The Motocaddy M-Tech is the flagship model in an impressive electronic trolley lineup which has quite rightly put the brand at the top of the market in this category, alongside the equally popular Powakaddy.
Motocaddy says that the trolley delivers unrivalled performance along with luxury finishes, but with a price tag approaching £1200 it'll have to do just that to persuade golfers to part with their cash over a shiny new set of irons.
What's It All About?
The M-Tech sits right at the top of Motocaddy's electric trolley lineup and is the flagship model of the compact-folding M-Series range, which has recently added the M7 Remote and touch-screen M5 GPS trolleys to its fleet.
The M-Tech is powered by a lightweight, high capacity 36+ M-Tech Lithium battery, and high power 28V electronics which are whisper-quiet and long-lasting.
Of course, with a trolley priced at an RRP of £1199.99 most golfers are going to want some nice visible features as well as what is 'under the hood', and so the M-Tech is pretty well equipped too.
There are leather handle grips, an impressive full colour LCD screen, carbon fibre styling and polished chrome detailing throughout. You even get alloys on the wheels along with all-terrain tyres featuring Motocaddy's logo on the tread.
Features like the Automatic Downhill Control, which you often have to pay extra for, and the electronic parking brake will make your life a little bit easier out on the course whilst helping to avoid any potential disasters with a runaway trolley.
You don't want to be that golfer who has to abandon their putting routine to jog after their trolley, which has decided to carry on trundling down the next hole.
Motocaddy's compact folding system inverts the wheels to make the trolley even smaller for storage in your car, garage or locker. Like the rest of the M-Series range, Motocaddy says that the trolley can fold to 11% smaller than any of their nearest rivals.
Finally, the M-Tech benefits from the Easilock bag to trolley connection system, which allows it to house a bag without an extra strap as the bottom as the base of the bag locks straight into the trolley base for a much more secure fit.
Motocaddy Says
"The M-Tech signals the latest generation of Motocaddy trolley design. We've worked tirelessly with our designers in combining premium feel and luxury touches with the tried and tested performance benefits the brand is known for."
"We're confident the M-Tech will be a huge success. It ticks all the boxes for the golfer who wants a premium product that not only looks stunning out on the course, but also includes a host of performance-enhancing features to allow them to enjoy their game and play their best."
Oliver Churcher, Motocaddy Marketing Manager
The Test
I took the M-Tech down to Bramall Park Golf Club for a full and thorough test to give you the verdict on whether this electric trolley really does live up to the hype...
Motocaddy M-Tech Trolley Review
Looks
With a premium price tag you'd be expecting the M-Tech to look impressive as it rolls down the fairways too, and I have to say that it doesn't disappoint in this department.
With the carbon fibre styling and polished chrome around the trolley and wheels, this looks more like the latest BMW saloon rather than your average electric golf trolley!
Setup
These days, pretty much all electric trolleys are easy to set up and fold down again, so that you can quickly get it in and out of your car or locker and ready to play golf in a matter of seconds.
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The M-Tech is no different. Simply slot the wheels into place, and stand the trolley up using the chrome coloured tabs which act like hinges for the main handle and for the front wheel to fold out. Then lock them back into place, before fastening your bag on top and you're good to go.
Another really handy feature is that the battery can be charged whilst it is still in the trolley, meaning that you don't need to take it in and out of the house every time. You can also fold the trolley right down with the battery still in place which saves you an unnecessary job too.
On-Course Performance
The first thing I noticed when I set out using the trolley was just how quiet it was. This has been a general improvement across all electric trolleys over the last few years, but the M-Tech took this to another level. It was pretty much silent, which in my opinion gives it more of a premium feel. Like they used to say about Rolls Royce cars - you see it coming, but you don't hear it.
At 11.4kg this is not the lightest trolley we have ever tested but it certainly didn't feel heavy to use out on the course, and I was impressed by the overall maneuverability despite the fact that the build quality felt excellent.
There are the standard nine speed settings available which mean that you can walk as fast or as slow as you like, yet I was just as confident in the performance at full speed as I was when barely moving.
The branded M-Tech wheels did a great job of keeping plenty of grip even though there was some pretty heavy rain during my testing, although they did tend to pick up quite a bit of grass due to the tread pattern.
Motocaddy are calling them all-terrain wheels, and I'd be pretty confident of using them for most of the year regardless of conditions. Perhaps some winter trolley testing is in order!
The M-Tech also did well going up and down hills - you could really feel the trolley holding it's speed thanks to the Downhill Control without really having to yank on the handle, whereas uphill it scampered up the gradient without ever feeling like it was liable to tip.
The LCD screen, which becoming a standard on most electric trolleys these days, is extremely clear even in bright sunlight, and displays plenty of information about your round as well as a handy battery meter.
You have the main dial and button in the middle which is used to start and stop the trolley, as well as controlling the speed and adding the parking brake.
Then you can use the two side buttons to control things such as drive distance, round time and the adjustable distance control, meaning that you can set your trolley off rolling ahead of you without having to push it.
There's also a handy USB slot, although it is a little awkward to find under the handle, and this means that you can charge up your devices on the move.
I'd say the most impressive thing of all was the M-Tech's battery life. The lithium battery is named '36+' for a reason, but I would suggest that you may even sneak three or four rounds in, depending on how fast you play.
This is fantastic news for those of you who are prone to forgetting to recharge your trolley after use, or if you play a couple of times in one day or over a weekend on a golf trip, for example.
Features like this really sum up the M-Tech trolley I think. Nothing is 'stand-out' spectacular, either in terms of cosmetics or performance features, but it essentially does everything you would want a trolley to do with no fuss at all, and to a better level than any other trolley out there.
You almost begin to forget about it on your way around as it is just so easy and reliable to use. It allows you to simply focus on enjoying your round, which I suppose is the highest praise that you can give an electric trolley as that's what it's all about.
After The Round
After you've finished playing, you can simply follow the same theme of using the silver tabs to fold the trolley back down so that you can fit it back in to your car boot.
I was surprised at how compact the M-Tech actually was, and another handy feature is that when folded down, you can actually pop the wheels back on backwards so that they don't protrude, again saving a little bit of space. Again, it's little touches like this that just add to the overall user experience.
Motocaddy M-Tech Trolley Verdict
The M-Tech trolley is clearly at the top of the market when it comes to looks, ease of use and performance out on the course. It has the best battery life of any trolley I have used, and everything about it just felt like it was great quality. It's clear that Motocaddy has put plenty of effort into making sure that using it is an easy and pleasurable experience.
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Personally, however, I think that Motocaddy missed a trick in leaving out GPS functionality for this trolley. If you're going to part with over a thousand pounds for a trolley, you want it to be 'all-singing, all-dancing'.
The M-Tech certainly looks great and performs really well but without a GPS device I can't see the extra £300/£400 price tag being justified really, and so for that reason I'm afraid it's going to lose a star in my overall Golfalot rating.
You can now get the base model of Motocaddy's M5 GPS, which has the built-in GPS device and is touchscreen, for around £750, and I'd be much more inclined to go for that one and save some cash.
However if you're a golfer who wants premium quality and who likes to show off top-of-the-range equipment, with money being no object, then you can't help but feel impressed by the overall standard of the Motocaddy M-Tech.
Pros
Cons
Will be too expensive for lots of golfers
Could've included attachments such as umbrella holder as part of the overall price
An in-built GPS would've been ideal
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