Xiaomi 1S vs Xiaomi Pro 2 - Which "Volkswagen of Scooters" Actually Deserves Your Money?

Fast Answer for Busy Riders ⚡ (TL;DR)

The Xiaomi Pro 2 edges out the Xiaomi 1S overall thanks to its noticeably stronger motor and far more comfortable usable range, making it the better choice for regular commuting beyond a few quick neighbourhood hops. If your rides are longer, slightly hilly, or you simply want fewer "battery anxiety" moments, the Pro 2 is the more competent partner, even if it isn't exactly thrilling.

The Xiaomi 1S still makes sense if you prioritise light weight, short urban hops, lots of stairs, and a tighter budget - it's the more baggable, train-friendly option, but also the easier one to outgrow. Think of the 1S as a basic tool that "does the job", and the Pro 2 as the same idea stretched to a more serious commute.

If you can afford it and don't have to carry the scooter constantly, lean towards the Pro 2. If your trips are short, flat, and you hate lifting heavy things more than you hate charging often, the 1S will do.

Now, let's dive deeper and see where each Xiaomi quietly shines - and where they both show their age.

Electric scooters have grown up, but these two XIAOMI classics are still everywhere in European cities, patiently hauling humans to work, school and late-night kebab stops. The 1S and the Pro 2 share the same DNA and silhouette - that instantly recognisable matte-black stick with wheels - yet they target slightly different types of riders.

I've ridden both for hundreds of kilometres in the real world: bike lanes, broken pavements, rainy mornings, and those "how far can I push 5 % battery" experiments we all pretend we never do. On paper they look like brothers; on the street, they feel like cousins who took different electives.

The 1S is the grab-and-go featherweight for short commutes and tight staircases. The Pro 2 is the "I actually depend on this thing" option for longer daily rides. The devil - and your future comfort - is in the details, so let's slice this sibling rivalry properly.

Who Are These For, and Why Compare Them?

Both scooters live in the same mid-range commuter bracket: not toy-grade supermarket specials, not hulking dual-motor monsters. They're built for people who mainly need to cover a handful of city kilometres at legal speeds, with decent safety and without remortgaging the flat.

The Xiaomi 1S targets riders who value low weight and price above all: students, mixed train-plus-scooter commuters, and anyone whose journey is more "from tram stop to office" than "cross-town mission".

The Xiaomi Pro 2 targets the same crowd, but adds more battery and a stronger motor for those whose commute quietly crept from a quick hop to a genuine daily route. It's the "I actually use this every day, not just on sunny Sundays" upgrade.

They compete directly because the riding experience is incredibly similar - same basic chassis, same wheels, same no-suspension philosophy - but one asks for noticeably more money. The real question: does the Pro 2 give you enough extra scooter to justify that, or is the 1S "good enough" for most humans?

Design & Build Quality

Side by side, this is less "1S vs Pro 2" and more "spot the difference". Same minimalist frame, same matte finish with red accents, same tidy cable routing with a few exposed sections around the stem. They both feel like proper products, not AliExpress experiments.

Build materials are effectively identical: aluminium frame, rubberised deck, plastic fenders. Neither feels premium in a luxury sense; they feel competent and a bit utilitarian, which is perfectly fine for an everyday scooter. Close your eyes, grab the handlebars of each, and you'd struggle to tell which is which by touch alone.

The Pro 2 does have slightly beefier touches here and there - especially around the rear mudguard, which got extra reinforcement after years of M365s snapping their tails in the wild. It gives the Pro 2 a subtly more "grown-up" feel, like the same scooter after a couple of gym sessions.

Visually, though, you're not buying one over the other for looks. They're both classic Xiaomi: simple, functional, and just stylish enough that you don't feel like you've arrived on a children's toy.

Ride Comfort & Handling

Let's be blunt: neither of these is a comfort king. There is no suspension on either scooter. Your "shock absorbers" are your knees and the air in the 8,5-inch tyres. On decent tarmac or clean bike paths, both feel pleasantly smooth, almost glide-like. On rough city cobbles, both feel like standing on a vibrating Ikea stool.

Handling is very similar: light steering, quick direction changes, and that slightly nervous feeling you always get with small wheels if you hit a surprise pothole. The narrow decks on both force a classic skateboard stance - one foot behind the other - which is fine for shorter trips but gets tiring if you're out for longer rides.

