Of all the new features on the 2013 Smart Fortwo ED, including a larger battery pack and a more powerful motor, one is engineered to garner the most attention: its price.
Accounting for the maximum federal income tax credit of $7,500, the price of the 2013 model, scheduled to go on sale next spring, can be reduced from $25,750 to $18,250. From there, any available state subsidies could be applied. In California, where a zero-emissions-vehicle program recently awarded its 10,000th rebate, the price could potentially fall a further $2,500.
Even for non-Californians, the positioning makes the Fortwo ED the lowest-price battery-electric car on the American market. Donna Boland, a spokeswoman for Mercede s-Benz USA, said the company did not intend to “play games†and advertise the price inclusive of the tax credit.
Smart USA brought its electric cars to Brooklyn on Wednesday for test drives along the waterfront and around Prospect Park. It was a homecoming of sorts, as the company offered test drives of the second-generation car in the borough in 2010.
According to Heiko Schmidt, a Smart product manager, Tesla Motors, which supplied the battery and other components for the Mercedes-Benz B-Class E.V. on display at the Paris motor show, was not producing the battery for the updated and upgraded Fortwo ED. Instead, the vehicle will ship with a 17.6 kilowatt-hour battery pack from Deutsche ACCUmotive, a subsidiary of Daimler, owner of the Smart brand.
The 55-kilowatt motor produces the equivalent of 47 horsepower, up from 30 in the previous generation, which was a lease-only vehicle. The motor, capable of producing 74 horsepower in two-minute bursts, accord ing to Mr. Schmidt, is produced in a joint venture with Bosch. Charging the battery from depleted to full using the 240-volt charger, a $1,300 option, would take about six hours. A driver would reach a 20 percent to 80 percent level of charge in 3.5 hours, Mr. Schmidt added. Though Smart USA asserted the Fortwo ED's travel range on a full charge would be 90 miles, the estimate had not yet been corroborated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The result is a vehicle that feels quick off the line, with an available 100 pound-feet of torque and a manufacturer-estimated run from zero to 60 miles per hour in 11.5 seconds, an improvement of 50 percent over the second-generation car, Mr. Schmidt said. It would also make the Fortwo ED quicker than a standard Fortwo, as observed by Edmunds. Top speed of the electric car is about 80 m.p.h. The Brooklyn streets were best for stop-and-go, so the Smart's highway prowess was untested.
The interior of the Smart does not var y greatly from that of the standard car, and the battery pack, mounted under the floor, does not intrude into what little storage space is available. Information on the car's state of charge and power demand is available from two dash-mounted instruments that resemble tachometers, and the driver can check miles-to-empty and set charging times using a small display.
The options list for the Smart has not been published, but drivers would be able to order paddles mounted behind the steering wheel that controlled how much regenerative braking the car deployed, a useful feature, I found. Choosing extra “regen†extended the car's range and also reduced the need to use the brake pedal. In any mode, the car was quiet, with only a minor amount of motor whine. Being tiny, it was easy to whip around corners and fit into tight spaces.
Smart USA, having come under the purview of Mercedes-Benz USA in 2011 after the Penske Group relinquished control of the brand, is in rec overy mode. Tracey Matura, the general manager of Smart, said the company had 89 dealers, up from 75 when Mercedes took over 15 months ago. Smart sold 1,030 cars in September, an improvement from earlier rock-bottom results and up 120 percent from the same month last year.
Ms. Matura added that Daimler's plant in Hambach, France, would be able to meet the demand for electric Smarts, should that demand materialize.
The new car is available for sale or lease, but the lease price is not yet available. The rate ought to be far more approachable than the $599 a month charged for the second generation, of which just 250 were made available to consumers in the United States. A further 300 of the second-generation E.V.'s went into service in San Diego in the fleet of Car2Go, a car-sharing service backed by Daimler.
The microcar would also be offered in Cabriolet form for $28,750, giving the company another distinction in the absence of the discontinued Tesla Roadst er: the only mass-produced electric convertible in the United States.
Smart is encouraging consumers to preregister their interest in the Fortwo ED on a dedicated Web site.
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