ELJET Argos vs SIMATE S2 Pro - Which Kid's E-Scooter Actually Deserves Your Money?

Fast Answer for Busy Riders ⚡ (TL;DR)

The SIMATE S2 Pro is the stronger overall package: better brakes, real lighting, more adjustability, and a slightly beefier ride that will keep kids interested for longer. The ELJET Argos fights back with featherweight portability and a very gentle, confidence-building first experience, but it feels more like a "starter toy" your child will outgrow fairly quickly. Choose the S2 Pro if you want one scooter to last several years and handle varied neighbourhood use; pick the Argos if weight, simplicity, and absolute tameness are your top priorities for a younger or more cautious rider. Both do the job, but one clearly feels more complete.

Now let's dig into how they actually ride, where each one cuts corners, and which compromises make sense for your kid in the real world.

Children's e-scooters used to be wobbly curiosities that squeaked around the driveway for one summer and then died. Those days are mostly gone. The ELJET Argos and SIMATE S2 Pro are part of a new wave of junior scooters that try to look and behave like "real" electric vehicles - just shrunk down and de-fanged for smaller humans.

I've ridden both with the usual journalist routine: too many laps of parks, fake "school runs", forced hill tests, and more curb drops than the manufacturers would like to know about. They target roughly the same age range, sit in the same price ballpark, and promise the same thing to parents: a safe way to give kids electric freedom without handing them a missile.

In short: the ELJET Argos is the ultra-light, ultra-simple first taste of e-mobility, while the SIMATE S2 Pro is the more ambitious, feature-rich "mini commuter" that wants to grow with your child. On paper they're rivals; on the pavement they feel quite different. Let's unpack that.

Who Are These For, and Why Compare Them?

Both scooters live firmly in the "kids and early teens" world, not in the "dad borrows it when no one's looking" category. Think primary school up to early secondary, roughly. Neither is a long-distance commuter, neither is meant for heavy adults, and both claim to be the one scooter your child needs for park rides, neighbourhood loops, and the last bit of the school run.

The Argos leans harder into the younger, lighter, more cautious crowd. Its low speed, tiny battery and kiddie-weight limit make it feel like a first electric step after a kick scooter. It's the one you buy when you're not fully convinced motorised childhood is a good idea and you want training wheels - metaphorically.

The S2 Pro pushes slightly older and more ambitious: higher speed, higher weight limit, more features, and a cockpit that tells kids they're on something closer to a "real" scooter. It's the one you buy when you know the kid will actually ride regularly and you'd prefer not to replace it again next year.

Price-wise they're surprisingly close: both sit in that "serious present but not a family financial event" range. That makes this a fair head-to-head: if you're considering one, the other should definitely be on your shortlist.

Design & Build Quality

In the hands, the two scooters tell very different stories.

The ELJET Argos feels almost impossibly light. Pick it up and your first instinct is to check whether someone forgot to install the battery. The frame is minimalist, the deck is slim, and everything screams "keep the kilos down at all costs". The telescopic bar is a nice touch, the deck grip feels decent, and there aren't ugly cables dangling around. But the whole thing has that slightly "junior sports equipment" vibe - tidy enough, yet you're always aware that this is built to a weight target first and a durability target second.

The SIMATE S2 Pro, by contrast, feels more like someone shrunk an adult scooter in the wash. The aluminium frame has more substance, the joints feel meatier, and the folding latch engages with a reassuring clack rather than a timid click. The paintwork looks less toy-like, especially in the darker colours, and the integrated LED strips and display give it a more grown-up, techy feel. You're not going to mistake it for a premium adult machine, but you won't mistake it for a disposable toy either.

If you look closely, you can see where each brand sharpened the pencil. The Argos keeps it barebones: no electronics beyond the essentials, no lights, one brake, tiny battery. It's honest but also clearly built to hit a price and weight. The S2 Pro spreads its budget over more parts: lighting, display, dual brakes, suspension. None of these are world-class, but together they make the scooter feel better thought-out, even if that costs you an extra kilo or so on the scale.

