Xiaomi M365 vs Hiboy S2 - The Budget Scooter Showdown No One Asked For (But Everyone Needs)

Fast Answer for Busy Riders ⚡ (TL;DR)

The Xiaomi M365 edges out overall as the more balanced, better-proven scooter, especially if you care about ride quality, safety on mixed surfaces, and long-term ownership. Its air-filled tyres, huge parts ecosystem and "been everywhere, fixed everything" community make it the safer bet for daily commuting. The Hiboy S2 is tempting on price and speed, and suits lighter riders on mostly smooth, dry roads who want a cheap, low-maintenance beater and don't mind a harsher, more basic feel.

If you hate the idea of ever changing a tyre and your city is mainly flat and well paved, the Hiboy S2 can make sense as a disposable workhorse. But if you want a scooter that feels more refined under your feet, is easier to keep alive for years, and is simply less stressful to ride, the Xiaomi is the smarter choice. Keep reading to see where each one shines - and where the marketing hype doesn't quite match the asphalt.

Stick around; the devil here is very much in the details, and a few of them might surprise you.

Electric scooter newcomers who search "best cheap scooter" almost always find the same two names glaring back at them: Xiaomi M365 and Hiboy S2. One is the old legend you've seen under rental fleets worldwide; the other is the aggressive budget upstart promising more speed and zero flats for less money. On paper, they look like siblings. On the street, they feel quite different.

I've put plenty of kilometres on both: office commutes, badly maintained bike lanes, "shortcut" cobblestone alleys that were clearly a mistake, and the odd late-night blast home. Both will get you from A to B without burning petrol. How they treat you - and how long they stay in one piece - is where the story really starts.

If you're wondering whether to buy the classic Xiaomi or save a chunk of cash on the Hiboy, grab a coffee and read on. They trade blows in almost every category, but their compromises are not the same.

Who Are These For, and Why Compare Them?

These two live in the same broad "entry-level commuter" class: single-motor, modest batteries, sensible top speeds and prices that don't require a second mortgage. They're aimed at people who want to replace short car trips or cut the boring walk between public transport and the office.

The Xiaomi M365 is the archetypal first "real" scooter: transport first, toy second. It's best suited to riders who value a calmer, more bicycle-like feel and are willing to do a bit of basic maintenance over time. The Hiboy S2 goes harder on headline value: more speed, solid tyres, rear suspension and a noticeably lower price. It's aimed at budget-conscious riders who want something quick, simple and don't want to learn how to say "inner tube" in three languages.

They compete directly because, in most shops and comparison sites, they sit in the same mental basket: "I want a cheap scooter that doesn't suck." Only one of them actually behaves like a proper transport tool in a wider range of conditions.

Design & Build Quality

In person, the Xiaomi M365 still looks like the reference design everyone else copied. The frame feels like a single coherent object rather than a collection of aluminium tubes that met on AliExpress. The matte finish holds up reasonably well, the stem is slim but confidence-inspiring, and the deck doesn't flex in ways that make you question your life choices. The cable routing is tidy, with most wiring hidden inside the frame, which helps both aesthetics and longevity.

The Hiboy S2 has clearly taken notes: same general silhouette, same folding architecture, similar deck proportions. The difference is in the details. The finish is fine for the price, but closer inspection reveals more exposed cabling around the cockpit, cheaper-feeling plastics on the throttle and display, and a slightly more "budget e-scooter" vibe. Nothing catastrophically wrong - just less polished. The rear suspension hardware also adds visual clutter, which some will love (it looks "techy"), others will see as just more parts to rattle.

Both use aluminium frames and both can develop stem play over time. With the Xiaomi, the wobble problem and its fixes are almost an art form at this point: shims, spacers, tutorials, you name it. With the Hiboy, the usual solution is "tighten everything periodically and hope". Overall, the Xiaomi feels like a product that was engineered first and cheapened later; the Hiboy feels like it started from a price target and worked backwards.

Ride Comfort & Handling

This is where they part ways dramatically. The Xiaomi rides on air-filled tyres and no suspension. That sounds primitive on paper, but on real roads it's often the better compromise. On decent asphalt and bike paths the scooter floats along with a soft, rolling feel. Small cracks and joints disappear into the tyre carcass, and you get a natural, predictable grip level that's easy to trust. Hit rougher surfaces and, yes, your knees start doing suspension duty, but the overall character stays controlled rather than punishing.

The Hiboy S2 gives you the opposite recipe: solid honeycomb tyres plus little rear springs. On glassy tarmac at moderate speed, it feels okay - slightly harder underfoot than the Xiaomi, but fine. The moment the surface deteriorates, the act ends. Those solid tyres transmit every sharp edge straight into your ankles and wrists, while the modest rear suspension struggles to keep up. Over broken pavement or cobbles, the scooter starts to buzz and rattle, and you unconsciously slow down just to stay comfortable. Front wheel impacts, in particular, feel abrupt.

