Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Car

Invention has taken over the world. Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Car. A quirky hatchback, the Fortwo Electric Drive stands out in the EV world. An 80-horsepower electric motor with a single-speed transmission sends power to the tiny two-seater’s rear wheels. The battery can charge from 0 to 100 percent in three hours on a 240v charger. Features include crosswind assist for highway driving to compensate for the small size. A cabrio model is offered for top-down electric motoring. The Fortwo ED won’t be taking long trips—Smart’s estimated range is 70 to 80 miles.

 2018 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive Cabriolet  

There is a natural habitat for most of today’s electric cars, it is the city. Their comparatively short driving range doesn’t matter as much in town, and their high efficiency at lower speeds plays out as an advantage. So it’s only logical that the quintessential city car, the Smart Fortwo, is offered with an electric powertrain. The latest addition is the cabriolet version. Its fabric top can be pulled back and lowered at the touch of a button; for even more open-air feeling, the roof bars can be removed and stored in the surprisingly spacious trunk. 

At $28,750 before any possible incentives, the cabrio isn’t cheap, but the Smart never has been. Still, the Electric Drive’s price represents a big jump over the outgoing, gasoline-powered cabriolet, which stickered for $19,650, at least before Smart decided to drop its gas-powered models from the U.S. market.

Anyway, this car is about being first away from the stoplight (to everyone else’s surprise), enjoying and taking in the city, snatching the last parking spot in front of the café, and looking stylish—or nerdy, depending on one’s perspective. The Fortwo executes all of this perfectly. The new model looks beefier than the outgoing one, and there are myriad individualization options: The range of colors is vast, and the Tridion safety cell—a part of the unibody that’s made visible through the sheetmetal—can be painted to match the rest of the car or in a contrasting color.

The mid-mounted, 80-hp electric motor produces a substantial 118 lb-ft of torque and punts the colorful gumdrop to 60 mph in 11.7 seconds, says Smart. That sounds slow, but the Smart is especially quick off the line. Top speed is governed at 81 mph; it could go faster, but higher speeds would severely cut into the range.

No car parks more easily than a Smart—and not just because of its diminutive 106.1-inch length. The turning circle is a remarkable 22.8 feet. The target was to beat the Scion iQ; Smart had been embarrassed by the fact that the iQ had a smaller turning circle than the last-gen Fortwo. The iQ has since been taken off the market (as has the Scion brand), but Smart buyers still benefit from the competitive spirit that went into engineering the new model.