Heybike Mars 3.0 review: A 30 MPH full-suspension e-bike for just $1,199?!
Heybike has just announced the launch of its new X-Series, with the Mars 3.0 and Ranger S 3.0 Pro comprising the first two big new models. Or maybe not so “big”, as they’re actually kinda compact-sized, at least for full-suspension e-bikes. They’re both 20″ wheel folding e-bikes, and they pack in a lot of performance into comfortable rides. I’ve been testing both, and today we’re jumping in with both feet to check out how well the Mars 3.0 rides.
First of all, as usual, it’s fun to start with a video review. So check out my riding experience below, then keep reading for the nitty gritty details.
Heybike Mars 3.0 Video Review
Heybike Mars 3.0 Tech specs
- Motor: 750W continuous (1,400W peak) rear geared hub motor
- Top speed: 45 km/h (28 mph), though it can technically be unlocked to go around 48 km/h or 30 mph
- Range: Claimed up to 104 km (65 mi)
- Battery: 48V 13Ah (624 Wh) battery in down tube
- Brakes: Hydraulic two-piston disc brakes on 180×2.0 mm rotors
- Transmission: 8-speed Shimano Altus
- Extras: Color LCD display, LED head & tail lights with turn signals, full-suspension, 4″ fat tires, smartphone app connectivity, passcode and NFC chip theft protection, and included fenders & rear rack
- Price: $1,299 (on sale at launch for $1,199)
More is more
Heybike has been on a roll lately with its growing lineup of electric bikes, and the new Mars 3.0 looks like it might just be the brand’s most exciting release yet. While it hasn’t yet been available to the public, I got a chance to check it out ahead of time, and based on everything we’ve seen and experienced so far, this full-suspension fat tire folder is a serious upgrade over the previous Mars. In fact, it gives nearly every other 20″ folding e-bike a serious run for its money.
The Mars 3.0, part of Heybike’s new X Series, is all about power, speed, and rider experience. It brings a beefed-up motor system, smoother folding, and suspension that actually works, plus a host of smart tech features that elevate it above your average budget folder. Here’s everything you need to know about Heybike’s newest electric mini-beast.
Powerhouse performance: the Galaxy Perform eDrive
Let’s start with what matters most to a lot of riders: power. The Mars 3.0 is built around Heybike’s proprietary “Galaxy Perform eDrive” system, and it delivers serious muscle. With a 750W nominal motor (peaking at 1,400W) and an eyebrow-raising 95Nm of torque, this thing jumps off the line harder than almost anything in its class.
Heybike claims a 0–20 mph time of just 6 seconds, and from what we’ve seen, that figure just about checks out. It’s quick, it’s punchy, and it’s powerful. That’s thanks to a nicely tuned torque sensor, which gives you more immediate and natural-feeling pedal assist than the old-school cadence systems we still see on far too many folders.
For anyone looking for more thrill, the speed limiter that comes programmed out of the box to 20 mph can be bumped to 28 mph through the Heybike App or the display. And for those who really want to live dangerously (or ride on private property), the display lets you push just a bit past 30 mph when fully unlocked. That turns the Mars 3.0 into a sort of moped-lite, ideal for riders who want motorcycle vibes without the licensing hassle, though it may push into actual moped laws in some states.
Real suspension, real comfort
It’s hard to overstate how rare it is to see real full suspension on a folding e-bike that doesn’t cost several thousand dollars. But the Mars 3.0 doesn’t just slap a spring on the back and call it a day, it uses a legitimate Horst link suspension setup in the rear and a hydraulic fork up front.
The result? A bike that actually absorbs bumps and trail chatter, instead of pogoing around or bottoming out. That makes a huge difference whether you’re tackling dirt trails or just dealing with broken city pavement.
Combine that suspension with the wide fat tires, and you’ve got a genuinely cushy ride, even at higher speeds. It’s not a downhill mountain bike, but for commuting, cruising, and exploring, it’s leagues ahead of other folders in this category.
Smart features that don’t feel gimmicky
Heybike’s recent bikes have been leaning more into tech, and in the Mars 3.0, those features actually add value.
The NFC card startup is one of those little touches that will make the bike feel more premium to some, though I find it to be a hassle. Maybe that’s because I’m usually parking somewhere safe and not worrying about e-bike theft as much, but the hassle of swiping the card or entering the PIN code is just an added step at startup for me.
