Smart Fortwo first drive review

What is it?

There has never been much to fault about the concept behind the Smart Fortwo microcar, which offers urban mobility for two people in a usefully compact and very stylish package. Previously, though, the car’s execution has had its flaws.

While the third-generation Fortwo doesn’t deviate too dramatically from the Mk2 model in terms of mechanical set-up – it retains the rear-engined, rear-drive layout of its predecessor, as well as the two-door, two-seat layout – there’s been a major focus on correcting the old car’s wrongs, most notably an unsettled ride and clunky transmission.

The Fortwo comes to market in tandem with a reinvigorated four-door, four-seat Forfour and both share their underpinnings with the new Renault Twingo.

The two Smart models share a common 1660mm width and 1550mm height, but the Fortwo is shorter than its four-seat relation. Indeed, its 2695mm length is the same as the previous iteration, although the wheelbase has been pushed out by 8mm to 1873mm.

The Fortwo and Forfour also have a new family look, particularly in terms of the front-end styling and the exposed elements of the Tridion safety cell. 

Two powerplants are available at launch: a 999cc, three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 70bhp and 67lb ft and a more powerful turbocharged 898cc, three-cylinder unit with 89bhp and 100lb ft on tap.

The other big development for the Fortwo is that the unloved, sloth-like five-speed automated manual has been consigned to history, replaced by a choice of a regular five-speed manual or, later in 2015, a six-speed, twin-clutch automatic.

What is it like?

With its wider tracks, wheels pushed out to each corner and short overhangs, the new Smart Fortwo has a more purposeful appearance than the previous car.


This car is 11cm wider than its predecessor and it shows inside, where there’s sufficient width for two broad adults to sit comfortably without having to rub shoulders. Headroom is pretty decent too.

Just as the Mk2 version improved on the dynamic qualities of the original Smart, this new version makes further progress.

New suspension has succeeded in smoothing most of the jiggle and excessive harshness out of the Fortwo’s ride. Even on our test car’s optional sportier suspension set-up – which comprises 16in wheels and a 10mm ride height reduction and is available on the high-spec Proxy variant – the car feels composed, helped by pretty accurate electric power steering.

The turning circle is just 6.95m, eclipsing all other cars as well as ultra-manoeuvrable vehicles such as the London black cab. The front wheels can turn through a 45-degree angle, which helps to make tight cornering and parking a doddle. 

It can still be skittish over large bumps, humps and camber changes, but all told, there’s a better feel to the way the new Fortwo tackles traffic-clogged urban roads. It feels more grown-up to drive.

On our city-street test route, the 999cc naturally aspirated unit seemed to be better suited to the Fortwo than the more costly 898cc turbocharged variant.

It won’t win any races away from the traffic lights – the 0-62mph sprint takes a glacial 14.4sec – but the three-pot unit responds in a more progressive fashion than the boosted engine. The power of the latter tends to arrive all at once after an initial lull. Acceleration and deceleration of the naturally aspirated engine seems easier to moderate. 

It's no surprise that it runs out of puff quickly, but that’s of less importance in lower-speed city driving, and only becomes an issue when you take to A-roads and motorways, where the turbocharged engine feels slightly more capable. Ultimately, though, neither car is anything close to offering swift performance.

In addition to the five-speed manual, we also sampled a pre-production car fitted with the newly engineered automatic transmission. A £995 option that will be available from the spring of 2015, it is an improvement over the old automated manual when it comes to the speed of shifts.

However, the automatic transmission’s installation in our test car didn’t feel nearly as refined as the smooth manual, with some vibration noticeable and a gear-stick that required some effort to be pushed back to ‘Park’ mode.

Other testers in cars equipped with the automatic transmission didn’t report the same issues, and this might reflect the pre-production nature of our machine.

Although the combinations of bold interior colours and novel materials inside won’t be to everyone’s tastes, they set the Fortwo apart and enhance the premium feel that’s reflected in the car’s pricing.

The 260-litre boot – not huge, but on a par with what you'll find in some four-seat city cars – is accessed via a split hatch, with the top window folding upwards and the rear panel downwards, a clever set-up that makes access easier when you’ve slipped the Smart into the tightest of parking spaces.

Should I buy one?

The new Smart Fortwo retains the sparks of fresh design and clever packaging that made the quirky original version such a head-turning proposition, but combines them with a welcome improvement in refinement – and additional interior space for good measure.

Its petite stature and two-seat layout essentially leave it in a class of its own in terms of dimensions – with perhaps only the (theoretically four-seat) Toyota iQ coming close – but the Fortwo's £11k price tag puts it on a par with more practical city cars and superminis.