Ride Comfort & Handling

Comfort on kids' scooters is usually code for "how badly will their hands and knees vibrate after a lap of grim city pavement?" Here, the difference is obvious after the first few cracks in the asphalt.

The ELJET Argos rides exactly like what it is: a very light, rigid platform on small solid wheels with no suspension. On new tarmac, it glides pleasantly and feels nicely nimble. Put it on old paving slabs or patchy cycle paths and you quickly hear and feel every seam. After a few kilometres of rougher sidewalks, even kids start doing that subconscious little bounce with their knees to absorb the chatter. It's perfectly tolerable for short, playful sessions, but this is not a machine you'd use to smooth out rough neighbourhood infrastructure.

The SIMATE S2 Pro isn't magically plush - small solid tyres can only do so much - but its approach is less punishing. The dual suspension setup, while simple, actually takes the edge off expansion joints and smaller cracks. Combine that with a slightly heavier, more planted frame and the ride has more "float" and less rattle. Kids notice it: they stay relaxed on the bars instead of white-knuckling every time the path gets ugly.

In corners, the Argos is flickable to the point of feeling a bit nervous at its modest top speed. Light is great until a child starts making fast direction changes - then you can feel the scooter want to follow every small wobble in their arms. The S2 Pro, with its extra mass and wider-feeling stance, behaves more predictably. It leans into turns rather than skittering, and the adjustable bar height lets you dial in a more natural posture as the rider grows, which does wonders for confidence.

Put both through a long, mixed-surface park ride and the pattern is clear: the Argos is fine on short, smooth loops but gets fatiguing if the ground isn't perfect; the S2 Pro copes better with real-world paths and lets kids ride longer before complaining.

Performance

Neither of these scooters is remotely fast by adult standards, which is precisely the point. But within that restricted sandbox, they behave quite differently.

The ELJET Argos is set up as a strict "no drama" machine. Acceleration is gentle, even a bit sleepy if you're used to adult hardware. It builds up to its capped speed at a calm, predictable pace, which is great for a nervous seven-year-old but might leave confident kids slightly underwhelmed after the novelty wears off. On flat ground it holds its modest top pace fairly consistently, but any sort of incline exposes the small motor - hills quickly turn into "kick and assist" territory, especially with taller kids closing in on the weight limit.

The SIMATE S2 Pro has a bit more sparkle to it. The motor is only slightly stronger on paper, but thanks to the gearing, controller tuning and slightly higher speed ceiling, it feels noticeably zippier. In the highest mode, it actually gives kids that "I'm on something real" sensation without being reckless. The lower speed modes are genuinely useful for beginners; you can keep them in the slow lane until they prove they can handle more. On the same mild slopes where the Argos starts begging for manual kicks, the S2 Pro will usually chug on under its own power, at least with smaller riders.

Braking performance is where the gap really opens. The Argos relies solely on a rear fender foot brake - familiar, yes, but dependent on kid technique and shoe grip. It works, but it's hardly reassuring if the surface is damp or the child panics.

The S2 Pro's dual-brake setup - electronic lever up front plus classic rear fender - is simply a better, more modern solution. The electronic brake alone gives smooth, progressive deceleration without upsetting balance, and the foot brake is there as backup or for kids who instinctively stomp. Once children get used to the lever, stops are shorter and more controlled. As someone who's seen enough little riders misjudge a kick-brake stop, this is a meaningful safety upgrade, not a spec sheet gimmick.

Battery & Range

Range claims on kids' scooters are usually optimistic fairy tales. Here, interestingly, both brands are more realistic than most, but physics still hasn't taken a holiday.

The Argos carries a very small battery, which keeps weight impressively low but naturally caps how far it will go. In the best case - a light child, flat paths, sensible temperature - you can squeeze out a modest loop around the neighbourhood and back. Throw in some hills, a heavier rider, or lots of stop-start antics, and you'll find the battery meter dropping sooner than the marketing suggests. The upside is that it charges relatively fast simply because there isn't much capacity to refill; the downside is that older or more enthusiastic kids can outrun the battery before they're ready to go home.

