Smart Electric Drive

SPECIFICATIONS

1. The 2013 smart electric drive is powered by a 76-horsepower electric motor that puts out 96 lb-ft of torque. 2. The electric motor weighs just 33 pounds and is powered by a 17.6 kWh lithium-ion battery that was designed, developed and engineered by Daimler. 3. Fuel economy for the smart electric clocks in at 107 miles-per-gallon equivalent. 4. With a fully charged battery the car has an expected range of 76 miles in city driving and 59 on the highway. 5. Daimler’s Battery Assurance Plus program protects the smart electric drive’s pack with some of the best coverage in the automotive business.

PREVIEW

Daimler’s smart car seems like a pretty brilliant idea, on paper at least. With a tiny footprint they’re easier to park than a shopping cart, especially since they’re not hobbled with bent frames or defective casters like most grocery buggies seem to be.

The smart’s diminutive dimensions make it perfect for congested urban environments, as does its fuel consumption. They deliver a combined efficiency score of 36 miles per gallon. Beyond these virtues drivers can modify the vehicle’s coachwork with special wraps and custom decals; they can even swap out its body panels. Want red doors with a yellow hood and one purple rear fender? No problem…

Despite these advantages smart is a car everyone loves to hate. Its goofy styling and unusual handling characteristics are chiefly to blame. But these liabilities pale in comparison to the two-door’s most loathsome feature, its automated manual transmission.

INTERIOR

Engineers vastly enhanced the smart’s driving experience thanks to the extermination of its gasoline powertrain. But as improved as the vehicle is, there are a few liabilities that still carry over to the electric drive model and they center on the interior.

The car’s cockpit is still an unusual place, like something from Jim Henson’s Fraggle Rock kids show. The dashboard is covered in a coarse-feeling fabric that looks like it could have been ripped off a polyester leisure suit from the 1970s.

Additionally the climate controls are very odd; they look cheap and feel cheaper, like they were sourced from a plastic bubble dispensed from a vending machine.

It’s the same story with the turn-signal and windshield-wiper stalks. They’re extremely brittle; you’d better not use the directional indicator too vigorously or the lever may snap like the stem of a wine glass.

UNDER THE HOOD

I’ll be frank (with a lowercase “f” because my name is actually Craig): The smart electric drive delivers an on-road experience that’s orders of magnitude better than the gasoline-powered version of the car. This shocking revelation comes courtesy of an amped-up drivetrain.

Gone is the conventional smart’s 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine, as is its breathless and buzzing 70 horsepower. It goes without saying the shameful five-speed transmission has been given the heave-ho as well.

An electric motor that weighs just 33 pounds and a single-ratio gearbox take their places. Peak horsepower is 74 while maximum torque is 96 lb-ft.

For a little perspective the Nissan Leaf features a lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 24 kWh, while the Ford Focus Electric’s pack clocks in at 23. These cars offer a nice power boost compared the smart but they’re also larger and heavier, justifying the extra capacity and cost.Supplying a steady stream of electrons is an advanced lithium-ion battery that was designed, developed and engineered by Daimler. Keeping the car’s center of gravity as low as possible the pack is mounted under the smart’s floor. As far as capacity is concerned, it clocks in at 17.6 kWh.