iLiving V8 Foldable Electric Mobility Scooter Review 2024

Has the fact of your mobility issue got you down? Is it keeping you from enjoying life to the fullest, and has that led you on a search for the “right” scooter or electric wheelchair to help restore your independence?

If you answered yes to the questions above, then you may like what you read in our iLiving V8 scooter review.

We say ‘may’ because although we think this is a fantastic scooter, it’s not for everyone, and it simply may not be a good fit for you.

If you’re curious to know more, then read on. In the sections that follow, we’ll tell you everything the V8 has to offer, and we’ll tell you about its limitations so you can decide for yourself if this is the scooter you’ve been searching for. If that sounds good to you, then let’s jump right in!

An Overview of the iLiving V8 Foldable Electric Mobility Scooter

The iLiving V8 makes a good first impression. It has clean lines and a bold, modern look to it. Even at a glance, you can tell that the design team put some thought and effort into aesthetics. They clearly wanted to make a machine that looks great and functions just as well.

Sporting a cobalt blue paint job with black highlights, this little scooter was designed to get your attention. One of the first things you’ll notice as you look more closely is that the V8 does something we haven’t seen on any other scooter design. The batteries actually snap in place on the steering column.

That might not seem significant at first glance, but it’s actually a pretty huge innovation. The steering column is largely “dead space” anyway, and the team has found a good, productive use for it that frees up the space under the seat (where a battery would normally go) for storage you can add later. Kudos to the folks at iLiving! We can certainly see why this scooter won design awards.

Also, at a glance, it’s easy to visualize how the machine folds up when you’re ready to take it with you on the road. As we’ll discuss later, it’s as easy to collapse the V8 for travel as it looks!

Before we can talk about more than mere aesthetics in this section of our V8 scooter review, we need to look at the numbers that drive and define the model. Here are the basic stats:

• Overall Product Dimensions: 19” W x 32” D x 20” H (Folded dimensions: 17.6” L x 17.4” W x 30.7” H)
• Seat Dimensions: 18.5” W x 17.5” D
• Turning Radius: 52.7”
• Seat to Floor Height: 21”
• Top Speed: 3.7 miles per hour
• Range: 15 miles
• Wheel Size: 8” Front, 7” Rear
• Ground Clearance: 4”
• Chair Weight: 40 pounds
• Maximum Supported Weight: 275 pounds

These numbers are a bit of a mixed bag, with some very good points and some that are not so great.

Let’s break it down:

First and foremost, the V8 scooter has a delightfully small folded footprint which, combined with its modest weight, makes it a pretty travel-friendly design. We’ll have more to say about that a bit later on, but for now, it’s enough to simply draw your attention to it as one of the many positive aspects of this model.

In a similar vein, the range and ground clearance are both quite good. If you look around the market, you can find other options that offer a greater range and even better ground clearance. Still, both of these numbers are above average, and paint this as a versatile chair you can use at home, in town, and outside, provided you keep an eye out for major obstructions.

You could probably even take the iLiving V8 electric scooter down a few hiking trails rated as easy, though a moderately difficult trail would probably be more than this little scooter could take.

Even so, that gives you a lot of options for where, when, and how to use it, and that’s fantastic.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of gotchas here. The turning radius is horrible. If you’re looking for a chair to take with you in your RV and you actually want to be able to use it in your RV, this probably isn’t the one you want. It would be fine, though, if you’re mostly interested in using it outside at the campground.

That poor turning radius also makes this one a poor choice for people who mostly intend to use the scooter at home if they live in smaller homes or apartments. If you do live in cramped quarters and you get one of these, you’ll get a lot of practice backing up because you’ll be making lots of multi-point turns!

And then there’s the biggest gotcha—the weight limit. Most wheelchairs and scooters support 300+ pounds, which accommodates about 85% of the market. This one doesn’t rise to that level. With a maximum supported weight of 275 pounds, it can still accommodate some 75% of the market but take the weight limit seriously. If you exceed it, then this one is, unfortunately, a non-starter for you.

Adjustability and Comfort

This isn’t one of the strongest parts of our iLiving V8 mobility scooter review because although there are a few adjustable features here, there aren’t as many as we would like to have seen.

The main adjustable element is the steering column itself. The handlebars at the top can be height adjusted, and the steering tiller can be angle adjusted. You do have some flexibility in terms of optimizing for comfort, but that’s all you get.

The seat height is fixed at 21″. Although the armrests that come with the chair are removable, they’re not adjustable in any way whatsoever either.

That’s not the end of the world, really. Many scooters are “what you see is what you get.” With a highly adjustable tiller, you do have some options, but not as many as we were hoping.

Comfort-wise, the V8 fares better. The seat dimensions are an excellent pairing with the chair’s weight limit, and there’s enough block foam padding to provide a comfortable seating experience for 3-4 hours at a stretch.

Be aware, however, that the chair is upholstered with vinyl, which isn’t breathable. You’re likely to get hot and sweaty the more time you spend sitting on it.