In corners, the Xiaomi's pneumatic rubber gives you a rounder, more progressive grip breakaway. You lean, it follows, and you can read the tarmac through your feet. The Hiboy, with solid tyres, feels a bit wooden; it turns, but you're more conscious of staying within a narrower comfort zone, especially on anything slightly damp or dusty. It's rideable - I did plenty of city kilometres on it - but it never fully disappears beneath you in the way the Xiaomi occasionally does on good surfaces.

Performance

Both scooters sit firmly in the "commuter fast" class - quick enough to keep up with city cycling traffic, not fast enough to justify body armour. The Xiaomi's front hub motor offers modest rated power but delivers its punch cleanly. From a standstill, it builds speed in a smooth, linear way that's friendly to beginners. It reaches its limited top speed without drama and then just quietly hums along. Acceleration feels brisk if you're coming from walking or a shared rental, but nobody's being catapulted into next week.

The Hiboy S2 has a stronger motor on paper and does feel more eager. In its sportier mode, it pulls more decisively off the line and keeps on pushing a bit beyond what the Xiaomi will legally allow in many regions. You notice this particularly when overtaking slower cyclists or when you roll back on the throttle after a corner - there's more shove, and it makes the scooter feel livelier.

On hills, neither is a mountain goat. The Xiaomi will tackle moderate city inclines, but heavier riders will see speed bleeding away and may end up adding a few kicks on steeper ramps. The Hiboy's extra motor grunt helps here; it holds speed better and feels less asthmatic on bridges and residential hills, though it also has its limits. Braking-wise, both use a mix of mechanical disc and regenerative braking and can scrub speed quickly when set up correctly. The Xiaomi's system feels slightly more natural out of the box, with a more progressive lever feel. The Hiboy, especially when the electronic brake is set strong, can feel quite abrupt initially - great in an emergency, slightly annoying when you just want to trim a little speed.

Battery & Range

Manufacturers' range claims are, as usual, written by optimists riding downhill in a tailwind. In the real world, the Xiaomi M365 delivers a comfortably usable distance for typical daily commutes. Ride it at sensible speeds, don't weigh like a fridge, and you can do a return trip that would have you cursing if you had to walk it. Push it flat-out and you'll still get a decent morning and evening run with some buffer.

The Hiboy S2's claimed range is slightly lower, and that's exactly what you feel. On mixed real-world riding - some full-throttle, some start-stop traffic - its usable distance is clearly more modest. It's fine if your daily loop is short or you can charge at work, but I found myself glancing at the battery indicator more often than I'd like when stretching it. You do at least get a fairly quick recharge time, so lunchtime charging is realistic.

Efficiency-wise, the Xiaomi benefits from its air tyres and generally calmer riding pace; it sips its battery rather than gulping it. The Hiboy's stronger motor and harder tyres encourage slightly faster riding and waste more energy on vibration, so you burn through capacity a bit quicker. Range anxiety is manageable on both - but if you have an unpredictable day with extra detours, the Xiaomi gives you more headroom.

Portability & Practicality

Carrying either of these up a flight of stairs won't ruin your week, but you'll notice the difference. The Xiaomi is lighter, and it shows: one-hand lifts into car boots or onto train steps are just that bit easier. The folded package is compact and reasonably dense, and the bell-as-latch system, while not perfect, keeps everything together in a neat unit you can shuffle around public transport without collecting dirty looks.

The Hiboy S2, being heavier, crosses into "fine for occasional carrying, annoying if you do it ten times a day" territory. Short hops - into the office, up a couple of steps - are fine. Longer carries, especially for smaller riders, start feeling like an arm workout. The folding mechanism does its job, but new units can be downright stubborn to latch and unlatch until things bed in. Once folded, it's still compact enough to live under a desk or in a hallway, just less of a featherweight.

Day-to-day practicality? Both have stands that work, both fold quickly once you know the motion, both integrate with apps for locking and settings. The crucial divergence is tyres: the Xiaomi demands you occasionally think about air pressure and, sooner or later, face the tyre-change boss fight. The Hiboy lets you ignore tyres entirely - at the cost of comfort and wet grip. Pick your poison.

Safety

Safety on these scooters is mostly about three things: how they stop, how they grip, and how well you're seen. Braking is a strong point on both: mechanical discs plus regenerative braking give them more authority than many cheaper rivals. The Xiaomi's brake feel is predictable and confidence-inspiring; once you've dialled in lever reach and regen level in the app, emergency stops feel controlled rather than panicked.

The Hiboy's dual braking is actually very strong for the class. The electronic brake bites hard if you ask it to, and the rear disc adds solid backup. Stopping distances are short, though the character leans toward "grabby" until you adapt your fingers. In city traffic, I'd rather have brakes that err on the side of too strong than too weak, so this is more pro than con - just expect a learning curve.