The S2 Pro doesn't carry a huge power pack either, but it does have a noticeable edge in stored energy. In practice, that translates into an extra cushion on those park rides and family walks. It still isn't a long-distance tourer - you're in the same overall ballpark - but where the Argos starts making you do mental range maths after a couple of longer loops, the S2 Pro tends to give you that bit more breathing room. The charging time is short enough that topping up between morning and afternoon sessions is easy.

Efficiency-wise, both are pretty reasonable given their roles, but you can feel the Argos paying the price of its tiny battery more often. Parents of heavier or older kids will quickly bump into its limits, while the S2 Pro hangs on a bit longer before range anxiety sets in.

Portability & Practicality

This is where the Argos comes out swinging. It is absurdly easy to carry. At a bit over 5 kg, it's the kind of scooter you pick up with one hand while holding a coffee in the other and still have a spare finger for opening doors. For apartment dwellers, car-boot jugglers, and parents escorting multiple small humans plus paraphernalia, that matters. Kids themselves can drag or even carry it over short distances without drama, which makes abandoned "I'm tired, you carry it" moments less painful.

The SIMATE S2 Pro is still light by e-scooter standards, but you feel the extra heft. Lugging it up several flights of stairs is very doable, just less of a non-event. The good news is that the folding mechanism is quicker and more refined; it snaps into its folded position with a confidence the Argos latch doesn't quite match. Folded, both are compact enough for small flats and car boots, though the S2 Pro's slightly bulkier frame and taller bar options mean it feels more like a "real vehicle" squeezed into domestic spaces.

Day-to-day, the Argos wins if your life involves lots of carrying, constant in-and-out of cars, or if you know you'll be the one schlepping it half the time. The S2 Pro counters with better on-board practicality: a proper LCD display, lighting you don't have to strap on, and controls that make it feel more like a usable transport tool than a toy. If you judge practicality by how easily it integrates into daily routines, not just lifting weight, the S2 Pro has the broader skill set.

Safety

On safety, both brands say all the right things. One of them also walks the talk more convincingly.

ELJET's Argos keeps speeds very low, which is absolutely a safety feature in itself. The acceleration is tuned conservatively, the top speed is firmly capped, and the familiar rear foot brake is simple. For young kids just getting the hang of balancing, this low-drama character is laudable. However, beyond "we don't go fast", there isn't much extra safety engineering: no front lighting, no active rear light, no redundancy in braking, no protection against ham-fisted throttle inputs beyond its generally lethargic power delivery.

The SIMATE S2 Pro layers more modern safety thinking on top of its modest performance. The kick-start requirement stops the scooter from shooting off if someone leans on the throttle while standing still - a surprisingly common kid error. Dual brakes give genuine redundancy and much more controllable stopping. And the lighting package actually makes the child visible in dimmer conditions - front lights to see and be seen, and deck LEDs that turn the scooter into a rolling "find my child" beacon at dusk.

In practice, riding both in real environments, the S2 Pro simply feels more sorted from a safety perspective. Not because it's slow - it's actually faster than the Argos - but because it gives both child and parent more tools to stay out of trouble when things aren't perfect. The Argos relies heavily on being slow and light; the S2 Pro adds genuine systems on top of that.

Community Feedback

Price & Value

Neither scooter is outrageously priced, but they approach value from different angles.

The Argos sits slightly higher on the price ladder yet brings a very pared-back feature list. You're primarily paying for extreme lightness, a known European brand, and a well-dialled beginner experience. If you have a young child and you look at it as a two- or three-year stepping stone before a "proper" scooter, the maths can work. When you start comparing what it actually includes versus similarly priced rivals, though, the absence of lights, suspension, and modern braking becomes harder to ignore.

