Bound Smart Fortwo Electric Drive

Since its debut more than a decade ago, the Smart Fortwo (I refuse to go lowercase, sorry, Smart marketers) has made its reputation the world over as a nimble, hyper-efficient, short range and relatively low-cost city commuter -- in other words, a vehicle readymade for an electric powertrain.

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The Smart Fortwo Electric Drive, which I recently took for a spin through the wilds of New York's Brooklyn borough, is that car. And it's coming to the U.S. in October of this year.

By the time the gas-powered version of Daimler's microcar finally made it to U.S. shores in late 2008 (Smart has sold some 42,000 units to date) the Smart ED program was already well underway. The project is now in phase two of a three-phase rollout, which will see some 1500 vehicles built in all, with 250 of those eventually coming stateside.

At this point, it's the type of project we've seen a lot of with EVs lately -- extremely limited volume, leases only ($599 a month, 48-month warranty) and only a handful of regular folks will get one. But according to Smart USA's VP of business development Derek Kaufman, who's also heading up the Smart ED project here, that's going to change rapidly.

Kaufman is confident that during phase three, which will culminate in series production of the Smart ED in calendar year 2012 as a 2013 model, production will quickly reach "the five-figure range." He also said interested customers will be able to both buy and lease Smart EDs at that point and he hopes every one of the 77 Smart USA dealers will have at least one on the lot for sale.

From the moment I pegged Smart ED's power pedal and it whirred to life, it became all too apparent that this car was born to be an EV. Powered by a 30kW peak power electric motor (providing 40 hp in short bursts, but 27 hp in most situations) mated to its single fixed gear ration transmission, the ED is fed its juice via a Tesla-sourced lithium-ion battery pack. The battery accounts for most of the 300-pound weight gain over the base Smart's roughly 1650-pound curb weight, but it doesn't compromise interior packaging. Most of the complaints about the gasoline Smart's balky automated manual transmission and much-debated MPG numbers simply melt away.

Overall range is pegged at roughly 82 miles, according to Smart. When plugged into a 220-volt outlet, Smart says the Smart ED can charge from 20 to 80 percent capacity in about three-and-a-half hours, and a full charge will take about eight. You can also hook it up to a 110-volt outlet in a pinch, but it'll take quite a bit longer to get it juiced up.

Like its gas-powered sibling, the Smart ED is hardly a burner, but under hard acceleration you get a small jolt from its 89 pound-feet of torque. Smart claims a 0-to-60 kmh (37 mph) sprint of 6.5 seconds onto a limited top speed of 62 mph. It exhibited more than enough zip to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle in a loop around Brooklyn's Prospect Park. As is the case with the gas car, the Smart's tightly suspended ride doesn't like rough pavement and it has a tendency to hit the bumpy stuff pretty hard. The brake pedal also still has an awkward-feel to it, but you'll probably be braking less as the transmission does a good job of gradually hauling down the car. The interior also standard Smart fare short of the battery and energy regeneration gauges set in the middle of the dash.

As with any EV, the 800-watt gorilla in the room is infrastructure, but Smart officials, like other EV hopefuls, believe early adopting areas of the country, utilities and government agencies will all play a part in helping to develop a plan toward a nationwide charging grid.

While charging points will no doubt be an issue for years to come, that's not going to stop Smart from pressing ahead with the ED -- a vehicle that has the potential to dramatically change the fortunes and perception of the brand in the U.S. After our brief drive, it's apparent Smart has an EV that can compete -- now it's all down to the execution.