Smart EQ ForTwo review

The Smart EQ fortwo is a bit like a Brompton bicycle. You wouldn’t choose them to compete in the Tour de France or Le Mans, but you would if you wanted to make city life as easy as possible while improving the local air quality. 

And just like a Brompton can be folded up and tucked away on trains, the Smart EQ fortwo will slip into the tightest parking spots and turn on a sixpence. It’s the smallest EV on sale, in fact, smaller than alternatives like the Skoda Citigo-e iV, VW e-Up and Renault Zoe. 

The Smart’s look has changed a bit over the years but its same basic cheeky face remains despite a new grille and bumper. There are now more alloy wheel and colour choices than ever, too, allowing even more personalisation.

Inside the Smart EQ fortwo’s dashboard has a funky design that changes slightly depending on which model you buy. Most of the plastics higher up are of decent quality, but some of those lower down and the Smart’s switches feel cheap.

Smart’s touchscreen infotainment system is poor too. Its sat-nav truly is one of the worst on sale and the screen is laggy to use. Happily, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard so you can mirror your smartphone instead. Phew.

The old electric fortwo was always the best version of this dinky car, so it makes total sense to do away with petrol power. It’ll cost you more to buy, though.

The fortwo is a strict two-seater but there is good space around them for adults to stretch out. However, the high seat positions and lack of wheel reach adjustment means the driving position won’t be for everybody. Storage options inside are few and far between and the boot is also comically small.

Every fortwo is powered by a 17kWh battery, which via a motor offers 81hp, a 0-62mph sprint of 11.6 seconds and a modest 70-mile range. Charging to 80% via a 22kWh fast charger takes less than 40 minutes, but a full charge at home using a 7kWh wall box will take more like three hours. 

That home charge will cost you less than £3, which is around £7 cheaper than fueling the average petrol car over the same distance. 

Although the fortwo’s sprint to 62mph is pedestrian, it gets to around 40mph in less than five seconds, so feels urgent away from lights. There are few cars that feel so agile and manoeuvrable in town, too, but it’s small dimensions cause it to hop and skip over lumps and bumps too often.

Motorway journeys aren’t the most comfortable, either, and although the fortwo feels agile it’s light steering and bumpy drive remove much of the fun when cornering hard. 

As such, it’s best to keep the Smart EQ fortwo in an urban environment where it excels – bumpiness aside. It’s worth investigating the similarly priced and more spacious EV Citgo-e and e-Up first, but if only the quirkiest will do, then the Smart EQ fortwo is the car for you. 

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