The Think City is engaging and spirited, and proudly plastic. Its 37-kilowatt motor and 23-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack provide a surprisingly zippy drive, at least in its D driving mode.
Smart Fortwo ED
While the Think makes a gallant effort to provide a smooth carbon-free commute, the Smart ED doesn’t come close. Like the gas-powered Smart Fortwo, the electric version is from Daimler, the German engineering powerhouse that makes Mercedes-Benz vehicles and has decades of experience with electric drivetrains. So you can’t blame the ED’s poor showing on a lack of resources or expertise.
The ED stands for electric drive, not the male sexual malady, yet its performance can only be described as ineffectual. The 30-kilowatt electric motor (equivalent to 40 horsepower) that powers its rear wheels is not a lot smaller than the Think City’s 37-kilowatt motor, but it feels as if it were.
It’s as if Smart provided the diminished economy mode but forgot to offer settings for routine or performance driving. The maximum speed is 60 m.p.h. and nothing more, despite the fact that the Smart ED’s battery pack and drivetrain derive from Daimler’s partnership with Tesla Motors, the maker of screaming-fast electric sports cars.
Fully charged, the 16-kilowatt-hour pack in the Smart ED realistically provides energy for only about 60 miles, 10 or so fewer than the Think City. The Smart also has noticeably less pep on city streets. In fact, the Smart’s drivetrain sometimes seemed to struggle to make any forward momentum at all.
Like the Tesla Roadster and Mini E, the Smart offers no simulated creeping — the 1 m.p.h. forward movement that gas cars provide at idle. When I backed out of the driveway and slipped the shifter into Drive, the car continued to roll backward until I fully applied the brake, at which point the motor could finally propel the car forward.
Worse, the pedals were uncomfortably close to each other, and a post under the brake pedal partly blocked accelerator access for my size 12 shoe.
These problems are bad enough for city driving, but a 70-mile round trip from Berkeley to Palo Alto was absolutely harrowing. Range wasn’t an issue — there was a 240-volt charger at my destination — but the experience on the road was horrendous. With my foot to the floor, the Smart managed only 55 m.p.h. while fighting winds whipping across the Dunbarton Bridge.
Keeping the microcar out of the way of 18-wheelers on Interstate 880 through Oakland made the Slower Traffic Keep Right sign unnecessary; I clung to the right lane for survival as small gasoline cars passed with no effort.
Yes, these city E.V.’s are intended for urban areas, but even city drivers sometimes need to drive on highways.
I was relieved to get off the freeway and back onto Berkeley’s relatively tame streets and the environment for which the Smart ED was intended. In stop-and-go traffic I could appreciate the car’s aesthetics.
Compared with the Lego-toy feel of the Think City, the Smart is well-hewn. The steering wheel was wrapped in leather. The seats provided real lumbar support. The stylish gauges in pods protruding from the dash — the one on the left indicating the state of battery charge — were useful and even elegant.
Daimler did a great job of reducing interior noise, and the cabin was artfully designed and executed. The two-seat configuration, was also generously sized for two people, though the Smart had much less cargo space. For all its shortcomings, the Smart proves an electric commuter can be nicely appointed.
Like the Think, the Smart is not priced to move. The four-year $599-a-month lease (with $2,500 down), combined with a lack of power, makes the ED a poor choice. ( nytimes.com ) => Next =>
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