Lectric XP Trike review: This is the electric trike you’ll probably buy
Let’s face it: If you live in the US and you want an electric trike, there’s one e-trike that you’re most likely to buy – the Lectric XP Trike. Everyone’s talking about it and rightly so. It simply comes in with the best bang for your buck, hands down. It’s not the prettiest. It’s not the highest end. It’s not the fastest. But it likely has the best value of all the e-trikes out there.
So let’s take a deep dive into this awesome trike and see if it would be right for you.
The Lectric XP Trike follows Lectric eBike’s strategy of offering e-bikes that can do 90% of what the more expensive models can do (and in some cases, even more than what the expensive models can do), yet at a fraction of the cost.
Case in point: The Lectric XP Trike is priced at an extremely fair $1,499 and yet offers nearly as much in terms of features and performance as the competition (plus some upgrades compared to many others, like hydraulic brakes and a folding mechanism).
Check out my testing of the Lectric XP Trike in the video below, then read on for my complete thoughts on whether or not this is the right electric three-wheeler for you.
Lectric XP Trike video review
Lectric XP Trike tech specs
- Motor: 500 W (1,092 W peak) geared mid-mounted motor
- Top speed: 22.5 km/h (14 mph)
- Range: Up to 96 km (55 mi)
- Battery: 48V 14 Ah (672 Wh)
- Weight: 31.5 kg (69.5 lb)
- Max load: 188 kg (415 lb) with max rider weight of 150 kg (330 lb)
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc brake calipers with parking brakes on levers
- Extras: Large LCD display with speedometer, wattmeter, battery meter, PAS level indicator, odometer and tripmeter, dual rear wheel drive, front and rear LED lights, 5 pedal assist speed settings, half-twist throttle, removable and lockable battery, fenders and more
- Price: $1,499
What I like about it
If I’m being honest, the XP Trike’s first big advantage that already gets my ears perked up is the price. At $1,499, it’s just so much more affordable than basically every other big name e-trike out there. But there’s much more to the story than just the price. Because they don’t simply cut quality to cut price. They still offer a lot of features.
The low step-through design is easy to mount. I had my mom (who is in her late 60s) on the Lectric XP Trike after her knee surgery, and she took to it quite well. Anyone with mobility issues will find the trike easy to mount. And with a half twist throttle, you can even ride it like a mobility scooter if you don’t want to pedal.
But pedaling… that’s a joy, too. The Lectric XP Trike uses a new type of pedal assist programming that makes it much more comfortable to ride. It still uses a more cost-friendly cadence sensor, so it’s not as nice as a torque sensor-based pedal assist, but it goes part of the way there thanks to the programming. Instead of the different pedal assist levels working like increasingly higher speed limits, the levels actually limit power by providing a current limit. The result is that each progressively higher pedal assist level actually offers you more power, not just more speed. It makes it easy to modulate the power for either a relaxing low power ride or a faster and more thrilling zip around the community.
I’m also a fan of the 20″ wheels that Lectric chose. They aren’t fat tires, but instead more like a hybrid between street tires and mountain bike tires. They have a moderately aggressive tread that allows you to ride on grass or dirt without losing traction.
Most people will stick to the streets and paved bike paths, but nature trails are definitely on the table with these types of tires.
Many electric trikes have opted for fat tires, which I think are probably not necessary for most riders. If you’re looking into a trike, you’re probably not the type of rider who also opts for super aggressive terrain where fat tires excel.
So these modest tires are a nice compromise, offering enough tread and width for dirt roads while still being efficient and effective on the asphalt.
Next, the battery capacity is a nice bump up over some other models. With a 48V 14Ah battery, you’ve got 672 Wh of capacity. The trike only goes up to 14 mph (22 km/h), so you’re not going to burn through that battery very quickly. At full throttle in highest power mode under less than ideal conditions, you’ll likely get at least 20 miles (32 km) of range. But if you back it off to modest power, you can easily double that.
With several hours of riding on a single charge, very few people will ever be worried about running out of battery in the middle of a ride.
Lastly, I’m a big fan of the rear wheel drive setup. I often like to ride on grass or other loose terrain, and a front hub motor (which is the most common way to power an e-trike) can mean that the front wheel loses traction. Even on asphalt, a powerful front motor can spin the tire, which catches many riders off guard.
But with Lectric’s rear wheel drive setup, not only do you get two wheel drive, but the rear wheels will never lose traction because that’s where most of the rider’s weight is supported.
