You only have to drive a Tesla to realise that electric cars might just have a future. Indecently brisk, silent and with a reasonable range, it’s the nearest anyone has got to producing a battery-powered car that might appeal to evo readers. If only the price wasn’t so stratospheric…
So perhaps this electric Smart, the Fortwo ED (short for Electric Drive), is the answer. It’s bound to be cheap and Smarts always have a certain driver appeal.
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Wrong on both counts. For a start you can only lease one, for £375 a month. And you have to sign up for four years. So that’s £18,000 in total, and then you have to give the car back. Then there’s the way it drives. Try 0-30mph in 6.5sec and a top speed, eventually, of 60mph.
The claimed range of 70 miles seems highly optimistic too. A six-mile round-trip to the shops from Evo Towers used 22 per cent of the battery’s charge, so my 60-mile drive home was out. Imagine if I’d dared to use the heater, lights, wipers or radio…
The Fortwo ED is a pointless car. In fact it is quite possibly the worst test car evo has ever had to suffer. No wonder they took it away on a trailer.
Specifications
| Engine | Permanent magnet brushless DC |
| Max power | 40bhp |
| Max torque | 92lb ft |
| Top speed | 60mph (limited) |
| 0-30mph | 6.5sec (claimed) |
| Price | £375 per month |
| On sale | Lease only |
