SMART Fortwo Electric Drive Review

It’s an EV, so it’s quiet, but not as quiet as you think. Yes, the starting process is a dull mix of deaf beeps and… nothings, but the acceleration process, although a modest one, does bring a bit of drama. First of all because the car squats pretty much as you gather speed and then because, on the inside, it’s not as quiet as you might think – the increasing tone of the electric wine is constantly there. In addition to that, the lack of power interruption –the transmission only has one gear - feels pretty nice.

As for the braking part, this, of course, combines regenerative braking, which can be found in the first part of the pedal travel, with hydraulic one, which kicks in when you really need stopping power. Of course, you can always use the “engine brake” – take your foot off the accelerator and the car will start to slow down.

The electrification has brought a 300 pounds (136 kg) disadvantage for the smart and this can be felt a little bit in terms of ride quality (the road’s imperfections upset the body more now), as well as in handling (only a little bit)

However, inside the city, the smart Electric Drive feels nimble, allowing you to keep up with traffic and dance through it, just don’t try to overtake as you’ll be rather disappointed. You know what? It doesn’t feel all that much different from a normal smart.

The car I’m diving now is still a prototype, with one of the drawbacks being that the top speed is limited to 62 mph. I need to take a brake – it’s so easy to find a parking spot since you’re in a smart!

OK, we’ll leave Andrei to enjoy his coffee or whatever he stopped for, but before I go, I have to tell you that the car won’t enter mass production until next year and the whole story is complicated, as smart will lease it.

It doesn’t make so much sense to use one of these EVs that offer rather poor performance if you really enjoy spending time behind the wheel, but they can cater to the usual city traveling needs and offer a good starting point for the proper eco cars that us electrons are waiting for.