Tyre grip is where the Xiaomi pulls ahead in a way that actually matters. Pneumatic rubber simply deals better with imperfect reality: damp manhole covers, loose grit, patched tarmac. You can still crash if you ride like a hero, but there's more margin. The Hiboy's solid tyres are acceptable on dry, clean surfaces; add water, paint lines or polished stone and they become noticeably more skittish. You find yourself tiptoeing across wet crossings instead of just rolling through.

Lighting is surprisingly decent on both. The Xiaomi's stem-mounted headlight is focused and bright enough for city speeds, with a sensible rear light that reacts to braking. The Hiboy counters with a brighter-feeling headlight plus side/deck lights that dramatically increase your visibility in traffic - genuinely useful when a car is about to turn across you from a side street. In terms of being seen, the Hiboy arguably does the better job; in terms of staying upright in marginal grip, the Xiaomi clearly wins.

Community Feedback

Price & Value

On sticker price alone, the Hiboy S2 lands firmly in bargain territory. It offers higher speed, rear suspension, app features and puncture-proof tyres for significantly less than the Xiaomi's typical asking price. To someone new to scooters, that's a very persuasive equation: "more stuff, less money". And for short, gentle commutes on smooth roads, that logic more or less holds.

But value isn't just what you get on day one; it's what the scooter is still doing for you after a year or two. The Xiaomi costs more upfront but is easier to keep alive: parts are cheap and everywhere, every common issue has been solved five different ways by the community, and resale value holds up surprisingly well. The Hiboy saves you money at checkout, but if something non-trivial fails out of warranty, you're more exposed, and used-market demand is lower.

If your budget is absolutely strict and you just need a seasonal commuter for a short, predictable distance, the Hiboy S2 is hard to beat on pure euro-per-feature. If you think you'll be riding regularly for years, the Xiaomi starts looking like the more sensible investment, even if its spec sheet isn't shouting quite as loudly.

Service & Parts Availability

This is one of those boring categories that matters a lot the first time something breaks. With the Xiaomi M365, parts availability borders on ridiculous. Need a new controller, stem, mudguard, even random screws? There are multiple vendors, official and third-party, plus full teardown guides and video tutorials. Many repair shops already know the scooter inside out because of the rental fleets that used it as a workhorse.

Hiboy's ecosystem is... smaller. To their credit, the brand is relatively responsive when it comes to warranty issues, often sending replacement parts for known faults. But outside warranty, you're more dependent on whatever Hiboy will sell you directly or what appears in online marketplaces. There is a community, but it's not remotely on Xiaomi's scale, and generic compatibility is more hit-and-miss.

If you like the idea of treating your scooter as a maintainable vehicle rather than a consumable gadget, the Xiaomi is clearly the safer bet here.

Pros & Cons Summary

Parameters Comparison

Final Verdict - Which Should You Choose?

If I had to live with one of these as my only scooter for daily European city duty, I'd take the Xiaomi M365. It's not thrilling, but it's consistently competent: nicer ride quality, more forgiving tyres, saner behaviour on wet days, and a support ecosystem that practically guarantees you can keep it running long after the warranty fairy has left the building. It feels like proper transport rather than a clever gadget on wheels.

The Hiboy S2 is the better choice only in specific scenarios: your budget ceiling is non-negotiable, your commute is short, flat and mostly billiard-smooth, and you care more about never seeing a puncture than about comfort or rainy-day grip. Treated as a cheap, fast upgrade from walking or a rental scooter - not as a long-term, all-weather commuter - it can make sense.

For most riders who want a scooter to rely on, ride often and still like a year from now, the Xiaomi is the safer and ultimately more satisfying pick. The Hiboy shouts louder on specs and price, but the Xiaomi quietly gets more of the important things right.

Numbers Freaks Corner

These metrics answer pure number questions: how much you pay per unit of battery or speed, how heavy the scooter is relative to its energy and power, how efficiently it turns watt-hours into kilometres, and how quickly it refills its battery. Lower values are better for cost, weight and efficiency, while higher values help for power density and charging speed. They do not account for comfort, safety, or how the scooter actually feels - they simply show which one wins the spreadsheet war.

Author's Category Battle

Overall Winner Declaration

In the Numbers Freaks Corner, the XIAOMI M365 scores 3 points against the HIBOY S2's 7. In the Author's Category Battle, the XIAOMI M365 gets 29 ✅ versus 13 ✅ for HIBOY S2 (with a few ties sprinkled in).

Totals: XIAOMI M365 scores 32, HIBOY S2 scores 20.

Based on the scoring, the XIAOMI M365 is our overall winner. The Xiaomi M365 simply feels like the more rounded, grown-up companion: it rides with more composure, copes better with real-world streets, and gives you the comforting sense that, whatever breaks, someone has already figured out how to fix it. The Hiboy S2 fights back with price and punch, but its compromises in comfort and grip make it feel more like a budget shortcut than a long-term partner. If you want a scooter you can trust, tweak and live with day in, day out, the Xiaomi is the one that quietly keeps you smiling instead of second-guessing your route every time the road turns rough or 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.