What I don’t like about it
I’ll be honest, it’s hard to find areas to complain about this trike, at least at this price. I always try to keep the price in mind when evaluating bikes, since its hard to compare a $1,499 trike to something twice its price and expect to get the same thing.
In this case though, there are some areas that aren’t top notch.
First of all, I love that the trike folds in the rare event that you need to fit it into a car, but the folding isn’t the smoothest. You have to carefully wiggle the front wheel back inside of the rear wheel. If you’ve got a basket on the front, that’s even trickier and you have to gingerly slide the handlebars under the basket while trying not to scrape anything. It works, and I’ve done it many times. But each time it’s like you’re solving one of those block puzzles and trying to force the pieces together too hard when you know that if you have the puzzle solved correctly, then it wouldn’t require this much pushing.
In practice, I found that I rarely folded the middle section of the bike. Instead, I could fit the trike in my parent’s minivan simply by folding down the handlebars and lifting off the seat. That made the bike short enough to roll right in the back (though the rear seats in a van or SUV will need to be folded down).
Next, the trike is still stable, but it’s not the most stable on the market. The RadTrike has been the most stable e-trike I’ve ever tested, largely because the rear end is slightly wider and the 18″ wheels keep it slightly lower.
But even so, the Lectric XP Trike still feels pretty darn solid. Yes, I can get a wheel up in the turns, but I have to try pretty hard to do it. As long as you’re on flat ground, I don’t think you’ll accidentally get into a tipping situation on the XP Trike. Riding sideways on an incline though, that can be a bit hairy, but the same is true in any three-wheeler.
Should you buy the Lectric XP Trike?
At the end of the day, it’s pretty simple. If you want a decent electric trike at a great price, this is it. There’s no reason to even look any further. I’m rarely this positive about an e-bike, but I’ve rarely seen this much value at this low of a price tag.
E-trikes are simply expensive. Not only is there physically more bike to produce, which increases costs to manufacturers, but they’re niche bikes and come in bigger boxes, meaning they have higher import costs and higher shipping costs to your door (which manufacturers have to eat in order to offer “free shipping”). All of that goes into the higher price found on these types of e-bikes.
But Lectric eBikes has managed to keep the price in check, which is critical for older riders on fixed budgets that can’t afford to drop $2,000- $3,000 on a bike.
It’s not the most elegant design for an e-trike, but it IS the most bang-for-your-buck. And so in that way, it seems like a clear winner for me.
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With the federal EV incentive set to expire at the end of September, Ford is urging its dealers to prepare for a rush of buyers.
Ford warns dealers of upcoming EV rush
Like most automakers, Ford is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump Administration. After the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law on July 4, the $7,500 and $4,000 tax credit for new and used EVs will no longer be available after September 30.
In a memo sent to dealers this week, Ford warned, “demand is expected to increase as the deadline approaches for eligible vehicles.”
The letter (via CarsDirect) confirmed that the EV tax credit “will no longer be available for vehicles acquired after September 30, 2025.”
Ford blamed Trump’s new bill for the expected rush of EV buyers ahead of the incentive deadline. Although the Mustang Mach-E doesn’t qualify for the credit, since it’s built in Mexico, Ford is passing it on through a leasing loophole. While it’s still available, the F-150 Lightning does qualify for the credit when purchased or leased.
Last week, Ford launched its new “Zero, Zero, Zero” summer sales promo, offering a $0 down payment, 0% interest for 48 months, and zero payments for the first 90 days on most Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
The new campaign replaces the employee pricing for all campaign, which ran through the first half of the year. Despite outpacing the industry with overall sales rising 14% in Q2, Ford’s EV sales fell by nearly a third.
Ford spokesperson Martin Gunsberg told Electrek that electric vehicle sales were lower due to the Mustang Mach-E recall and the transition to the 2025 model year. “Our dealers can’t sell what they don’t have,” Gunsberg said.
Although the Mach-E doesn’t qualify for the credit when purchased, it’s still one of the best EV lease deals available right now, starting at $395 per month. The offer is for 36 months with no down payment required.
Ford isn’t the only one preparing for big changes over the next few months. Honda extended its ultra-low lease offer on the Prologue until the end of September. Hyundai and Kia are slashing prices with generous discounts ahead of the deadline. The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 might be the best EV deal at just $179 per month right now.
Looking to snag the savings while they are still available? You can use our links below to find deals on top-selling electric vehicles in your area.