The challenge will be convincing savvy urbanites that the Smart Fortwo’s clever packaging and generous kit levels make it worthy of its price tag when you can acquire more commodious city cars with a wider range of dynamic ability for similar cash, or less.

However, if you know for certain that you’ll only ever transport yourself and one passenger, rarely venture past the city limits, and blanch at the prospect of, say, parallel parking even a Ford Fiesta in the tight confines of the city centre, the Smart Fortwo could be the answer.

Smart Fortwo

Price £11,125; 0-62mph 14.4sec; Top speed 94mph; Economy68.9mpg; CO2 emissions 93g/km; Kerb weight 880kg; Engine layout3cyls, 999cc, naturally aspirated; Installation rear, transverse, rear-wheel drive; Power 70bhp at 6000rpm; Torque 67lb ft at 2850rpm;Gearbox 5-spd manual 

Source: Autocar.uk

Smart Fortwo exclusive development drive

The Mercedes-backed company is about to unveil an all-new version of its Smart Fortwo microcar that keeps its predecessor’s best-loved characteristics – including the all-important 2.69m overall length – but adds big-car features that even Smart lovers never thought they’d see.

It will be built, as usual, in the Hambach factory in western France. Under a new deal, the third-generation Smart range is being produced in cooperation with Renault, whose own-shape, five-door version – the new Twingo, revealed at Geneva last March – will be built on an all-new platform alongside the returning five-door Smart Forfour in Renault’s Slovenia factory, which produced previous Twingo models. As well as providing the factory, Renault contributes a trio of baby petrol engines to the new-generation Twingo-Smart project.

Both short and long Smart models are due to make their official appearance in mid-July, but Autocar has already had exclusive access to a pair of Fortwo prototypes at Smart’s HQ in Boblingen, near Stuttgart. We drove one version on an ultra-tight manoeuvring course inside the factory and were then driven in another on a wide selection of local roads to show off the car’s improved all-roads capability.

Perhaps the biggest news is the demise of Smart’s much-criticised automated manual gearbox, infamous for its slow, ‘nodding dog’ gearchanges. Future Renault and Smart buyers will be offered the choice of a conventional five-speed manual (yes, there’s room for a clutch pedal) or a new, compact Getrag six-speed twin-clutch gearbox. This move alone is especially likely to boost interest in the Fortwo, which has consistently lost ground to other city cars on account of its ‘funny’ gearchange.

Other highlights are a 10cm increase in the Fortwo’s body width, which brings many benefits. Where cabin space is concerned, the Smart two-seater now has far more hip and shoulder room so it no longer needs the staggered seats of past models (although it keeps their high hip-point and big doors for spectacularly easy access) and – although our disguised pictures won’t yet show it – its styling recalls the chic shape of the original car, which gave way to a ‘Tonka toy’ shape in the second version that was less well received.

ForTwos have always used a pressed steel Tridion chassis frame as their main structure, supporting impact-absorbing plastic outer panels, and that layout is used again. So is a rear-engined layout: an ultra-compact three-cylinder engine mounted under the boot floor, in unit with the gearbox and differential and driving the rear wheels.

The entry-level engine for UK buyers will be a brand-new 999cc Renault-made triple, designated SCe70. It is normally aspirated, is rated at 70bhp and develops its 67lb ft peak torque virtually from ground level, ideal for town motoring. It will come with stop-start as an option. The top spec offering is Renault’s zippy Energy TCe90 899cc turbo triple that punches out 89bhp and 100lb ft, has standard stop-start and Euro 6 clean air compliance. This engine has already been used in the Captur and Clio but the engine has been adapted specifically for Twingo-Smart to provide what Renault calls “refined performance”.

The related models keep their all-independent wishbone suspension, but the extra body width now allows longer suspension arms with wider-based mountings to be used, for better wheel control. There’s more suspension travel, too, which improves the ride considerably because less of the suspension stroke is affected by contact with the bump-stops…

Inside the Boblingen HQ, I first meet Frank Zimmerman, Smart’s head of product marketing, who shows me the two prototypes, summarises (without too much detail) the changes – and assures me that one key objective in the development of the Fortwo has been to maintain what he terms “the 269”, the car’s diminutive length of 2.69m.

“We did lots of research among existing owners,” says Zimmerman, “which showed their number one reason for buying was the car’s shortness. So we fought hard to maintain it. We’ve kept the height the same, too. Owners say the big doors and the high hip-point are also features they like.” However, you certainly can’t miss the extra body width, which makes Zimmerman (tall) and me (wide) perfectly comfortable sitting side by side in the cockpit. It also makes the car look much tougher and more grown-up on the road.

