round-profile tyres. The Raptor is stable, but its off-road rubber and taller ride can feel a bit more vague when you're pushing on hard on smooth tarmac.

Community Feedback

Price & Value

The Raptor's main argument is brutally simple: look at how much motor, battery, suspension and metal you're getting for well under the Apollo's asking price. There's no denying that if your metric is "watts and Wh per euro", it looks like a bargain. What you give up is refinement: you're trading debugging, bolt-checking and the occasional rattle for those savings.

The Apollo City 2022 asks for a chunk more money and gives you... not huge headline jumps in raw performance, but a noticeable improvement in how the whole scooter behaves as a system. Better weather protection, lower routine maintenance, clever regen braking, cleaner design, app customisation. It's the difference between a cheap but quick used car that needs tinkering, and a slightly duller but far less stressful new one.

If every euro matters and you're handy with tools, the Raptor offers stronger bang-for-buck on paper. If you factor in time, faff, and long-term ownership, the Apollo justifies its premium reasonably well - provided you'll actually use it regularly as a main commuter and not just for occasional joyrides.

Service & Parts Availability

Circooter sells mostly direct, which is how you get the aggressive pricing - but you also get the usual direct-from-China quirks. Parts availability exists, but expect to be dealing with email support and shipping times, not strolling into a local shop. Community feedback praises the hardware more than the after-sales experience; if you're not comfortable adjusting mechanical discs or chasing small rattles yourself, budget for a friendly local bike mechanic.

Apollo, being a more established brand with Western support infrastructure, does a somewhat better job on the official side. They're not perfect - early City runs had some teething issues - but warranty responses and documentation are generally more structured, and there's a wider ecosystem of owners, guides and third-party services familiar with the brand. In Europe, you still may not have a service centre around the corner, but your odds of getting a replacement part without a fight are better.

Pros & Cons Summary

Parameters Comparison

Final Verdict - Which Should You Choose?

If your mental picture of commuting involves potholes, gravel cut-throughs, maybe a campsite at the weekend, and you either weigh a lot or carry a lot, the CIRCOOTER Raptor is the more logical pick. It's a blunt instrument: big motor, big battery, big deck, huge weight rating and suspension that actually works. You'll live with more quirks, more setup work, and a bit of DIY, but in exchange you get a scooter that doesn't flinch when the road turns ugly.

If, however, your riding life is mostly asphalt - rain, road grime and awkward drivers included - the APOLLO City 2022 simply feels like the more complete product. It's calmer at speed, softer on your joints, dramatically lower in day-to-day maintenance, and better protected against the weather. The regen braking and self-healing tyres change how you ride in small but meaningful ways, and the whole package feels more "urban vehicle" than "enthusiast toy".

Personally, I'd tell a serious daily commuter with typical city roads to bite the bullet and go Apollo, and I'd point the Raptor at bigger riders, budget-minded thrill-seekers, and anyone whose route looks more like a building site than a boulevard. Neither is perfect, but they're flawed in different, predictable ways - which is exactly what you want when you're trying to pick the right kind of compromise.

Numbers Freaks Corner

These metrics strip away emotions and look purely at maths: how much you pay per unit of energy and speed, how efficiently weight and power are used, how far each Wh gets you, and how fast you can refill the battery. Lower "per X" values are generally good (cheaper or lighter per unit), while higher values on power-density metrics show a stronger performance focus.

Author's Category Battle

Overall Winner Declaration

In the Numbers Freaks Corner, the CIRCOOTER Raptor scores 3 points against the APOLLO City 2022's 7. In the Author's Category Battle, the CIRCOOTER Raptor gets 12 ✅ versus 29 ✅ for APOLLO City 2022.

Totals: CIRCOOTER Raptor scores 15, APOLLO City 2022 scores 36.

Based on the scoring, the APOLLO City 2022 is our overall winner. Between these two, the Apollo City 2022 Pro feels like the scooter I'd actually want to live with every day - it's calmer, more sorted, and behaves more like a dependable little vehicle than a science project. The Raptor absolutely has its charms, especially if you're heavier, rough on your gear, or love blasting down scruffy paths, but you have to be willing to tinker and accept its rougher edges. In the end, the Apollo might not be the most exciting choice on paper, yet out on real streets, it's the one that quietly makes your life easier rather than noisily demanding attention.

That's our verdict when we try to stay objective – but hey, riding is mostly about emotions anyway, so pick the one that will make you look forward to your commute every single day.