It's been now 3 months since I bought my Voltra Matrix E-Scooter 2022 edition. There were initial hick ups you can read here about in my first assessment. Now it's time for a review of this e-bike after 1000 km of daily use.
The range
The company selling the Matrix, Voltra, with offices in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, gives a range of 100 km with a full charged battery. However, this is for people under 70 kg, driving in set 1 (up to 40km/h) and on asphalt. A more realistic range is 60-70 km, which is still reasonable. I charge my battery now every two or three days, when it still has around 30 percent capacity. Talking about capacity: There are only three green and one red bar showing you the current capacity. The first bar disappears after roughly 20 km. The second after an additional 20 to 40 km, depending on the speed and traffic (the more you accelerate, the more power is needed). Once there is only one green bar left I recommend to charge as soon as possible. The manual (yes, there is one now) recommends to not let the battery go to zero.
The driving
Cruising on the new roads in Siem Reap is pure fun. The Matrix is made for an urban environment, and downtown Siem Reap and Phnom Penh are made for them. The seat is extremely comfortable, sitting position is good as well. The brakes are extraordinary compared to those on my Honda Scoopy. I haven't used the electric scooter in rain yet, but I was told a bit of flooding won't be a problem. The owner of Voltra, Yann Vaudin, explained to me at a visit in Phnom Penh how they kept all cables and electric parts away from the bottom. The main controller is actually under the seat. The battery case is sealed.
The front lights are very bright and great at night. All LEDs have been especially selected for the Matrix, I was told. The Display is great at night, but sometimes hard to read in full sunshine (what is normal, I think).
You need to get used to the driving, in particular when you start on a low speed. As most e-bikes, they start immediately in full power. Driving in Set 1 is ok most of the time, I used the speed 2 and 3 usually for overtaking and long empty stretches.
The quality
After 1000 km I had only minor issues. A rubber seal under the seat had to be replaced, the stand was adjusted to a better angle, and I use a sticker for the display to avoid scratches. Riding is smooth, the shock absorbers are ok, but when you hit an obstacle or a pothole you feel the plastic casing around the metal frame.
The software seems to be hard-coded, so I cannot expect optimizations and changes.
Overall conclusion of the Voltra Matrix Electric Scooter
After riding other e-scooters, I think the Voltra Matrix is the closest to an actual scooter and the best you can get in Cambodia. Even if I wished the battery would last longer, it's much more than those electric shopping carts you can see around or the three wheelers. The lithium-ion battery cells are indeed mad by one of the leading Chinese manufacturers, which was just bought by Volkswagen. They should last 1000 full cycles.
Also, there is now a third-party liability insurance offered by Forte for 48 USD per year.
The selling price includes now the insurance and is $1500 at the time of writing this post.
