Photo: Guido ten Brink/SB-Medien
Even though smart bills the forease+ as a concept, the truth of the matter is that you’re looking at a fortwo cabrio with modifications. The sort of modifications that would make the aftermarket from China blush with admiration.
Where it’s all too obvious the forease+ isn’t special is the interior. This is the place where you’ll find a steering wheel that makes no sense, an infotainment system borrowed from Renault, and the bone-stock air vents.
The gear lever and air-conditioning buttons are also standard, along with the indicator stalks and every bit of plastic trim imaginable. Since smart shares lots of parts with the Twingo, high-quality materials aren’t on the agenda.
Elements that strike a discordant chord from the fortwo cabrio include the ducktail spoiler and orange canvas top, along with full-LED headlamps and taillamps. As expected of smart, the forease+ concept also happens to be all-electric.
The grille, both bumpers, and orange exterior accents set the forease+ apart from the EQ fortwo cabrio, as does the rear aerodynamic diffuser finished in matte silver. A bespoke badge on the tailgate rounds off the list of modifications, and all in all, we’re not impressed.
As you can tell from the images in Geneva, few people stopped to look or ask for information about the forease+ at the smart stand. This mirrors the lack of interest in the automaker’s production models, which will go all-electric in the near future.
The EQ fortwo cabrio uses a 17.6-kWh battery and 60-kW electric motor driving the rear wheels, translating to 4.9 seconds to 60 km/h and a range of 154 to 160 kilometers. At 21,490 euros from the get-go, would you take the smart or something such as the Renault Zoe (21,900 euros excluding the plug-in grant)?
Unless smart drops the price of its models, there’s no denying that people will cross-shop something cheaper, roomier, and alternatives with longer driving range. Even for urban dwellers, 160 kilometers isn’t enough in this day and age.
The gear lever and air-conditioning buttons are also standard, along with the indicator stalks and every bit of plastic trim imaginable. Since smart shares lots of parts with the Twingo, high-quality materials aren’t on the agenda.
Elements that strike a discordant chord from the fortwo cabrio include the ducktail spoiler and orange canvas top, along with full-LED headlamps and taillamps. As expected of smart, the forease+ concept also happens to be all-electric.
The grille, both bumpers, and orange exterior accents set the forease+ apart from the EQ fortwo cabrio, as does the rear aerodynamic diffuser finished in matte silver. A bespoke badge on the tailgate rounds off the list of modifications, and all in all, we’re not impressed.
As you can tell from the images in Geneva, few people stopped to look or ask for information about the forease+ at the smart stand. This mirrors the lack of interest in the automaker’s production models, which will go all-electric in the near future.
The EQ fortwo cabrio uses a 17.6-kWh battery and 60-kW electric motor driving the rear wheels, translating to 4.9 seconds to 60 km/h and a range of 154 to 160 kilometers. At 21,490 euros from the get-go, would you take the smart or something such as the Renault Zoe (21,900 euros excluding the plug-in grant)?
Unless smart drops the price of its models, there’s no denying that people will cross-shop something cheaper, roomier, and alternatives with longer driving range. Even for urban dwellers, 160 kilometers isn’t enough in this day and age.
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