That said, I’m sure a lot of people will like it, and so here is how it works. Tap the included NFC card to start, just like unlocking a Tesla. Don’t have your card handy? You can also unlock the bike via a PIN code or the Heybike app, which also gives you control over various ride settings like throttle mode, assist levels, and max speed.
The bright, full-color TFT display is easy to read and gives you all the basics: speed, battery, distance, assist level, and more, with a layout that actually feels well designed instead of thrown together.
And speaking of throttle: riders can choose whether they want it to follow the pedal assist level or always run at full power. It’s adjustable in the app and gives you more control over how you want to ride, something more e-bikes should offer. And you can even adjust how extreme you want the throttle or pedal assist ramping to feel. Want gentle starts? Set it at level 1. Want to fly off the line? Choose level 5. It’s a nice little customization feature that lets riders tune their ride instead of being stuck with whatever the company programmed.
Stops as well as it goes
Going fast is fun, but stopping fast is important too. Heybike didn’t skimp here either. The Mars 3.0 gets an upgraded hydraulic disc brake system with thick 2.0 mm rotors. Not only do they provide more bite and better heat management, but they also feel more confidence-inspiring when braking from 30+ mph.
That extra thickness means it can handle more heat and longer braking, which is important when stopping heavy bikes or descending hills, or both.
Braking is smooth, controlled, and powerful, which is crucial for a bike that accelerates this quickly and invites you to push its limits.
Drivetrain and gear shifting
The Mars 3.0 uses a Shimano Altus 8-speed setup, which isn’t top-tier, and frankly is closer to the bottom of the Shimano tier structure, but is fine for a bike at this price point. Shifting is fine and predictable, and the integration with the motor assist system is solid, gear changes are reflected in the pedal response in a way that feels natural and intuitive thanks to the torque sensor.
It’s the kind of drivetrain setup you’d normally expect on a bike like this. It’s not going to change your world, but it gets the job done.
Utility meets design
This thing is both fun and practical. The rear rack is upgraded and sturdier than the previous generation Mars e-bike, and the bike has a high weight capacity (up to 440 lbs total payload for the bike). Whether you’re hauling groceries, gear, or even a kid seat, the Mars 3.0 looks like it can handle it.
The new folding system is fast and easy, with better pivot points and a more ergonomic latch. Heybike says it takes 10 seconds to fold, and that’s not an exaggeration. It actually feels smooth and simple, which isn’t always the case with fat tire folders. Of course, the bike is heavy as hell at 70 lb (32 kg), and so sometimes the tricky part isn’t merely folding it, but manipulating it while folding it. As long as you’re relatively strong, it should be fine. Small women or others with less upper body strength may still have trouble. I can’t really imagine my wife folding this e-bike. She’s a strong woman, but there’s no amount of fortitude that can make up for the back muscles it takes to lift a 70 lb e-bike, even folded in half.
Final thoughts
The Mars 3.0 isn’t more than just a modest upgrade over the previous version. I’d call this a whole new beast. With real power, actual suspension, and smart features that make it more refined and useful, this is a folding e-bike that doesn’t ride like a compromise.
It’s not trying to be ultra-lightweight or minimalist. It’s a chunky, techy, high-speed, full-featured ride that’s more about fun and performance than portability. But hey, it still folds, which checks the box on portability… mostly.
For an incredibly reasonable $1,299 (or promotional price of $1,199) , the Mars 3.0 could end up being one of the best bang-for-your-buck full-suspension e-bikes of the year. It’s perfect for anyone who wants a powerful, full-suspension ride that doesn’t take up a ton of garage space, and who doesn’t mind the occasional speed-induced grin.
If you’re in the market for a go-anywhere, do-anything, rip-through-the-city-and-still-fold-it-up kind of e-bike that sports full suspension, the Heybike Mars 3.0 is absolutely one to watch.
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Electric vehicles have reached a tipping point in China. They now represent the majority of the new car market, surging to 51% market share.
China and electric vehicles are linked together.
The majority of the world’s electric vehicles (BEVs and PHEVs) are both built and sold in China.
In 2024, global electric car production reached around 17 million vehicles, with China accounting for about 12 million of those — over 70% of the world’s total.