Because the Pro 2 is a bit heavier, it feels marginally more planted at top speed. The 1S, being lighter, is a touch more flickable in tight spaces and friendlier to carry up stairs, but also a bit more twitchy over bad surfaces. We're talking nuances, not night-and-day differences.

Realistically, if your city's pavements look like they've survived three wars and a minor earthquake, neither of these will feel luxurious. But if your route is mostly modern bike infrastructure and decent asphalt, both deliver an acceptable level of comfort for the price - just don't expect magic carpet vibes.

Performance

Both scooters are capped to typical legal city speeds, so the difference isn't about how fast you go, but how you get there - and whether you slow to a crawl every time the road points vaguely upwards.

The 1S, with its more modest motor, accelerates in a civilised, predictable way. It's quick enough away from traffic lights that you don't feel like a rolling roadblock, but there's not much headroom. On flat ground it does the job; on steeper sections, you feel it running out of enthusiasm quite quickly, especially if you're heavier or carrying a backpack stuffed like you're fleeing the country.

The Pro 2 has a noticeably stronger pull off the line and holds its speed a bit more stubbornly against headwinds and mild hills. It still isn't powerful in a "wow" sense, but it's the difference between "it copes" and "it actually feels fine" when climbing the typical city bridge or overpass. If your commute includes regular inclines, the Pro 2 simply feels less strained and less embarrassing.

Braking on both is a similar story: a combination of a rear mechanical disc and front electronic braking. On dry surfaces they stop with confidence if you maintain them properly. In the wet, you still need to ride defensively - small wheels and painted lines are never a love story - but there's enough control that you don't feel like gambling every time a car cuts you off. The Pro 2's slightly more substantial feel and improved lighting just nudge confidence a bit higher.

Battery & Range

This is the biggest real-world separator between the two. On the spec sheet, the Pro 2 has a visibly larger battery; on the road, that translates into "one of these scooters still feels normal when the battery is half-empty, the other already has you side-eyeing the percentage like a hawk."

On the 1S, riding briskly in the fastest mode, you're looking at a commute range that's perfectly fine for shorter city legs, but noticeably limited if you start stacking detours, headwinds, or winter temperatures. Go a bit too far, and you quickly join the "eco-crawl home" club.

The Pro 2 stretches that leash by a healthy margin. With similar riding style and rider weight, you get substantially more real-world distance before anxiety kicks in. For many riders that means a comfortable return trip with some buffer; with the 1S, that same journey often requires either a charger at work or accepting that one leg will be done in a slower mode.

Charging times are not this duo's proudest achievement. The 1S takes a working afternoon; the Pro 2 takes more like a full working day or overnight. If you're the kind of person who forgets to plug things in, neither scooter will save you, but the Pro 2 at least rewards you with more distance once you remember.

Portability & Practicality

This is where the 1S gets to fight back. At roughly a couple of kilos lighter, it genuinely feels easier to live with if your daily routine involves stairs, narrow corridors, or hoisting the scooter into trains and car boots repeatedly. Folded, it's compact enough to hide under most desks without becoming an office trip hazard.

The Pro 2 is still in what I'd call the "acceptable carry" range. You can take it up a flight of stairs without hating your life, but you won't love doing it ten times a day. If your commute is mostly riding with just occasional lifting, its extra heft is tolerable; if you live on the fifth floor with no lift, you'll feel every gram.

Folding mechanisms on both are nearly identical: quick, simple, and - as long as you occasionally tighten things - dependable. The stem-to-mudguard hook solution is clever and works well in real life. Handlebar width remains the same on both even when folded, so neither is especially slim for squeezing between train passengers. Here, again, the 1S's lower mass makes it slightly less annoying when you're that person trying not to poke anyone with a scooter.

In daily practicality terms: the 1S is more "bag-of-tricks you take everywhere", the Pro 2 is more "small vehicle you mostly ride and only sometimes carry". Neither is unwieldy; one is just friendlier to weak backs and old staircases.

Safety

On safety, these two are more siblings than rivals. Both rely on the same braking set-up - disc rear, electronic front - and the same grippy rubber deck and air-filled tyres. If you've ridden one, the other feels instantly familiar.

The Pro 2 does step ahead in lighting. Its headlight is brighter and throws a more useful beam further down the road, which makes a big difference on dark winter commutes when you'd quite like to see the pothole before it sees you. The tail lights and reflectors are also a touch better executed, improving side visibility in traffic.

