Unagi Model One vs Xiaomi M365 - Style Icon Meets People's Champion

Fast Answer for Busy Riders ⚡ (TL;DR)

The Xiaomi M365 is the overall winner here: it rides more comfortably, goes noticeably further in the real world, brakes with more confidence, and does all that while costing far less. It's the sensible, slightly boring friend who always turns up on time and never complains.

The Unagi Model One, on the other hand, is for riders who care more about design, ultra-light weight and "carry anywhere" convenience than about range, comfort or value on paper. If your commute is short, your roads are smooth and your office lobby is fancy, the Unagi will fit right in.

If you want the best overall commuting tool, go Xiaomi. If you want something that looks like it escaped from a design museum and you can live with the compromises, go Unagi.

Now, let's dig into how they really compare once you leave the spec sheet and hit actual city streets.

There are scooters you buy with your head, and scooters you buy with your heart. The Unagi Model One is clearly in the second group: carbon fibre stem, magnesium cockpit, not a cable in sight - it looks like a tech startup's dream. The Xiaomi M365 is the old urban workhorse: no drama, no flash, just a tried-and-tested platform that quietly helped kick off the entire rental scooter boom.

I've put plenty of kilometres on both, from polished city bike lanes to that special kind of broken asphalt cities keep "forgetting" to fix. One feels like a premium gadget you almost want to hang on the wall; the other like a simple tool you throw by the door and don't think about until you need it.

If you're trying to decide which one deserves your hallway space (and your money), keep reading - the trade-offs between these two are bigger than they look at first glance.

Who Are These For, and Why Compare Them?

Both scooters live in the lightweight, entry-to-mid commuter class: legal-ish city speeds, modest batteries, bare-bones suspension (meaning none), and weights that don't threaten your spine every time a staircase appears.

The Unagi Model One targets the "design-first" crowd: short inner-city hops, lots of carrying, lots of folding, lots of gliding on smooth tarmac between co-working spaces and coffee shops. It's the scooter for people who might say "micromobility" with a straight face.

The Xiaomi M365 is the classic daily commuter: it aims at riders who want something affordable, predictable and fixable, and who care more about surviving a year of real-world commuting than impressing the barista. It's the benchmark everyone else copied for a reason.

They're natural competitors because they promise roughly the same thing - a compact, simple, legal city scooter - but they reach that promise from completely different directions.

Design & Build Quality

If this battle were decided by a beauty contest, the Unagi would walk away without even breaking a sweat. The tapered carbon stem looks like it came from a concept car, the magnesium handlebar is a one-piece sculpture, and the integrated display and lights give it a clean, almost sci-fi profile. In the hand, it feels like a consumer electronics product, not a little vehicle.

The Xiaomi M365, by contrast, is pure "function first". Aircraft-grade aluminium frame, matte finish, tidy routing but not obsessive minimalism. It's tidy and well thought out, but you can still tell it's a scooter, not an art project. Nothing about it screams luxury, but nothing screams cheap either - it has that solid, slightly dull competence you get from something built by the millions.

Unagi's folding mechanism is genuinely lovely: one button, a sharp click, and the stem swings down with almost smug precision. It locks solidly and, in my testing, refused to develop the dreaded play that many folders get. Xiaomi's latch-and-hook system is clever - the bell doubles as the latch - but after enough potholes and curb drops, stem wobble tends to appear unless you shim it or baby it.

In terms of pure construction integrity, both are fine for their class, but they show their compromises differently. The Unagi feels tightly assembled and rattle-free, yet you always sense how much has been sacrificed to keep it feather-light. The M365 feels more "basic industrial": a bit chunkier, a bit less refined, but with that reassuring "I can take a beating" attitude - even if the hinge and fenders do like to complain over time.

Design philosophy in one sentence: Unagi is a design object that happens to be a scooter; Xiaomi is a scooter that happens to look reasonably modern.

Ride Comfort & Handling

Comfort is where the two part ways pretty brutally.

