2015 Smart Fortwo Review

No wonder car parks feel so tight, so claustrophobic! Statistics have shown that fender-bender accidents are far more likely to occur in the chaotic environment that is the supermarket or mall. You really do get the feeling that drivers are literally battling for spaces to park, that they are willing to lay down their lives in exchange for groceries or an afternoon of shopping. But the reality is that today's motorists have to squeeze ever larger cars into fewer spaces, plus there are many more trips to make than there were a decade ago.

But fret not, fellow struggling motorist, because autoevolution has found a cool solution to this problem in the 2015 Smart Fortwo. It's a brand new generation of the car everybody loves to hate and it's better than ever.

Forgive us for getting sidetracked for a second, but we want to make a quick movie reference that we think is 100% relevant for our review. Ask anybody which is his favorite character from hit television series Game of Thrones and he will most likely point towards Tyrion Lannister, also referred to as "The Imp" or "The Halfman" and played to perfection by Peter Dinklage.

The Fortwo is a car that practically invented its own niche. Since it hit the market back in 1998, Daimler has built and sold about 1.6 million of these things and yet somehow never managed to make a profit along the way. But just like in story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, where the third porridge bowl is "just right", the Fortwo Mk3 seems to have found the perfect setting.

A lot of things have changed over the past 16 years since the Smart brand was launched. In that time, many companies have aggressively targeted us motorists suffering from parking claustrophobia. Sure, they're not as small as the Fortwo, but make no mistake, the Scion iQ or the Volkswagen Up! are competent cars. After sticking over a decade and a half with the same platform, Smart needed a new edge over its competitors and it has found it with the help of French carmaker Renault.

The Megane and Clio people also needed to build a successor to their smallest car, the Twingo, and after shaking corporate hands, the companies started work on a brand new rear-engined platform. After a pretty serious session of testing, Daimler finally revealed the all-new Fortwo in July 2014. We were more than a little excited to test it and share our thoughts with you guys.

Our first impressions are that this is a substantial improvement over the model it replaces. Just like Tyrion Lannister, the 2015 Fortwo accepts what it is, a really small two-seater designed for the densest of urban environments. From bumper to bumper, this model is exactly the same length as the old one, but the width has been increased significantly to give you more elbow room and superior cornering characteristics. Build quality is another strong selling point. Yes, there's a lot of plastic, but it feels like a smartphone rather than a recycled water bottle.

The new FUN.ctional design language has, we think, drastically helped the look of the car. From the front, it appears masculine and strong… well, not entirely masculine, more like unisex, like the current Volkswagen Beetle. Daimler has clearly paid attention to what customers have been saying and designed something that's not embarrassing to be seen in. The 2015 Fortwo feels premium to the touch and you really can make the connection with the Mercedes parent company. Depending on how deep your pockets are, sexy LED daytime running lights, jewel-like taillights, two-tone paint and alloy wheels can be added.

Our test car had the Edition #1 package, available for a limited time to celebrate the launch of the model. The 16-inch wheels looked great in gloss black as well, but when we got them, they already had little scratches, revealing their vulnerability. In this trim, the Fortwo comes with white body panels and Lava Orange Tridion safety cell. It's a real eye-catcher and it got many admiring comments from women. You know what they say, if you want to attract men, get a Dodge Viper, and if you want to pick up women, get a Smart.

The major difference between the Fortwo and its bigger brother, the 2015 Forfour, is that the two doors are frameless and the tailgate is split, like on a BMW X5 or Range Rover. Inside, you can definitely notice an increase in elbowroom, though you can't exactly have a picnic in there. It's amazing how much space there is in the new Smart, despite the fact that you can reach out and touch the front and rear windshields at the same time. It's like Aladdin's cave in there!

Our test car had an orange dash, covered in a mesh fabric similar to the one used on sports trainers. The steering wheel was covered in leather, perforated on the sides, while the aluminum pedal set gave a very sporty feel. Unlike the Forfour we tested, the 2-door didn't come with leather seats or that large 7-inch touchscreen. And you know what? We didn't miss them at all. Keep the cash and spend it on something else, because leather in a Smart is about as useful as sunglasses indoors.