Tyre grip is comparable: same size, same basic design, same eternal war against punctures if you neglect tyre pressure. In the wet, both benefit from those pneumatic tyres - they deform and bite into the surface instead of skating like hard plastic - but you still need to respect painted crossings and wet metal covers.

Stability at top speed is fractionally better on the Pro 2 thanks to its extra weight and slightly more confident front-end feel. We're talking subtle improvements, but if you regularly ride at full speed in busy mixed traffic, those small gains add up to nicer nerves.

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Price & Value

Here's the awkward bit: both scooters are, by now, known quantities. They're solid, proven, and... a little conservative compared with what some newer brands offer in the same price bands.

The 1S sits in the lower mid-range bracket and, for that money, gives you a trustworthy, no-nonsense commuter that's very hard to truly criticise, but also hard to get excited about. You're paying for stability, safety, and the Xiaomi ecosystem rather than cutting-edge features.

The Pro 2 costs distinctly more and justifies that with more range and a stronger motor, not with fancy tech or exotic hardware. Value depends entirely on your use case: if your daily rides actually need the extra range and a bit more shove, the premium is sensible. If you're just nipping around a flat city for a handful of kilometres, that extra spend mostly buys you unused headroom.

In pure bang-for-buck terms, neither is a screaming bargain in 2025, but both are "safe money": they do what they claim, parts are cheap and everywhere, and you can resell them when you're inevitably tempted by something shinier.

Service & Parts Availability

This is one area where both scooters still wipe the floor with many competitors. Xiaomi ownership feels more like owning a popular bicycle than a weird gadget: every second repair shop has seen these, and there's an ocean of cheap parts online.

From brake pads to mudguards, dashboard covers to third-party tyres, you're spoiled for choice. There are endless tutorials, forum guides, and videos on how to fix every common fault. That keeps long-term costs pleasantly low - assuming you're willing to swear at a tyre lever occasionally.

Warranty experiences vary by country because you often deal with the retailer, but in general, getting a 1S or Pro 2 fixed is far easier than with some obscure brand. On this front, they're basically tied; the Pro 2 benefits from the same ecosystem the 1S does.

Pros & Cons Summary

Parameters Comparison

Final Verdict - Which Should You Choose?

For most people actually commuting more than a handful of kilometres per day, the Xiaomi Pro 2 is the stronger overall choice. It doesn't transform the experience - this isn't a night-and-day upgrade - but the extra motor grunt and the much more comfortable range envelope make daily life meaningfully easier. You worry less about hills, less about range, and you get slightly better safety lighting in the bargain.

The Xiaomi 1S still has a role. If your rides are short, your budget is firm, and you really do carry the scooter a lot - up tight stairwells, onto crowded trains, in and out of flats - its lighter weight and lower price make it a sensible, if somewhat conservative, pick. Just be realistic: if your commute grows in length or you move to a hillier neighbourhood, you'll outgrow it quicker than you think.

So: choose the Pro 2 if the scooter is going to be your primary urban vehicle, clocking proper daily kilometres. Choose the 1S if it's a short-hop utility tool that spends as much time in your hands as it does under your feet.

Numbers Freaks Corner

These metrics let you see how "efficient" each scooter is in different ways. Price per Wh and per kilometre show how much range you buy for your money. Weight-related metrics show how much mass you haul per unit of battery, speed, or distance. Wh per kilometre reflects electrical efficiency on the road. Power per unit speed and weight-to-power hint at how lively or burdened the motors feel, while average charging speed shows how quickly energy flows back into the battery relative to its size.

Author's Category Battle

Overall Winner Declaration

In the Numbers Freaks Corner, the XIAOMI 1S scores 4 points against the XIAOMI Pro 2's 6. In the Author's Category Battle, the XIAOMI 1S gets 24 ✅ versus 32 ✅ for XIAOMI Pro 2 (with a few ties sprinkled in).

Totals: XIAOMI 1S scores 28, XIAOMI Pro 2 scores 38.

Based on the scoring, the XIAOMI Pro 2 is our overall winner. If I had to live with just one of these every day as my main city transport, I'd take the Xiaomi Pro 2. It's not thrilling, but it feels more capable, less stressed, and simply better suited to real-world commuting where distances and hills don't politely stay small. The Xiaomi 1S is still a likeable, no-nonsense little workhorse, but it feels more like a starter tool - perfect for short, flat runs and lighter budgets, yet all too easy to outgrow once you taste what a bit more range and power can do for your nerves.

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.