The S2 Pro undercuts it on price while throwing in more features: dual brakes, adjustable speed modes, suspension, lighting, and a better weight limit. It's not flawless - nothing at this price is - but you get the sense the money is spread across a more rounded package. Over several years of use as the child grows, the "value per season" argument lands more firmly on the SIMATE side. You're simply less likely to be shopping for a replacement as quickly.

Service & Parts Availability

ELJET has a solid foothold in Central Europe, with actual service partners and spare parts channels. That counts: when (not if) a kid manages to bend something or the battery eventually tires, having a brand that hasn't disappeared into a marketplace black hole is important. Argos spares aren't ubiquitous, but you can get basic components serviced without turning your garage into a DIY lab.

SIMATE is a bit more of a mid-tier, fun-segment brand, but community experience suggests they actually pick up the phone and honour warranties. They've been around long enough not to be dismissed as a fly-by-night label, and their background in other electric toys means they're at least used to dealing with failed batteries and controllers. Parts may not be sitting in every corner shop, yet you're not completely abandoned.

Neither is at the level of big global commuter brands in terms of long-term ecosystem, but both are miles ahead of anonymous no-name imports. In practical European terms, I'd call it broadly even, with a slight procedural maturity edge to ELJET and a more contemporary, responsive feel to SIMATE.

Pros & Cons Summary

Parameters Comparison

Final Verdict - Which Should You Choose?

If you strip away the marketing and look at how these scooters actually behave under kids and parents, the SIMATE S2 Pro comes out as the more convincing overall choice. It rides better on real pavements, brakes more confidently, offers meaningful adjustability as children grow, and throws in lights and a display that make it feel like a proper little vehicle rather than just a powered toy. The fact it does all that while costing less than the Argos merely underlines the point.

The ELJET Argos has its place. For a smaller, more anxious first-time rider, or for parents who value ultra-low weight above everything else, it's a gentle, straightforward introduction to electric mobility. It's easy to carry, simple to understand, and hard for a child to truly get into trouble with, assuming you stick to dry, smooth paths and short outings.

But if you're buying for a kid who'll actually ride, not just circle the driveway twice on Christmas Day, the S2 Pro simply offers more: more headroom in speed and load, more safety layers, more comfort, and more years of relevance before they inevitably demand something faster. It's not perfect, and neither scooter is, but between the two, the SIMATE S2 Pro is the one I'd rather see in a typical European family hallway.

Numbers Freaks Corner

These metrics put hard numbers on different trade-offs. Price per Wh and price per km/h show which scooter gives more performance and battery for your euro. Weight-related metrics tell you how much mass you're lugging around for that performance and range. Efficiency (Wh/km) reflects how gently each scooter sips from the battery in typical riding. Power-to-speed and weight-to-power hint at how lively or lazy a scooter might feel, while charging speed indicates how quickly you can get back out once the battery is empty.

Author's Category Battle

Overall Winner Declaration

In the Numbers Freaks Corner, the ELJET Argos scores 3 points against the SIMATE S2 Pro's 7. In the Author's Category Battle, the ELJET Argos gets 11 ✅ versus 29 ✅ for SIMATE S2 Pro (with a few ties sprinkled in).

Totals: ELJET Argos scores 14, SIMATE S2 Pro scores 36.

Based on the scoring, the SIMATE S2 Pro is our overall winner. Riding both back-to-back, the SIMATE S2 Pro simply feels like the more complete little machine - the one that keeps kids excited beyond the first few weekends and doesn't leave parents constantly compensating for missing basics. The ELJET Argos has its charm in that almost comically light frame and gentle nature, but it feels more like a temporary stepping stone than a lasting companion. If you want your child to genuinely use and rely on their scooter rather than just own it, the S2 Pro is the one that better balances fun, safety, and day-to-day livability. The Argos will make some very young riders happy for a while, but the SIMATE is the scooter they're less likely to grow out of too quickly - and more likely to remember fondly.

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.