From footwell to tailgate, the Fortwo dedicates a massive 75% of its available space to the interior. That's impressive, though the trunk remains on the small side of things. Because the engine continues to be at the back, the trunk floor is very high and the total capacity is only 190 liters (6.7 cubic feet), which is actually 5 liters (0.17 cubic feet) more than on the Forfour. It's enough for a week's shopping for one person, but fitting larger items, like electronics or flat pack furniture, is pretty much out of the question. The Fortwo is best used as a second car, not the main family vehicle.

While we're on the subject of niggling problems, taller passengers may complain about the limited headroom and the narrow seats might be snug for some. Another problem we never expected the Fortwo to have are the doors. They're almost as long as the car itself, which means that opening them on the traffic side could be dangerous. It's not Smart's fault, but you should know that 5-door city cars like the Citroen C1 or VW Up! don't have this issue.

Another problem is that the seatbelts are located too far back. Even flexible people will find reaching them a stretch. And if you don't buckle up, the car chimes and chirps away, even if the gearbox is in neutral. Apparently, it's very dangerous to be standing still without being strapped in. Finding a comfortable driving position can also be tricky, as the steering wheel doesn't adjust for reach.

Compared to the previous two generations, the new Smart Fortwo is easier to drive around town. In fact, this is by far the most maneuverable car we've driven in a very long time. Because there's no engine at the front, the wheels have a lot more room to turn, translating into a reduced of the turning circle to just 6.95 meters (22.8 feet), a new benchmark even for Smart. Thanks to the 100 mm wider track (approximately 4 inches), the cornering characteristics are much better than those of the previous two models, but the car is by no means perfect.

Stepping from the larger Forfour into the micro model, we were shocked by how the suspension behaved over bumps. The damping is good, but the springs are supercar-hard and encourage you to drive slowly or look out for every possible pothole and avoid it.

While the suspension was not happy with the shrinking process, the powertrains do a much better job on the lighter Fortwo than on its big brother. Three engines are available, all of them shared with the Renault Twingo and the 2015 Forfour. All three have three cylinders and run on gasoline. The first two units displace 1 liter and deliver either 61 or 71 hp. There's also a 0.9-liter turbo available that makes 90 hp and noticeably more torque, but you don't actually need it. I know that's a weird thing to say, but virtually no Hyundai or Toyota model has a turbo petrol engine. Neither does the Volkswagen Up!. One word: reliability.

Because the micro model has shaved 95 kilograms (209 lbs) by ditching the rear seats and doors, two seconds have been cut from the 0 to 100 km/h time of the 1.0-liter with 71 hp. The Fortwo takes 14.9 seconds to reach the benchmark speed, compared to 16.9 seconds for its big brother. In reality, you never feel the need to go that fast, but leaving the line is easier and keeping up with faster traffic is possible.

Despite the driver sitting much closer to the engine, the noise this makes is a little less noticeable than in the Forfour. We think this is because the smaller cabin doesn't resonate as much, though listening to music or holding a conversation can still be interrupted by the odd burble.

For now, all engines are mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, which you control using a Renault gearstick, a somewhat imprecise and notchy unit (though not as bad as some Peugeots we've driven). Some time in 2015, the automatic version will arrive and it will do away with the robotized clutch-dumper of old, replacing it with a new 6-speed "double-clutch transmission" marketed under the name Twinamic.

Speaking of the future, a Brabus model will be launched next summer, probably powered by a re-tuned version of the 0.9-liter turbo. A convertible version is also on the way, as well as an electric version, scheduled for 2016. In America, the only engine that will be offered is the 0.9 force-induced unit, though a small drop in power could be announced.

Thanks to electrically assisted steering and nonexistent overhangs, parking is absurdly easy in the 2015 Smart Fortwo. You can even order rear sensors that allow you to access spots that other motorists can't. However, at 2.69 meters (106 inches) in length, this model doesn't fit perpendicular to the curb like the first generation could.

We wanted to see just how easy it is to find parking space in the Fortwo, so we applied a dab of handbrake and managed to get our tester in the small gap between two BMW X3s, much to the amazement of the owners who watched the whole stunt.