The good news is that padding is inexpensive, and the addition of a seat and/or seatback pad upholstered in something other than vinyl solves two issues at once: It makes the chair comfortable enough to sit in it for longer periods and it solves the breathability issue as well!

Best of all, given the relatively modest price of this model, you’ll probably have some funds left over for enhancements like padding, so it’s good news all around.

Extras and Options

This is, in our view, the strongest portion of our iLiving V8 scooter review, which is a very pleasant surprise. In most cases, smaller off-brands don’t typically offer a lot in the way of extras.

We were pleasantly surprised to find a wide range of them here. These include:

• An LED Headlamp
• LED Taillights
• LED Brake Lights
• A Horn
• A USB charging port
• And front-mounted anti-tippers for added stability

One of the biggest complaints people tend to have about three-wheeled scooter designs is that they’re not as stable as their four-wheeled cousins. iLiving once again demonstrates their excellent design chops by solving this problem with their front-mounted anti-tippers, which is an unexpected, but honestly, brilliant addition.

It gets better, though, because, on top of that, the chair is designed with an “intelligent drive system” that auto-detects when you’re executing a turn and will automatically reduce your speed any time you do. Both of those things operating in concert make the iLiving V8 mobility scooter one of the most stable three-wheeled models on the market today, and that’s outstanding. Once again, kudos to iLiving!

Sadly, the company doesn’t offer any additional enhancements. They put every accessory they had on the base model of the chair. So if you want something else such as additional padding, if you plan to spend more than a few hours at a stretch in the seat, and some type of storage, then you’ll have to get those from the aftermarket.

That’s not so bad; the aftermarket is brimming with storage and padding solutions, and you may want to consider picking up a universal storage bag to make taking your scooter on the road an even simpler proposition.

Portability & Ease of Use

This is another area where the iLiving V8 foldable electric mobility scooter gets high marks. As we mentioned early on in our review, you can tell just by looking at the design how the scooter folds down for transport, and getting it ready to travel is a process that takes mere seconds. A simple two-step process that you’ll master in no time.

This machine isn’t exactly a featherweight weighing in at forty pounds, but it’s not so heavy that you’ll find loading and unloading it into the trunk of your mid-sized sedan or the back of your truck, van, or SUV to be problematic, either.

It’s also light enough that you can easily take it on a flight with you. Still, our standard warning applies: Since airlines are allowed to set their own policies about what they do and don’t allow on the plane, you’ll want to call ahead to be sure that the V8 is acceptable to them, so you don’t have any surprises when you actually arrive at the airport on the day of your big trip.

In terms of ease of use, the V8 also does exceptionally well. The controls are simple and intuitive, and the LED readout in the center of the steering tiller is easy to understand. 

The only potential wrinkle here is that it will likely take a bit of practice to get used to turning around on the scooter. With its relatively poor turning radius, you’ll probably find yourself having to execute more than a few three-point turns. Even so, it won’t take long for you to master the basics.

Pros & Cons of iliving V8 Mobility Scooter

So, where does that leave us?

On the whole, this is a very good design. It offers some interesting innovations we haven’t seen on a mobility scooter before, and it’s an extremely capable machine. iLiving V8 foldable mobility scooter is not perfect, however, and here’s how we see it breaking down:

The Best Aspects of the Design:

• Lots of cool innovations and an excellent overall design
• Brimming with extras
• Easy to use
• Good ground clearance and range makes it useful in a variety of settings, including in larger homes, at campgrounds, if you’re an RV traveler, around your yard, and even on some hiking trails
• Its small footprint makes it very travel friendly
• And it’s well priced to boot

The V8’s Weakest Features Are:

• It’s not as adjustable as we had hoped it would be
• It’s got a relatively low top speed (faster than walking, but not by much)
• And it supports a disappointingly low amount of user weight

iLiving V8 Scooter Review Conclusion

We like almost everything about the V8, but we can only give this model a provisional recommendation at the end of the day.

While we love the innovations this model brings to the table, we believe here in our V8 scooter review that the modest weight limit is going to be a dealbreaker for a significant minority of the potential market for it.

As long as you don’t exceed that limit, though, and assuming you’re not in a big hurry to get where you’re going while you’re using it, you’ll probably love it.

You May Also Want to Consider

If for any reason, the V8 isn’t a good fit for you, you may want to consider the i3, also by iLiving. It’s slightly heavier at 53 pounds. The i3 is a bit more expensive but is functionally similar. It sports a 4-wheel design for even greater stability.

If you love the basic design and styling but you’re on a budget, then you may want to consider the EV Rider Transport AF+. It offers a similar aesthetic and has the advantage of coming in a variety of different colors, allowing you to choose between burgundy, grey, seafoam blue, red, or purple. You can find it here.

---

Official Manufacturer Support

References & Resources:

• iLiving, Official Brand Website.
• iLiving V8 Foldable Mobility Scooter User Manual.
• Self-Regulation When Using a Mobility Scooter: The Experiences of Older Adults With Visual Impairments, SAGE Journals.
• Mobility Scooters: An Introduction, Articles Factory.
• What to Consider When Renting a Wheelchair, Verywellhealth.