Emission impossible
Smart goes pure electric. Makes perfect sense. Result
Every facelift takes the ForTwo further away from the original’s neat trick of being both cheekily diminutive and satisfyingly sharp suited. The extra blobbiness added to that unfortunate hooter is a side show this time around, however; the big news for 2020 is electrification. Not as in: ‘ta-dah’ – electric Smarts have been humming about since 2007. But as in: henceforth that’s the only powertrain with which a Smart will be armed.
The powertrain comprises a 17.6kWh, 96-cell lithium-ion battery which can lob 81bhp and 118lb ft at the rear wheels, and give a range of about 70 miles. Recharging from 10 to 80 per cent takes less than 40 minutes using a rapid charger, or three hours and 18 minutes using a home wallbox.
The EQ surges off the line with sucient alacrity to mollify city dwellers, a quoted 0-37mph dash of 4.8 seconds being rather more relevant than the 11.6 seconds required to reach 62mph, and entirely more so than the rest-of-your-life required to struggle on to a claimed 81mph maximum speed.
A new interior is hallmarked by a dashboard assaulted with a giant ice cream scoop (sadly, the UK won’t benefit from zanier finishes such as ‘Alvar Aalto wooden salad bowl’), a seven-inch touchscreen, Renault switchgear and, oh the nostalgia, just the single crab-eye-stalked dashtop dial detailing matters electrical.
The seats are firm and the ride will, I fear, prove pretty tough on UK roads: surely urban thudabouts should major in comfort? Especially since little can be said of the steering other than it alters your course with ease, there’s still a dollop of bodyroll on offer through bends, and wet tram lines and road paint are enough to set the tyres stepping sideways – unalarmingly, albeit pretty early on in proceedings. The brakes, meanwhile, are so over-servo’d that your passenger will be retrieving their tonsils from the glovebox at every set of lights.
Equipment levels are fairly wholesome, even in the cheapest £16,850 variant of a four-grade
line-up. However, there’s no Apple CarPlay but only MirrorLink, and Brits don’t get the interactive services which find parking, recharging stations and even car-sharing chums for German customers. And the sat-nav is so far off the pace it must be on a permanent fag break.
The sixpence-shaving, black cab-beating turning circle is, however, a riot – just as well, because the heavily lagging sat-nav requires its all too frequent deployment.
First verdict
Electric drive a good match for the fortwo’s bustling urban character, but it’s a shame the on-board technology’s behind the curve