Smart Fortwo: second generation is smarter than the first

When Mercedes first started this sub-brand, even it can’t have fully envisaged just how relevant a Smart car with an electric drivetrain would be in 2017

While the first-generation Fortwo Cabriolet Electric Drive was good, it had its limitations. Those limits have been pushed back by this new model.

When you hop in, and it’s easy to do, you realise that the new car is larger, in fact a whole 110mm wider, which makes it feel far more grown-up. There’s more stowage, a smarter dashboard and a useful 7in touchscreen controlling the integrated TomTom. It feels like just the place to go from one side of the city in some style.

The new electric motor is similar to the one in the Renault Zoe, and makes 81bhp and a relatively substantial 118lb ft of torque. That’s up on the first model, and it has a new battery pack that sits low under the seat for a great centre of gravity. That also allows another 10 miles of range, giving you a claimed range of 96 miles.

This is a city car, so you’ll need to be in a situation where you can recharge it easily, but Smart reckons a 2.5 hour charge using fast-charge software will give you a full battery ready to go again.

So this isn’t a car you’re going to want to use for pounding down the motorways, but in city streets you’d rather be in this than say a BMW 5 Series. Horses for courses, depending on your lifestyle. If you do need to spend time in congested, narrow streets, then the Fortwo Cabriolet ED is just the mode of transport.

You’ll love traffic lights, because you dash away from them like you’re in a very hot hatch. Up to about 40mph it feels really quite quick, with a big electric shove delivered in near silence. The electric motor works incredibly smoothly and seamlessly, making this a far more attractive option than the petrol-version.

As mentioned, the battery is set low which helps, along with the wider stance and the firmer suspension to give a far better control of body roll and bump absorption. Throw it into a corner and it zips round like a chimp on rollerblades. It’s so manoeuvrable it’s almost laughable. It has the smallest turning circle of any current series production car. If you want to nip, then this is the nippiest way to do so.

And, if the sun is shining, you can open the cloth roof automatically and then, for true open-top motoring, you can detach the header rails. It all seems so simple and straightforward, and easy. This really is progress for electric cars. Sure, it’s not great for longer journeys, and you can only take two people and not a lot of luggage, but for what it’s designed for, it’s very good indeed. We can’t think of a real-world situation where we’d prefer to own the petrol version rather than this very Smart Fortwo Cabriolet ED.

Smart Fortwo Cabriolet Electric Drive

Price £18,650 (including government EV grant)
Engine Synchronous electric motor
Power 80bhp
Torque 118lb ft
Gearbox Single speed
Kerb weight 1040kg
Top speed 81mph
0-62mph 11.8sec
Range 96 miles
CO2/BIK tax band 0g/km, 7%
Rivals Volkswagen e-Up, Renault Zoe

Graham Scott is a writer for AutoCar.