2009 Smart Fortwo Brabus on 2040-cars

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New Smart ForTwo ED charges faster and goes quicker

Two years after the reveal of the redesigned ForTwo, Smart has unveiled its electrified sibling in European guise. The ForTwo Electric Drive (ED) will once again be available here in coupe and convertible variants, and it does offer some improvements over the previous one. Smart also introduced an electric ForFour for the first time as well, but like its gasoline counterpart, it won't come here. The biggest improvement the new ForTwo ED has over its predecessor, besides the better looks and chassis, is a much faster charging time. The car now uses a system that allows for a full charge from a 240 volt household charger in just two and a half hours. The previous model took roughly six hours to do the same thing. The car itself is a smidge faster as well. The rear-mounted motor now produces 80 horsepower and 118 lb-ft of torque compared with the 74 horsepower and 96 lb-ft of the outgoing car. On paper, it is ever so slightly quicker with a claimed 0-60 time of 11.4 seconds for the coupe, which is one tenth quicker than the old coupe. The top speed is also up by 3 mph. View 12 Photos As for the all-important matter of range, Smart gave a rating of 99 miles on the European test cycle. Compared with the previous version's approximately 90 mile range, it has a 10-percent improvement. On the US test cycle, the old ForTwo ED has a range of 76 miles. So we can expect a range of about 83 miles assuming the 10-percent increase carries over to our test cycle. The new ForTwo ED also brings along other features from its predecessors. Once again, it will be available with exclusive Electric Green safety cell and mirror cap accents. Take note, however, that the Brabus appearance parts on the cabriolet pictured here are only available in Europe. The car will also be compatible with the Smart Control app. Not all of the features for the app have been finalized for the US yet, but, in its current iteration, it allows owners to find places to charge, monitor charging and adjust charging and climate control settings from a computer or phone. The climate control features allow the driver to set a departure time and temperature, and the car will adjust the cabin while plugged in instead of using precious battery power. The charging settings offer the option to let the car adjust charging based on peak usage, which could lead to a longer charge, but one that doesn't cost as much. One thing we don't know about the ForTwo ED is price, which Smart did not reveal.

Should Smart bring the Forfour to the USA?

With sales not improving much even with the new Fortwo, should Smart bring the other car it sells around the world? It's called the Forfour because, well, it's for four people. Smart has said it would cannibalize the Fortwo's sales, but sales are money and the automaker should be happy if it can sell more cars and have a real presence in the market. Many people say the only reason they don't buy the Fortwo is the lack of a backseat or because with the price range of the tiny car you can get something bigger. Those issues are resolved with the Forfour. Besides, the USA market is showing some willingness to accept small hatchbacks if they offer good value for the money or are fun to drive that's the reason Fiat came back to the USA with the 500, Chevrolet sells the Spark and Sonic, Ford offers the Fiesta, Toyota imports the Yaris, the Honda Fits is in its third generation, that's why Hyundai keep selling the Accent and Kia the Rio, and Nissan brought the Versa Note, even Mitsubishi sells in decent numbers the dull looking Mirage. The Smart Forfour would be a nice addition to the segment. And an interesting one too as it would be the only one with the engine located in the back, that's right, in the back, below the cargo area. Power is provided by the same engine that moves the Fortwo: 0.9L turbo 3 cylinder with 89 HP, the transmission can be a 5 speed manual or a 6 speed double clutch automatic. Now let's think for a minute: manual, RWD and rear-engined...sounds like fun. While the Fortwo is a niche car bought only for the enthusiasts, ads companies or Car2Go, the Forfour belongs to a real segment with plenty of competition that don't offer the funky style and other features the Smart does. So, the question is: should Smart bring the Forfour to the USA? Let us know in the comments below. Image Credit: Alfonso Rascon smart smart forfour open road

Smart Fortwo Brabus drops most of its camo

When we drove the new Smart Fortwo last month, we were impressed at how peppy and darty it felt – especially in turbo spec. But that was just enough to whet our appetites for an even sportier version, and fortunately that appears to be just what Daimler is cooking up right now. This latest batch of spy shots gives us an even better look at the Brabus version of the new Fortwo under development. As you can see, it has upgraded rolling stock sitting on a lower (and presumably sportier) suspension with dual tailpipes and what could even be some enhanced aero components. Here's hoping the production version doesn't match an orange interior to a red body like this prototype does, though the bigger question is what it's got not under the hood, but beneath the rear cargo shelf where the existing Fortwo has a choice of three-cylinder engines. As we reported earlier, the new Smart Fortwo Brabus is tipped to pack as much as 130 horsepower, but in what form, exactly, we don't know. It could come from an enhanced version of the 898cc turbo three in the current range-topping Fortwo, maybe a turbo version of the larger atmospheric 1.0-liter inline-three, or a different engine entirely – like a 1.2 sourced from Renault. Either way, the decision was likely made jointly by Daimler and Renault, which is expected to offer a similarly sporty version of the Twingo as well.