Official smart fortwo electric drive thread

[freeewilly]

In and around Pasadena, I see electric smarts more often than the gas version. I also see FIat 500e's more than the gas version. In fact, I see the 500e more than the leaf some days! :shock:

Because SMART EV drives better, handles better, cost of leasing is much cheaper with government incentives and get to drive in HOV lane. Perfect for busy street and small parking in Pasadena.

I don’t know why anyone will want an ICE Smart over EV except range.

 

[redLEAF]

In and around Pasadena, I see electric smarts more often than the gas version. I also see FIat 500e's more than the gas version. In fact, I see the 500e more than the leaf some days! :shock:

Because SMART EV drives better, handles better, cost of leasing is much cheaper with government incentives and get to drive in HOV lane. Perfect for busy street and small parking in Pasadena.

I don’t know why anyone will want an ICE Smart over EV except range.

Bingo ... its the range as well as the cost of entry. At only 68 miles on a full charge, in 'moderate' and certainly not cold weather it just wasn't enough ... not mentioned much earlier but we traded in an '08 smart fortwo passion coupe for a '14 smart fortwo cabrio over last summer. They have made some decent strides in the trans shifting dept. with these and the cabrio model is actually a lot of fun (plus top down available) to drive. The out the door price with the trade-in was just too good to pass up and this is mostly my wife's car anyway -- range on the ICE version is between 350 and 375 miles (typical MPG in the mid to upper 40's). We bought ours right off the showroom floor --- a smart no doubt is an acquired taste, either ICE or EV and having owned one for 6 years we had something to compare when I test drove both --- yes the EV version has zero shifts but basically rides pretty much the same as the ICE and the '14 does it better than the '08.

I'm still not so sure about the next gen version so we were happy to buy this one -- access to a 'pure' manual or perhaps smoother shifting auto as well as if the next gen gets better EV range can wait about the 6 years like we had with our '08 --- very few issues and pretty much routine maintenance so we'll see where the smart brand goes as a happy owner ... the Chicago auto show is coming up so will be interesting to see if they bring any next gen cars to see

 

[RonDawg]

No new smart ED until at least 2016 ... and then who knows how long the U.S. will get it ...

http://www.worldcarfans.com/114080479152/smart-forfour-electric-drive-confirmed-slated-for-2016

Could be even as late as "early 2017" according to:

http://www.autoblog.com/2015/01/15/aging-smart-fortwo-ed-sold-alongside-new-ice-model/#image-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Until then, the old bodystyle with EV powertrain will continue to be sold alongside the redesigned ICE version, which is due to be available soon.

 

[LeftieBiker]

The Smart ED is my fallback option if I can't afford to lease a Leaf or iMiev (or buy an iMiev). The timing might work out so they offer a cheap lease to clear the lots of the Gen I ED...

 

[mwalsh]

The Smart ED is my fallback option if I can't afford to lease a Leaf or iMiev (or buy an iMiev). The timing might work out so they offer a cheap lease to clear the lots of the Gen I ED...

The Gen 1 ED is a pokey thing. I wouldn't want one unless it was massively cheap!

 

[GRA]

The Smart ED is my fallback option if I can't afford to lease a Leaf or iMiev (or buy an iMiev). The timing might work out so they offer a cheap lease to clear the lots of the Gen I ED...

The Gen 1 ED is a pokey thing. I wouldn't want one unless it was massively cheap!

IIRR the current version is V2 or even V3.

 

[mwalsh]

The Smart ED is my fallback option if I can't afford to lease a Leaf or iMiev (or buy an iMiev). The timing might work out so they offer a cheap lease to clear the lots of the Gen I ED...

The Gen 1 ED is a pokey thing. I wouldn't want one unless it was massively cheap!

IIRR the current version is V2 or even V3.

Yes, but the first one wasn't available in the US; wasn't available outside a small test fleet where it was available; and also wasn't called the Smart ED. So the one we did get here eventually should probably be considered the 1st generation. Or at least that's what I consider it to be in the context of responding to the previous poster. YMMV.

 

[LeftieBiker]

So how does the *first widely available* Smart ED perform? I love having the low speed power my Leaf has, but don't use it that much anymore.

 

[mwalsh]

So how does the *first widely available* Smart ED perform? I
love having the low speed power my Leaf has, but don't use it that much anymore.