On the open road, the 2015 Fortwo feels noticeably more planted than its predecessors. The wider track ensures you take corners with extra confidence, but the car still lacks the legs to do serious motorway work. Another problem we encountered is that, because the 1-liter engine lacks a serious punch, it needs to stay above 3,000 rpm all the time, which hampers fuel consumption in a rather big way. Just like its bigger brother, the Fortwo burns more fuel on motorway journeys than it does in the city, where it belongs.

After 100 kilometers on the highway (62 miles), the Fortwo had burned 6.5 liters of gasoline (36.18 mpg US), 0.8 more than in the city (41 mpg US). Needless to say, both numbers are about 50% higher than the claimed ones, something all cars seem to suffer from these days. The tiny 28-liter (7 gallons) tank is another indication that it's designed for people who never want to stray more than a few kilometers away from the nearest Starbucks.

That's not to say Smart have built a bad car. The 5-speed manual turbo model is quoted as running 100 km/h in only 10.4 seconds, and has a higher top speed, so it's the one to go for if out-of-town trips are frequent.

With the price of crude oil at near record low levels, this car makes more sense as a fashion statement than a fuel saver. The Fortwo's simple petrol engines fail to match the impressive numbers set by today's diesels or hybrids. If an eco car is what you're after, than at least consider waiting for the electric drive model. We wouldn't though – if this is the second family car, fuel economy isn't as important as the buying price and practicality, both of which the EV would struggle with.

If you're looking for an efficient, small car, the Toyota Yaris Hybrid or the Peugeot 208 e-HDI offer better real-world mileage and cost about the same as our relatively well equipped Fortwo Edition #1.

Does the new Fortwo have party tricks? Yes, a few, though none are groundbreaking. As we've mentioned, the boot lid splits and you can sit on the lower part, just like with a Range Rover, at least if you're not fat. In the middle of the speedometer lies a small display with Mercedes-like graphics that shows all sort of cool graphs, while the air condition control unit is intuitive and very sexy. The list of standard equipment includes crosswind assist, more airbags than before, a tire pressure monitor and a useful hill start assist. Optionally, you can order forward collision and lane-keep assistance systems, both of which have very limited use in the real world.

Which brings us to the controversial subject of safety. In the real world, this is a much safer car than its predecessors. Daimler has used a lot more high-strength steel to make the cell as robust as possible. However, Euro NCAP tests have become much more stringent of late, so the 2015 Fortwo only received four out of the maximum five stars. Of particular noteworthiness is the fact chest protection in the side pole test was deemed weak, meaning you could suffer a serious injury. The European crash test specialists also expressed their "concerns over the robustness of protection provided by the current seat-mounted head/thorax airbag," which Daimler has promised to fix by the end of March 2015.

As this is strictly a two-seater, no tests were carried out with child dummies. However, installing a baby seat is said to be easy and the passenger airbag can be turned off. Just like we do, Euro NCAP believes most Fortwos won't be sold with lane departure warning because of the extra cost, so it wasn't included in the assessment.

We definitely don't want to be unkind to the safety engineers. The new Fortwo was subjected to the same development program as the new C-Class and because this is a car for the global market, four times more tests were reportedly carried out than is mandatory for Europe-only cars. A clear focus was placed on car-to-car tests to ensure crumple zone compatibility with taller vehicles like SUVs.

So which model should you buy? Well, the Basic trim level starts at €10,335 in Germany, but we'd definitely avoid that. Our test car (with the €2,600 Edition #1, the LEDs and parking sensors) would set you back €16,500, which frankly is too much money. You can probably get a new Opel Astra for that, but for some people, you simply can't put a price on cheeky looks and urban mobility.

This could very well be the crowning moment for Europe's youngest car brand. It's the "eureka" that could bring them profits, huge sales in China and global recognition. And yet, because of the hard suspension and the Forfour being only about 600 euros ($730) more expensive, we find it hard to recommend the 2015 Fortwo to the majority of buyers. However, it makes perfect sense as a second car for those living in densely populated cities like Tokyo, Beijing or Paris. Smart have built a car that's better in nearly every way than its predecessors, so the 1.6 million people who have ordered one since 1998 now have a good reason to trade into the newer model.