Smart fortwo charges ahead

Smart E Drive brings an all-electric Smart car to city streets, with lithium-ion battery, 135-km range, quick 0-60 km/h, regenerative braking, home charging at 110/220V, and a pilot lease in U.S. and Canada.

Does the new Smart fortwo Electric Drive go “zip” when it moves, “bop” when it stops, and “whirr” when it stands still? Well, not exactly.

Folk singer Tom Paxton would have had to revise his popular 1960s tune if the father in the lyrics had brought home an E Drive Smart for his young son, as electric auto fleets move closer in many cities, instead of the mysterious “Marvelous Toy” that gave the song its title.

The all-electric all-the-time Smart car I drove through the streets of Brooklyn is undeniably toy-like, but while it did exhibit some “zip” when it moved – with more than adequate alacrity and agility through city traffic – as Smart EV outdoes combustion cousins in urban bursts, it did so while emitting a high-pitched, but barely audible “whine” from its electric motor.

It didn’t “bop” when it stopped though. It just, well, stopped in response to pressure on its rather wooden-feeling brake pedal, which operates a regenerative system to boost its battery charge. And it didn’t make any sound at all when it stood still – although it did attract plenty of attention. Something an electric vehicle hasn’t done since the early 1900s when 50 per cent of vehicles on New York’s streets were powered by electricity, and the Detroit Electric revival underscores that heritage.

And creating awareness of electric vehicles, as well as finding out how they’ll fare in daily use on this side of the Atlantic, with Smart EV coming to Canada next year headlines fueling interest, are the reasons 250 E Drive Smarts will be made available for lease in the United States – and 45 in Canada – late this year.

Mercedes-Benz Canada isn’t sure yet how they’ll be allocated – Vancouver, Toronto, where the Toronto Hydro EV study is underway, and Montreal would be good guesses – or what the lease cost will be. Cars in the U.S. will cost $599 a month, and effort will be made to keep the price as close to that as possible here. The cars will be returned to Mercedes-Benz Canada when the leases end. Series production of the cars and general availability is anticipated to begin early in 2012.

The Smart was originally conceived as an electric or hybrid, but 1990s technology wasn’t advanced enough, so an internal combustion engine was employed. The idea remained afloat, however, and the cars were designed with the possibility of battery power being substituted in the future, as efforts like the ZENN city car showed urban demand. Which means the componentry of the electric version doesn’t impinge on the car’s people or cargo practicality, although the weight rises by 140 kg.

The E Drive Smarts are fitted with a 16.5-kilowatt lithium ion battery under the floor and an electric motor rated at 41 hp and delivering 88 lb-ft of torque, which gives the car 0-60 km/h acceleration in 6.5 seconds. Range is quoted at a “conservative” 135 km, but this equates to about 4-5 hours of city driving – although, as the Toronto Tesla trial illustrated, this will be reduced in Canadian winter conditions with the heater operating. The car can be recharged from home power 110 or 220 volts in three-to-five hours.

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