I did a review a few pages back...I had a real hard time keeping up with a LEAF. It sucked.

 

[Anonymous]

So how does the *first widely available* Smart ED perform? I love having the low speed power my Leaf has, but don't use it that much anymore.

The Smart ED is quick and fun to drive. I've blogged my driving experience :
http://mysmartelectricdrive.blogspot.ca/2014/10/the-smart-fortwo-electric-is-fun-to.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Car and Driver performance testing shows the Smart ED is a match for the current crop of city range EV's in the performance department.
Personally, this car is every bit as much fun to drive as some of the performance cars I've owned, mostly because it's a "sleeper" and fun to shock people with the quick acceleration at low speeds.

Fun car. Easy to park. Very cheap to run. Thousands cheaper than a Leaf. They don't compete, you either need 5 passengers or you don't.

 

[eloder]

So how does the *first widely available* Smart ED perform? I love having the low speed power my Leaf has, but don't use it that much anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDpEGH2Z_Ew" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They really don't do too poorly performance wise, and their lease price is absolutely unparalleled ($430 due at signing, $142 a month for my order with a few options included). Their 0-60 is one of the faster non-Tesla EV accelerations out there using the Kickdown feature. Kickdown is a smart (ICE and ED) feature that isn't available in poor weather conditions, low charge, and can't run for more than two minutes straight.

The super low turning circle and turn-taking ability, much lower center of gravity, and lack of transmission makes for a really awesome ride. I was able to test drive one a few months back, own a gas smart now, and have an electric on order.

I've also heard that the recuperation paddles are insanely fun and are a must-have if you do a custom smart order.

Plus you get all the standard fun smart stuff like being able to do just about anything you want in traffic, park anywhere you want (if you ever venture into a semi-major city, this is a HUGE bonus point), park a third car into your two car garage, and so on.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I spent some time looking at test drives on YouTube, and my main remaining question is 'What is the top speed?' I swear one guy said it was 62 on the gen 1 or 2 model he was driving. What is it now?

 

[eloder]

I spent some time looking at test drives on YouTube, and my main remaining question is 'What is the top speed?' I swear one guy said it was 62 on the gen 1 or 2 model he was driving. What is it now?

78 on the current generation.

 

[LeftieBiker]

Thanks. That's quite fast enough for a car that size.

 

[eloder]

Thanks. That's quite fast enough for a car that size.

I've gone 90 in my gas smart on a few occasions

 

[redLEAF]

A more in-depth discussion on the next gen smart ... not surprisingly, they mention the most popular U.S. city markets for smart (Q/A dialogue with smart's CEO):

Q: Looking ahead to the next several years, what are your sales goals for Smart? Or what would success look like?

A: We don’t report predictions in numbers, but we are expecting considerable growth specifically in certain U.S. cities where we know that Smart fits perfectly. It’s not only rational—like density and parking spaces—but it’s also the culture, that you have this open-minded culture. And those cities, like San Francisco or Portland—we have them in China, we have them in Europe—we have 80 percent of our U.S. sales in only four cities. And focusing on these four cities, we will accelerate.

In the U.S., that’s Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, and San Diego. Everyone understands why, directly, without saying more. And if I were to say for Europe: Barcelona, Munich, Vienna, Rome, Milano, Paris. Same thing; all these are cities with high traffic density and this ‘cultural’ approach.


http://www.thecarconnection.com/new...mart-ceo-on-u-s-details-fortwo-electric-drive

 

[freeewilly]

I spent some time looking at test drives on YouTube, and my main remaining question is 'What is the top speed?' I swear one guy said it was 62 on the gen 1 or 2 model he was driving. What is it now?

I have a 2014 SMART EV, I reach to top speed of 82 daily.

 

[derkraut]

Freeewilly: I hope you don't pick up a bunch of speeding tickets.

 

[RonDawg]

Freeewilly: I hope you don't pick up a bunch of speeding tickets.

Maybe he lives in Utah (80 MPH maximum posted limit) or Texas (85 MPH maximum posted limit). Of course at that speed, you're not going to go very far.

 

[redLEAF]

Not a real surprise but more and more publications mentioning this ...

New 2016 Smart ForTwo Will Keep Older Electric Drive Model In Lineup

http://www.greencarreports.com/news...ill-keep-older-electric-drive-model-in-lineup