The Unagi rolls on small, solid honeycomb tyres and has no suspension. On glass-smooth pavements it's razor crisp and agile - you almost feel like you're skating. The steering is quick, the deck is narrow and a bit short, and the whole package encourages light, precise movements. Then you leave the smooth path, hit your first patch of broken concrete, and you instantly remember what you gave up: every crack and manhole cover comes straight through the carbon stem into your wrists and shoulders. After several kilometres over rough city sidewalks, you're not "tired"; you're annoyed.

The M365 also skips suspension, but its larger pneumatic tyres make a world of difference. They soak up the high-frequency chatter far better. On decent asphalt and bike lanes, the ride feels relaxed and almost bicycle-like; on worn surfaces you still feel the hits, but you don't get the same dental-check vibration as on the Unagi. You can do a longer commute without arriving with numb hands.

Handling wise, the Unagi feels more "gadget nimble" - instant direction changes, very quick steering, great for weaving through slow pedestrians if your city allows that sort of misbehaviour. The Xiaomi is a bit more planted and forgiving; the longer deck and bigger tyres give you more confidence sweeping through corners, even when the surface isn't perfect.

If your roads are close to pristine, the Unagi's sharp, tidy handling is fun. If your city engineers believe potholes add "character", the M365 is the much kinder choice for your body.

Performance

Unagi brings dual motors to a knife fight: one in each wheel, giving it more punch off the line than you'd expect from its slim frame. From a standstill at a green light, it feels eager and responsive, with no single-wheel spin and a pleasant, linear shove that keeps pace with regular city bike traffic. On hills, that dual-motor setup really earns its keep - climbs that make many lightweight scooters wheeze are handled with a businesslike "we've got this", at least for an average-size rider.

The Xiaomi counters with a single front hub motor that, on paper, looks modest but is well tuned. It doesn't jump forward as briskly as the Unagi, and it will bog down more on steep climbs, especially with heavier riders. But for everyday urban gradients and normal-weight commuters, it gets up to legal speeds in a relaxed, predictable way. It never feels quick in the way the Unagi does at launch; it feels "enough".

Both top out around the same headline speed, with Unagi offering an unofficial unlock if you like to live in the grey zone of regulations. But at those speeds, the story shifts from motors to chassis. On the Unagi, small solid tyres and a short wheelbase mean high speed over rough tarmac can feel skittish - your brain quietly suggests you ease off. On the M365, the extra tyre volume and slightly more forgiving geometry keep things calmer when the surface gets messy.

Braking is another big separator. Unagi relies mainly on dual electronic brakes plus a manual fender stomp as backup. The feel is smooth enough once you get used to it, but there's no tactile lever for modulation, and if the battery is flat, your "emergency system" is essentially your shoe. Xiaomi gives you a proper mechanical disc at the rear combined with front regen, all controlled from a normal lever. It hauls down from top speed with more authority and more feel, and if the battery is low, the mechanical brake still does the heavy lifting.

In short: Unagi is the perkier sprinter and hill-ninja for lighter riders on decent roads; Xiaomi is slower to excite but better rounded, especially when you factor in braking feel and sketchy surfaces.

Battery & Range

This one is not a nail-biter.

Unagi's battery is sized for short urban hops. The marketing range figures are optimistic, as usual. Ride it like most people actually do - fastest mode, dual motors, some hills, mixed stop-and-go - and you land in that awkward "short commute only" bracket. A quick blast to work and back, no problem. Try to cross a large city without charging and you'll start watching the battery gauge more than the traffic.

The Xiaomi's pack is only slightly larger on paper, but far more generous in practice. Real riders commonly report being able to do quite a bit more distance, even if they ride with a heavy thumb. If you're under the weight limit and your commute is sensible, you can usually skip mid-day top-ups. It's not a long-distance tourer by any stretch, but it feels like an actual commuter battery, not a "last-three-kilometres" battery.

