Making the Smart EV Choice

Heads turn as Roland Rendell rolls up in smart’s latest EV - The Smart Fortwo Electric Drive

Shrouded in ‘Crystal White’ paintwork, the smart Electric Drive car that arrived was made all the more striking thanks to the Electric Green tridion safety cell and matching door mirrors. As for its ‘footwear’, the funky look was complimented by white 15” 9-spoke alloys. A real head-turner for sure, but how would it compare to the other EVs I’ve had the pleasure of driving? Yet again, I was impressed with the room I get in such a small car. The doors aren’t quite as big as those I found on the VW up! but they’re not far off. A quick scan reveals black upholstery, with the same Electric Green trim. In front of me I have a 4-spoke leather steering wheel, with cruise control buttons and ‘flappy paddles’ that smart calls a soft touch automatic gear programme, with kickdown function. Interesting – an EV with the ability to ‘shift’ gears.

I had heard that just because of the cold, you can lose charge overnight. Rumour or fact? I was soon to find out. A couple of smaller dials were mounted on the top of the dashboard. One, called ‘Power’ indicates how you are actually driving the car, and ‘Battery’ tells you what remains in the lithium-ion, Tesla developed battery.

Although I’ve driven countless EVs, the silent acceleration still takes me by surprise. All-round vision is fine, and the panoramic sunroof adds good light and helps considerably.
    
I spend the next few days driving to-and-from the office, taking the odd dual carriageway to really open the car up. This is the third-generation of the Electric Drive, and although I never drove its predecessor, I have been told the 0-62 was a very sluggish 26.7 seconds. Imagine my surprise when I reach this in little over 11 seconds – a huge improvement. This car is quite happy at higher speeds, with its 78mph top speed capability meaning you can comfortably change lanes and overtake, without boy-racers tailgating with lights-a‑flashing. All this is thanks to the new 55bhp electric motor, with 130Nm of torque.
    
As with all EVs, the regenerative braking means that you can ‘learn’ how to maximise the performance and drag-out the battery life between charges. Once you learn what this car is capable of, you begin to adapt your driving accordingly, gauging distances and letting the car do the work, in terms of slowing itself down, without having to apply too much, or any, brake. As far as the driving of this car goes, it’s a winner, but how does recharging fair? As you’d expect, it’s nice and simple – just plug it in and leave it.  Seven hours will give you a full charge, or it can be rapid-charged in an hour.  With the Congestion Charge exemption and free parking opportunities, you can see why this starts to stack up financially. However, beware on cold nights – don’t get caught out. If you recharge every night, fine, but if you don’t and it’s very cold (it was minus three degrees when I had it), I noticed that the car seemed to lose around five percent of its charge overnight.
    
You can buy the basic model, including VAT, delivery and plates, for £15,395. And this means you own the ‘whole’ car outright. However, the battery comes with just a three year warranty, so you may want to consider buying the car for £11,500(ish) and leasing the battery for around £55 per month.
    
Overall, a great little car that I am sure will make a big noise in the EV market. If you want the Roland Rendell opinion, I would say this: If you fancy an EV... make the smart choice.

Details
Engine: 55bhp electric motor
CO2: 0g/km
MPG (combined): Equivalent to 300mpg
VED: Band A
BIK: 0%
Price (OTR): £15,395 (inc VAT)