Roughly 11 million of the 12 million EVs were also sold in China. The rest were exported to other markets.
This is impressive in itself, but China has a massive automotive market. How significant are these EV volumes within the market?
It turns out that electric vehicles just reached a tipping point in China.
According to registration data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), electric vehicle sales have achieved over 50% market share for each of the last five months.
Year-to-date, electric vehicles market share currently sits at 51% of new car sales in China. This is often viewed as a tipping point that quickly leads to electric vehicle sales dominating the entire market.
For example, EV sales reached over 50% market share in Norway in 2020 and by 2024, they were at 90%.
Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are also growing rapidly and already account for the majority of EV sales in China.
BEVs hold 31% market share of China’s passenger vehicle market.
Electrek’s Take
This is truly impressive. The world’s largest car market has an EV market share of over 50%. It shows the power of China. When it says “go, we are going electric”, they go electric.
They are also producing increasingly better products because EV manufacturers in China operate in the world’s most competitive EV market.
There are numerous models available, and it’s unlikely to be sustainable, but the best will rise to the top, and then they will set their sights on conquering overseas markets, which some of them are already doing.
It doesn’t bode well for automakers in North America and Europe unless they learn from China and commit fully to electric vehicles.
For example, Tesla, the largest EV company outside of China, has seen its sales decline in China year-to-date amid the surge in EV sales in the country. This is not a good sign. Tesla is not as competitive within China, even when producing its EVs locally, as it is outside of China, where the EV competition is less.
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Tesla has announced the Model Y Performance, available in Europe starting in September.
The Model Y Performance is now out in Europe, after Tesla teased a Friday announcement earlier this week. The teaser went out from Tesla’s Europe/Middle East account, but the release seems to only be in Europe, for now.
Tesla updated its European configurator today with the new Model Y Performance, along with details on what sort of upgrades the car gets over the other trim levels of the Model Y.
The basic headline stat is that the Performance model brings 0-100km/h (0-62mph) times down from 4.8 to 3.5 seconds, quite a leap (or 3.3 seconds for 0-60mph). This is thanks to the increased 460hp available on the Model Y Performance.
That higher level of horsepower doesn’t seem to greatly affect efficiency, though, as the car is still capable of 580km (360mi) range on the WLTP cycle – which, keep in mind, is more lenient than the EPA cycle. It also hasn’t lost much charging speed, according to Tesla, with the ability to add 243km (151mi) of range in 15 minutes – a better measure of efficiency, given Tesla doesn’t specify its battery capacities anymore. Though it does say it’s using “new, high-voltage battery cells.”
But the performance upgrade isn’t just more horsepower and better 0-60 times, there are some other design, interior and performance touches.
The Performance model comes with 21″ “Arachnid 2.0” wheels, a new wheel design, along with redesigned front and rear bumpers which look more aggressive and less flat.
On the inside, Tesla has added performance badging, reminiscent of the “Plaid” theme it has used on other performance vehicles, and has slightly increased the size of the front touchscreen (from 15.4 to 16 inches), with higher resolution to boot.
The front seats get an improvement, with adjustable thigh extensions for those with particularly long legs.
In terms of performance changes, Tesla added updated suspension to the Model Y Performance with electronic dampers. We saw this on the recent Model Y L which earned praise for its driving dynamics, despite being full of 6 adult passengers.
The Model Y performance includes a new mode which Tesla calls “Stability Assist Mode,” which it says allows drivers to “Customize your traction and control. Choose between Standard, Reduced or Off to give your vehicle more or less traction according to your driving style and terrain.”
This sounds like a performance tuning of the car’s stability control systems – stability control can apply brakes to individual wheels to help correct over/understeer, but can get in the way in performance driving applications.
There may be other performance-related options in there, but Tesla isn’t telling us about them yet – merely referring to them as “drive modes.”
While nobody has gotten their hands on the Model Y Performance for a driving review yet, the Model 3 Performance earned immediate rave reviews from most of those who drove it. It’s quite the performance package, and there’s pretty much nothing out there with the same sort of specs on offer for that price, gas or electric (though personally, I prefer rear-wheel drive cars and was a bit disappointed by the slightly slower steering rack post-Highland refresh).
So if the chunkier Model Y Performance can turn out similar dynamics as Tesla’s sport sedan, it will be interesting to see how it does against the likes of the Ioniq 5N and such.