Charging times are fairly similar; neither is going to blow your mind with lightning-fast refills. But the Xiaomi's extra effective range gives you more flexibility about when you plug in; with the Unagi, planning your charging becomes part of daily life if your rides creep beyond the very short.

If you suffer from range anxiety, the M365 is clearly the calmer partner. With the Unagi, you're always one impulsive detour away from a slow push home.

Portability & Practicality

This is the Unagi's main party trick - and it's a good one.

The Model One is genuinely light. Carrying it up a few flights of stairs, hopping across platforms, or lifting it into a car boot is almost casual. The slim stem is easy to grip, the folded package is tidy, and that one-button folding system means you're not doing the usual commuter shuffle at the bus door while everyone behind you sighs. If you mix scooter with metro or bus daily, this low weight starts to matter more than almost anything else.

The M365 isn't exactly a brick, but it's a clear step heavier and bulkier. Carrying it up one flight of stairs is fine, three flights every day becomes a small workout routine. The folded shape is longer and a bit more awkward; still manageable for most, but you're more aware that you're lugging a vehicle, not a fancy umbrella.

Practically, both fit under desks and in most car boots. Both can be wheeled when folded, though the Xiaomi is slightly easier to roll suitcase-style by holding the stem, whereas the Unagi is so light you often just pick it up outright.

Day-to-day niggles: Unagi's charge port is placed low and a bit fiddly, and the lack of a real hand brake lever is mildly irritating at red lights on slopes. Xiaomi's side stand is simple and sturdy, but its charge-port rubber cap loves to misbehave, and if you're sloppy with tyre pressure you'll quickly become acquainted with inner tubes and swear words.

Overall: for pure carry-ability and multi-modal commuting, the Unagi wins comfortably. For "I just ride from home to work, no stairs, no trains", the M365's extra heft is an acceptable trade for its other strengths.

Safety

Let's start with the obvious: both are small-wheeled, unsuspended scooters. They're not forgiving on truly awful infrastructure, so your primary safety system is still your brain.

Unagi's solid tyres remove the risk of blowouts, which is genuinely nice from a safety perspective - no sudden deflations mid-corner, no side-of-the-road tube surgery in the rain. But those same small, hard tyres also transmit every imperfection, and when the surface is rough you quickly get less stable and more tense. Its braking relies heavily on electronics; when they're working, the deceleration is smooth enough, but it's not as confidence-inspiring as a solid mechanical disc with a proper lever.

The Xiaomi, with its air tyres, has better grip and more compliance, especially in the wet. The combination of front regen and rear disc, all on one lever, gives much more predictable stopping power. It's easier to modulate and easier to trust. The downside, of course, is the flat-tyre lottery: ignore your pressures and you'll eventually pay for it.

Lighting is decent on both. Unagi's lights are beautifully integrated and perfectly adequate for being seen; the front light is surprisingly punchy for the size, but still not something I'd rely on alone on pitch-black country lanes. The M365's headlight sits higher up the stem and throws a more useful beam down the road; the rear light behaviour under braking and the reflectors all around help with side visibility.

Stability at speed favours the Xiaomi: bigger tyres, lower battery-in-deck centre of gravity and a bit more length all add up to calmer behaviour when things get quick or choppy. The Unagi feels stable enough on good ground, but on rougher patches you instinctively back off earlier.

From a pure safety-confidence point of view, the M365 is the more reassuring machine, provided you keep an eye on tyre health.

Community Feedback

Price & Value

This is where things get awkward for the Unagi.

The Model One is priced like a premium lifestyle gadget. You're paying for carbon fibre, magnesium, snazzy finishing and a boutique-brand image. What you're not really paying for is a big battery, exceptional comfort or exceptional performance. If you measure value in watt-hours per euro and comfort per kilometre, it looks expensive. If you're used to buying fancy phones and laptops as much for how they feel as what they do, the price stings less - but it still stings.