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Environment
Tesla engineer admits Tesla didn’t maintain Autopilot crash records amid trial over fatal crash
A Tesla engineer admitted in court that Tesla didn’t maintain Autopilot crash records before 2018, 3 years after launching the ADAS system, in a trial over the death of a bystander in a crash involving Autopilot.
Tesla is currently on trial in Miami over a crash involving a 2019 Tesla Model S that was operating on Autopilot.
The case attempts to place some responsibility on Tesla for creating complacency with drivers, who were led to believe Autopilot could do more than it actually could.
George McGee was driving his Model S on Autopilot in Key Largo in April 2019 when he dropped his phone and looked down to pick it up when the car blew past a stop sign at a T intersection, and crashed into a parked Chevrolet Tahoe.
22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo were standing next to the parked Tahoe. Benavides died and Angulo was seriously injured.
The police charged McGee with reckless driving, but the families of the victims sued both McGee and Tesla. McGee settled with the plaintiffs, but Tesla hasn’t.
The automaker has been sued many times over fatal crashes related to its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems. Recently, Tesla settled a few of those lawsuits, but this one is the first to make it to trial.
The plaintiffs allege that Tesla’s communications regarding Autopilot have led drivers, such as McGee, to become complacent and use Autopilot in a manner that led to this crash. They also claim that Tesla misrepresented the safety of Autopilot and failed to deploy proper driver monitoring to ensure its safe use.
The trial started on Monday and on Thursday, the jury heard testimony from Tesla software engineer Akshay Phatak who said that Tesla didn’t even complete records of Autopilot crashes before March 2018 (via Law360):
At the end of the first day of testimony, jurors watched part of the videotaped deposition of Tesla software engineer Akshay Phatak in which he said Tesla did not maintain records before March 2018 for evaluating whether it was safer to operate Tesla vehicles with the autopilot engaged or shut off.
When asked if Tesla maintained records or data before 2018 that kept track of the number of crashes that occurred per vehicle mile driven with the autopilot engaged, he replied simply, “No.”
That’s despite Tesla launching Autopilot almost 3 years prior. The jury will hear more of Phatak’s deposition today after Tesla attempted to keep it out of court over claims that it contains “sensitive trade secrets.”
Plaintiffs also challenged Tesla’s Autopilot safety report. We previously highlighted how Tesla suddenly stopped reporting the statistics and only started again a year later, while updating older data.
Dr. Mendel Singer testified on Tuesday and highlighted the discrepancy:
He noted that Tesla offered corrections to the vehicle safety report in January 2023 after finding some errors and miscounts. The crash data for when the autopilot was on stayed about the same, but the crash rate for when the autopilot was off went up by about 50% in the updated report, he said.
Mary Cummings, a professor and director of the Autonomy and Robotics Center at George Mason University and a longtime critic of Tesla’s self-driving efforts, is expected to testify today.
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General Motors and Redwood Materials are joining forces to take EV battery tech beyond the road and onto the grid. The two companies just signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding that sets the stage for turning both new and second-life GM batteries into energy storage systems to support the US’s rising electricity demand.
The collaboration aims to help the grid keep up with the surge in power-hungry applications, from AI data centers to electrified transport and industry.
“The market for grid-scale batteries and backup power isn’t just expanding, it’s becoming essential infrastructure,” said Kurt Kelty, GM’s VP of batteries, propulsion, and sustainability. “Electricity demand is climbing, and it’s only going to accelerate… GM batteries can play an integral role.”
Redwood launched a new venture in June called Redwood Energy that repurposes both new and used EV battery packs into fast and cost-effective energy storage systems. Today’s announcement allows Redwood to use second-life batteries from GM EVs and new GM battery modules to create US-built energy storage systems.
This isn’t just a future plan – it’s already happening. GM’s repurposed EV batteries are currently powering the biggest second-life battery project in the world. Located in Sparks, Nevada, Redwood’s 12MW/63MWh installation is also the largest microgrid in North America and supports Crusoe, an AI infrastructure company.
“Electricity demand is accelerating at an unprecedented pace,” said JB Straubel, Redwood’s founder and CEO. “Both GM’s second-life EV batteries and new batteries can be deployed in Redwood’s energy storage systems, delivering fast, flexible power solutions.”
And the timing couldn’t be better. AI data centers alone are expected to triple their share of US electricity use, from 4.4% in 2023 to 12% by 2028. That’s driving the urgent need for scalable, domestic energy storage.
GM and Redwood Materials say they’ll share more details on their plans later this year.
Read more: Arizona brings a huge grid battery online ahead of peak demand
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