As for whether or when we’ll get this model in the US: the Model Y Performance release is similar to how the Model 3 Highland and Model Y Juniper refreshes got released, each hitting Europe first before North America. However, the Model 3 Performance didn’t get the same treatment, so it’s interesting to see Europe getting the Performance Model Y first in this instance. We’ll have to see if a North American Model Y Performance release is imminent, or if it might take a few months like the Highland and Juniper did. Stay tuned.
The Model Y Performance will start shipping in September, and starts at €62k (~$73k) in Germany, with local prices varying from country to country but generally staying somewhere in that range. Head on over to Tesla’s site to check out prices in your territory (change regions/language in the upper-right of the website).
Electrek’s Take
Now here’s the question: can this help to reverse the negative momentum Tesla has in Europe?
Despite EV sales surging all across Europe, Tesla sales keep dropping, and the reason for the decline is almost entirely because of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is destroying Tesla’s brand and making it more difficult for Tesla to conduct business.
Sales are up in only a few European countries – like Norway, where we imagine this model will be plenty popular enough. And the Model Y Juniper refresh, released at the beginning of this year, hasn’t stopped the bleeding (in fact, the bleeding started right around when it was released in January… but that was probably less due to the car itself, and more due to Musk’s unambiguous Nazi salutes).
A new, whiz-bang, more expensive model will probably help with margins, and will allow some people to forget the tarnish that Musk has brought to Tesla’s reputation. It might even be the bump Tesla needs to turn around the quarter, which ends in a month, given Tesla said Performance Model Ys will be available before the end of September (where there will also likely be a sales boost in the US, due to the upcoming end of federal tax credits, an end which Musk himself stupidly enabled).
But generally, to stop a sales decline, you need to bring in base consumers, not the relatively fewer high-end ones. We very much doubt that the reason for Tesla’s decline over the last 7 months was because of the lack of a performance model – so this might help a bit, but the deeper issue is Tesla’s bad CEO.
Nevertheless, if you’re one of the ones who can look past Musk’s actions (I can’t), feel free to use our referral code.
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Chrysler parent company Stellantis is sinking billions on electric Jeeps and Chargers that no one wants, but the they’ve developed market-leading EVs in Europe, and this latest, £36,995 DS Automobiles No4 is exactly the sort of electric crossover that could rejuvenate the brand’s American prospects. The only question now is: why won’t they bring it here?
Both the Dodge and Jeep-branded Stellantis EVs are being offered with huge discounts in a bid to generate some kind of market interest, but the company’s American product and marketing teams seem to be deeply confused about what the market actually wants. Over in Europe, though, Stellantis’ EVs are hot sellers – and this latest five-passenger crossover from the company is expected to steal even more sales from the Model Y.
The new all-electric No4 E-Tense model from Stellantis’ French brand DS Automobiles will be offered at three trim levels starting with the Pallas at £36,995 (approx. $48K US), rising to £39,160 for the Pallas+ and topping out at £41,860 (approx. $56K US, before incentives get applied) for the range-topping Etoile.
All three trims use a front-mounted electric motor rated at 213 hp, drawing from a 58.3‑kWh battery pack. That setup delivers up to 280 miles on the WLTP cycle (about 240 miles by EPA estimates). That feels like a lot of miles from a relatively small battery, aided no doubt by the DS No4’s aerodynamic. Inside the No4’s sculpted flanks is enough room for five adults and a bunch of their stuff, as well as an incredibly sexy dash and infotainment layout that (in the official press photos, at least) seems positively slathered in Alcantara (think “vegan suede”).
With 120 kW fast charging capabilities, the No4’s battery pack can replenish from 20 to 80 percent in under 30 minutes. Thanks to built‑in V2L/V2X tech, the No4 can also supply power back to external devices.
Electrek’s Take
I think it would be a hit. As for why the marketing gurus at whatever’s left of the old Chrysler corporation seem to think an electric muscle car that no one asked for or a Dodge-branded Alfa Romeo that no one will ever ask for is a better use of their marketing dollars – that’s simply beyond me.
Maybe you guys know? Check out these photos of the new DS No4, then scroll on down to the comments and let us know what you think of Stellantis’ US product plans, and whether or not they messed up canceling the Airflow after all.
SOURCE | IMAGES: DS Automobiles.
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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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