Measuring just over 106 inches from tip to tail, and a shade under 62 inches tall and wide, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is small enough to occupy the smallest of spaces. And it's the only EV available with a convertible top. However, the 2018 model offers just 58 miles of driving range on a single charge.
Measuring just over 106 inches from tip to tail, and a shade under 62 inches tall and wide, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is small enough to occupy the smallest of spaces. And it's the only EV available with a convertible top. However, the 2018 model offers just 58 miles of driving range on a single charge.
Styling
The two-seat Smart ForTwo is one of the smallest cars on American roads. Measuring just over 106 inches from tip to tail, and a shade under 62 inches tall and wide, the small EV is small enough to occupy the smallest of spaces, from gaps in busy rush-hour traffic to overcrowded parking lots.
When the diminutive Smart ForTwo was first introduced in the United States nearly a decade ago, it assumed a somewhat novel cult status—because it was so different from anything else on the street. But with dismal press reviews and anemic sales, the odd looks of the stubby pipsqueak Smart soon started looking goofy. That image persists today—even as four inches of width were added a couple of years ago. You have to want to make a bold statement to drive a Smart—and frankly, it’s hard to know what that statement is. Small is beautiful? I don’t mind living with compromises? Perhaps Smart’s shift to exclusively focus on electric cars will lend a green tint to its persona.
Where the second-generation Smart ED (Electric Drive) was available only under an expensive lease, the third-generation version is now available under much better terms. It’s base MSRP of $25,000 makes it the most affordable electric car on the US market. The cabriolet version, the only EV with a convertible top, has a $28,000 MSRP. If you prefer leasing, that starts at $139 a month.
These prices are quite a bit higher than the gasoline powered ForTwo. With its $12,490 base MSRP or $99/month base lease, you’d be paying a $12,500 price premium for a slow performance electric car. However, the standard equipment on the Smart ED more closely match those on the Smart ForTwo Passion model, which has a base MSRP of $14,890, lowering the price premium to $10,000. Federal tax credits ($7,500), and local tax credits, will account for most of that price premium, making the effective price nearly the same between electric and gasoline powered models.
According to the EPA annual fuel cost is a miserly $600 a year, while the gasoline powered smart ForTwo costs $1,600 a year. Saving $1,000 a year on fuel will quickly pay for the remaining price premium.
Marketing the Smart Electric Drive will be an uphill battle for Daimler. It is a cute and cuddly EV, thanks to the smart ForTwo heritage. But it is hampered by weak performance stats and tiny cargo capacity in comparison to other electric offerings like the Nissan Leaf ($28,800) or Chevy Volt ($34,185).
The Smart ED curiously uses more energy than the Nissan LEAF. The Smart ED uses 32 kWh per 100 miles of driving, but the Leaf consumes only 29 kWh/100 miles. That translates into a annual fuel cost, for the LEAF, of $500 compared to the Smart ED’s $600 annual fuel cost. This leaves us scratching our head because the smaller lighter car should require less energy.
Nonetheless, the Smart ED will shine is in tight urban areas, inside cities or campuses, and other cases where high acceleration and large cargo capacity is unnecessary. While most people want a car to haul stuff around, there are many scenarios where an ultra-compact size is a blessing. For example, Daimler is deploying the Smart ED in car2go car sharing fleets in some cities. It should also play better in European cities than American, because of the differences in urban geography.
The closest competition to the Smart ED is the Fiat 500e. Both are ultra-compacts designed by Europeans for tight urban settings. Those whose needs lean in that direction might like the Smart ED. However, because the Nissan LEAF has a comparable MSRP, has a more convenient size, and is more energy efficient than the Smart ED, many may see the Leaf as the better bargain.