The patch of tarmac that they’ve allotted for my manoeuvring test seems slightly smaller than a postage stamp. It’s difficult to imagine that we’ll be able to do anything meaningful but Zimmerman insists that there will be plenty of space for a car that now has a turning circle between kerbs of just 6.9m, less than 23 feet. It can out-turn a Toyota iQ by a metre, and easily corner inside a London cab’s U-turn.

I try it, enjoying the accurate but easy-twirling electric power steering, and discover that it’s possible to throw complete circles in this tiny space without even using full lock. “Turn tighter,” the photographer keeps saying, although in space terms there’s no need. The car manoeuvres easily and shows no sign of tyre scrub, even on full lock. The point is made: adding a few inches to the width of a Smart is nothing compared with carving half a yard off its turning circle. There can’t now be a more agile car on the market.

The gearbox action (and the knob itself) has obvious Renault connections but is none the worse for that. The clutch is light and there’s plenty of left-foot space, at least in this left-handed version. The lever has a sweet, short throw. Suddenly, the Fortwo, even at 5-10mph in a cramped car park, takes a big step forward in sporty character.

Now it’s time to drive with Christophe Schulenberg, Smart’s head of testing and a Smart-Swatchmobile ‘lifer’ despite his youthful appearance. We set off with considerable verve on a 40-minute route that at first takes us zipping around a crowded multi-storey car park and then varied public roads.

We do tight turns and gutters, and then cobblestones and suburban ruts. Impressions come thick and fast: first is the ease and control of the new dual-clutch gearbox, which comes with a selectable Sport mode and manual control.

It’s clear very soon that this car is much more stable everywhere than its predecessor, especially when cornering, and the choppy ride is also much improved. The feeling of tautness and strength stays – that was always impressive – but the car is much, much quieter over bumps. (Schulenberg explains how much revisions to the suspension bushes have helped.)

Having been an early Smart owner, I wonder whether the Fortwo’s high-speed stability might still be problematic, especially in crosswinds, but Schulenberg reckons that the wider track, more positive steering and better suspension geometry mean that it’s “no longer an issue” and backs that by revealing that for this new model the governed speed limit that started out at 83mph in my day and progressed to 90ish, will be allowed to go higher again.

Bottom line? We arrive back at base and I realise that in the past 10 minutes of our 40 I haven’t thought much about the car’s dynamics. Our talk has turned to manufacturing details, because the car just feels so normal.

I’ve done lots of miles in Smarts, and never before have I lost the overriding perception of its shortness, signified by the perpetualpitching of a rather crashy suspension. For the first time, a two-seat Smart feels like a normal car. Amazingly compact it remains, but it seems to have caught up with the rest.

Source: Autocar

Daimler Seeks Greater Cooperation With Tesla

While critics were skeptical of Daimler’s purchase of Tesla stock several years ago, the investment is paying off big time. But while Daimler and Tesla are already working together on an all-electric Mercedes B-Class, the German auto conglomerate wants to work even closer with the California-based electric car maker, hoping to compete with the popular BMW i3.

Tesla is building the 36 kWh battery for the Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive, which the company estimates will provide between 115 and 125 miles of driving range per charge, as well as batteries for the shorter-range Smart ForTwo Electric Drive. That’s about 40 to 50 miles more than competitors like the Nissan Leaf or Fiat 500e, though Mercedes chief rival is the BMW i3, with its 100 mile all-electric range and 200-mile extended driving range.

The BMW i3 already has months and months of backorders in Germany, and other markets are also eager to get behind the wheel. Mercedes, which wants to rival BMW in terms of profitability, is waking up to the realization that electric and hybrid vehicles are going to play a huge role in many high-end markets like the U.S., where Tesla is currently raking in the sales. Yet for some reason Daimler went with its own battery pack for its SLS AMG Electric Drive supercar, which has just 155 miles of range despite a massive battery pack and price tag, rather than a Tesla pack. Maybe that experience is why they’re so keen to work with Tesla.

But how does Tesla feel about helping a major rival develop a competitive vehicle? Elon Musk has been uncharacteristically quiet on the matter, though with a Daimler member sitting on the board of directors, the company might not have much choice in the matter. But it isn’t like Tesla won’t make boku bucks off of such a deal. It makes one wonder though if Daimler might not be another potential buyer for Tesla Motors when the time comes.

For my money though, I’d rather just go with the Model S than a Mercedes knock-off.

 Source: Reuters