The Xiaomi M365, in contrast, sits in a very attainable bracket and earns its keep through solid range, reasonable performance and excellent repairability. It's not "cheap" in the toy-scooter sense; it's cheap in the "sensible commuter" sense. When you factor in how many parts you can replace for very little money and how long people keep them running, its lifetime cost looks impressively low.

On pure value as transport, the M365 is hard to beat. The Unagi only makes sense if you consciously accept that a chunk of what you're paying for lives in the design and materials, not in how many kilometres you can squeeze from a charge.

Service & Parts Availability

The Xiaomi wins this one by sheer volume. Because it was effectively the default scooter of the last decade, there's a global ecosystem of spares: tyres, tubes, controllers, dashboards, hinges, fenders - you name it. Independent shops know how to work on it with their eyes half closed, and if you're handy with tools, there are videos for absolutely everything.

Unagi, as a newer, more niche brand, has decent official support and helpful customer service, but you are mostly tied to their ecosystem. Parts are available, but not at "every corner of the internet" level, and fewer independent shops stock them. The closed, refined design that looks so good also makes DIY tinkering less straightforward.

If you're the type who rides hard and keeps things for years, the Xiaomi's serviceability is a big structural advantage. The Unagi is more of a "use carefully, send in if needed, don't mod too much" sort of affair.

Pros & Cons Summary

Parameters Comparison

Final Verdict - Which Should You Choose?

If I strip away the hype, the history and the pretty marketing, the Xiaomi M365 comes out as the more complete scooter for most people. It rides more comfortably on real streets, stops more convincingly, goes further on a charge and is far easier (and cheaper) to keep alive for years. It's not exciting and it's certainly not new, but it does the basic "get me to work and back without drama" job better.

The Unagi Model One, meanwhile, plays a narrower game. It's brilliant if you live in a dense city with good infrastructure, have a short, predictable commute, and care deeply about design, weight and the daily lift-and-carry routine. In that environment, its compromises on range and comfort are tolerable, and its folding and looks feel like genuine luxuries. Take it outside that niche - long, rough commutes, tighter budgets, heavier riders - and those same compromises start to grate.

So: if your head is buying, go Xiaomi M365. If your heart loves beautiful objects, your rides are short and your pavements are smooth, the Unagi can still make sense. Just be honest about which problem you're actually trying to solve - and which trade-offs you're really willing to live with once the showroom shine wears off.

Numbers Freaks Corner

These metrics look only at raw maths: how much you pay per unit of energy or speed, how much weight you haul per unit of battery or power, and how efficiently each scooter turns watt-hours into kilometres. Lower values generally mean better efficiency or value, except where noted: power-to-speed favours more muscle for a given top speed, and charging speed favours pushing energy back into the battery faster. None of this captures comfort, build quality or actual joy, but it's useful for understanding where each scooter is objectively frugal - or wasteful - with your money, watts and kilograms.

Author's Category Battle

Overall Winner Declaration

In the Numbers Freaks Corner, the UNAGI Model One scores 5 points against the XIAOMI M365's 5. In the Author's Category Battle, the UNAGI Model One gets 21 ✅ versus 22 ✅ for XIAOMI M365 (with a few ties sprinkled in).

Totals: UNAGI Model One scores 26, XIAOMI M365 scores 27.

Based on the scoring, the XIAOMI M365 is our overall winner. Riding both back-to-back, the Xiaomi M365 simply feels like the more complete companion: it may be unglamorous, but it's calmer, more forgiving and easier to live with when the commute stops being theoretical and starts involving rain, potholes and tired Mondays. The Unagi Model One is charming and occasionally brilliant, but it asks you to bend your life - and your budget - around its limitations in a way the Xiaomi just doesn't. If you want a tool that quietly does its job and lets you forget about it, the M365 is the one you'll actually keep using. The Unagi is the scooter you'll enjoy showing off, but perhaps not the one you'll always reach for when you're running late and the roads are wet.

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.