Best Brushless Trolling Motors of 2026: Minn Kota Ultrex Quest vs. Garmin Force Pro vs. Lowrance Ghost X

In a brushed DC trolling motor, electrical current passes through carbon brushes that make physical contact with a rotating commutator. Those brushes wear down, generate carbon dust, produce electrical noise (EMI that interferes with your sonar), and operate inefficiently at partial throttle. Brushless motors eliminate the commutator and brushes entirely — no brush wear, near-zero mechanical EMI generation, and dramatically better partial-throttle efficiency.

At 50% throttle — where most tournament anglers run their motor — a brushless motor draws roughly 50% of rated peak current. A comparable brushed motor at 50% throttle draws approximately 65–70% of peak current due to commutation losses. That difference is real runtime you get back every tournament day.

Browse all three at Pro Marine Electronics — Trolling Motors.

Motor Overviews

Minn Kota Ultrex Quest MEGA DI/SI (Brushless)

The Ultrex Quest is Minn Kota’s full platform redesign — new brushless motor, updated i-Pilot GPS with new Spot-Lock algorithm, dual voltage (24V/36V field-configurable), Power-Stow auto deploy/stow, and integrated MEGA DI/SI transducer. The dual voltage is a first for any production bow-mount trolling motor — the same physical motor operates at 24V or 36V. Ecosystem: Humminbird HELIX/SOLIX via i-Pilot Link Bluetooth and US2 integrated sonar.

Garmin Force Pro (Brushless)

The Force Pro is Garmin’s second-generation bow-mount trolling motor with improved Anchor Lock GPS algorithm, an IPS motor arm mount that positions the LiveScope LVS34 transducer directly on the motor arm, and direct control integration via GMN (Garmin Marine Network) to the connected chartplotter. The only trolling motor designed as a first-party component of the Garmin marine electronics ecosystem. Ecosystem: Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 2, GPSMAP series via GMN.

Lowrance Ghost X (Brushless)

The Ghost X is designed as an integrated system component with HDS PRO displays via NMEA 2000. Its unique design feature: Lowrance engineered the Ghost X motor to produce the lowest measurable acoustic noise of any brushless trolling motor, specifically to reduce interference with ActiveTarget 2 sonar mounted on or near the motor arm. Ecosystem: Lowrance HDS PRO, HDS Live via NMEA 2000.

Thrust and Voltage Comparison

Battery Efficiency — Real-World Runtime at 40% Throttle

The Ultrex Quest at 36V is the most efficient configuration in this comparison. LiFePO4 batteries provide ~95% usable capacity vs. AGM’s 50% — running any of these motors on AGM banks cuts effective runtime roughly in half.

GPS Anchor / Spot-Lock Precision

Minn Kota Ultrex Quest — i-Pilot Spot-Lock 2.0

Updated i-Pilot GPS with faster receiver and retuned PID control algorithm. Real-world observed hold radius in 15–18 mph wind: approximately 6–8 ft. Jog function moves the boat in 5-ft increments from Spot-Lock without breaking the lock. The brushless motor’s faster response time means the Quest reacts to GPS correction signals faster than a brushed motor at equivalent thrust.

Garmin Force Pro — Anchor Lock

Anchor Lock uses the same GPS position data that feeds the chartplotter — the motor and MFD share GPS data over the Force wireless link rather than using a separate GPS receiver. Observed hold radius in 15–18 mph wind: approximately 5–7 ft — the tightest of the three systems in calm to moderate wind. Anchor Lock positions save to chartplotter waypoints automatically — your Spot-Lock history is your waypoint map.

Lowrance Ghost X — Anchor Lock

Ghost X’s Anchor Lock achieves comparable hold accuracy to the Force Pro — approximately 6–8 ft in 15 mph wind. The Ghost X’s acoustic optimization is specifically relevant: because the motor generates the lowest measurable acoustic noise of the three systems, ActiveTarget 2 sonar mounted in close proximity shows fewer interference artifacts when the motor is running at correction thrust than either competing motor.

Decision Matrix

All three trolling motors ship from Pro Marine Electronics — Trolling Motors. Contact us to verify shaft length compatibility with your specific hull before ordering.