I try very hard to go into each review with an open mind, but in the case of the 2018 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabriolet, I was prepared to dislike it.
I expected an anemic driving experience in a vehicle that was somehow both small and cumbersome.
I thought the Smart would be an automotive nerd, a vehicle too compromised to work on American roads.
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I was wrong.
After an afternoon of zipping around San Diego, California, I’m sold on the ForTwo Electric Drive. It’s inarguably the best city car on sale today.
The addition of an electric drivetrain and a folding canvas roof adds capability and efficiency, as well as a little frivolity, to its fundamental utility. The result is a featherweight charmer.
2018 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabriolet, First Drive
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If you’re like me, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the electric ForTwo’s 81-mph top speed and the 11.7 seconds it takes to get from 0 to 60 mph. Don’t.
Judging a ForTwo Electric Drive on its top speed and 0-to-60 time is like using an iPhone as a hammer. Technically, you can do it, but that doesn’t mean you should.
Instead, focus on how long it takes to reach 30 and 45 mph, which is where the ForTwo ED is happiest. Turns out it’s plenty quick to reach those speeds.
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With 118 pound-feet of instant torque from the 60-kilowatt (80-horsepower) electric motor delivering power to the rear wheels without gears to shift, the ForTwo ED feels just as quick and pointy as its small size indicates.
Off-the-line performance is more than ample to scamper ahead of other urban traffic. There’s a pleasant throttle response—even in Eco mode.
It all feels just as immediate as electric-drive performance should.
2018 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabriolet, First Drive
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So, I was wrong about performance. I was also wrong about how the Smart handles.
It’s hilarious. I haven’t laughed so hard while driving a car since my first spin in a Mini Cooper, back in 2003.
At just 8.8 feet long, 5.5 feet wide, riding on a 6.1-foot wheelbase, the Electric Drive is the same size as a gas-powered Smart. And like that car, it features a turning circle that needs to be experienced to be believed.
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The Mazda 3, an agile compact car, has a turning circle of 34.8 feet. The Smart ForTwo ED Cabrio’s turning circle is just 22.8 feet.
Busting a U-turn in the ForTwo is the best part of the driving experience. Zipping around San Diego, I began looking for excuses to exploit the tiny turning circle, reveling in the fact that I no longer had to execute a three-point turn.
The little Smart lets you look at the road and the environment in a different way, knowing you can nip into an area and zip right back out without a second thought.
2018 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabriolet, First Drive
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The freedom this provided was as joyous as my first time driving a convertible or nailing a perfect, rev-matched downshift.
You get the sense that the Smart really can go anywhere.
It also doesn’t hurt that its short wheelbase and relatively stiff suspension allow for rapid changes of direction. This is a fun car to drive, to the point that I didn’t want to hand it over to my codriver.
