2017 Smart Fortwo on 2040-cars

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3,300 miles in 6 days across 2 countries in a Smart ForTwo

The surprise was when I got the invitation to drive my brand new car to central Mexico. Did I mention that I live in Kansas? Some may wonder why did I get invited to drive my car to another country: smart USA started selling the updated car in September 2015. Smart Mexico as of this writing just started selling the new model. There was going to be a national gathering of smart cars in Mexico, hence the invitation from the smart club in that country to show off the new car. Once I got everything ready the journey began driving southbound, crossing half of Kansas, all of Oklahoma and Texas entirely. The first day I traveled from east central Kansas all the way down to Laredo, Texas. The next day I crossed the border at 5 in the morning. Crossing the south border into Mexico legally is more complicated than one might think: you need to go through customs to get a permit to temporarily import your vehicle, you need extra insurance to cover your car while in that country, proof of ownership of the car or permission from your lien holder, and finally, pay a deposit as a guarantee that you'll return the car to the USA. The process takes time and money but once everything is clear you are free to drive everywhere in Mexico. Now, driving in Mexico is a whole new experience: some people seem to like driving, let's say, briskly. Some people don't care much about the speed limit. What are you suppose to do? You need to blend in. And the highways! Ah, those obstacles courses never fail to amuse you. But not everything is bad though, there are some brand new turnpikes where is hard to pass the temptation of speeding. On my first day driving in Mexico I stopped in Monterrey where I met with another smart car driver and together we continued the 9 hour trek to the city of Queretaro. After 24 hours on the road I had arrived to the hosting city of the 2015 smart Club Mexico National gathering, and I had to erase those 24 hours worth of mosquitoes and other bugs glued to the car. A local car wash couldn't keep its promise of cleaning the vehicle in 15 minutes despite the size of the car. Once back at the event's site I got to feel what is like to be a rock star. Oh boy! Those stares, the thumbs up, the VIP treatment. It sure feels nice being the center of the universe, and all thanks to my smart car. On the first day of the event there was a parade, a rally around the city, a photo shooting and of course good food.

$99/month EV lease deals still out there, in some places

Has the electric-vehicle market really gotten to the point where folks can take out a lease for less than C-note per month? Yes, if you're interested in a Mitsubishi i of Smart ForTwo EV, Plug In Cars has found. As Mitsubishi prepares to bring in the 2015 model-year version of the i, it's unloading some of the 2013s for as little as $69 a month in some areas, bringing in a bit of deja vu for those who remember the $69 monthly lease rate some Mitsubishi dealers were asking for early last year. Meanwhile, a Smart EV can be had for $99 (discounted from $139 a month), with a $900 down payment, at at least one Connecticut dealership. Moving up to $139 a month could get you into a new Nissan Leaf, albeit with a honking' down payment of about $6,600. Chevrolet Spark EVs can be found in California and Oregon for as little as $199 a month. And both the Fiat 500e and Honda Fit EV can be found at some dealerships with lease rates in the mid-two-hundreds per month. The upper end of the plug-in scale - a Tesla Model S - still runs north of $1,000 a month (before you apply Tesla's various calculations to get to their "effective monthly cost"). But when you can afford to drive a Tesla, who's really counting? Featured Gallery 2012 Mitsubishi i: First Drive View 20 Photos News Source: Plug In CarsImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Sebastian Blanco / AOL Green Mitsubishi smart Electric ev sales lease i-miev i mitsubishi i smart fortwo ed

2016 Smart Forfour

The Fortwo always has been – and always will be – the prototypical Smart car. While it has been far and away the brand's best seller, it's not the only model to to wear the moniker. A decade ago, Smart rolled out the larger Forfour, but like the brand's other models that have come and gone, it wasn't much of a success. Now, Smart is back and taking another stab at it with the introduction of this all-new Forfour. And this time, we think it's in a much better position to succeed. Where the previous model shared its underpinnings, production line and front-engined layout with the Mitsubishi Colt, the new Forfour was co-developed with – and will be produced alongside – the new Renault Twingo we drove recently. Like its predecessor (and its contemporary French cousin), the new Forfour is not presently earmarked to be offered in America. But curiosity got the better of us when we were offered the chance to drive it back to back with the Fortwo upon their launch in Barcelona. Driving Notes Like the smaller Fortwo, the new Forfour will be offered with a choice of two three-cylinder engines mounted all the way at the back: a normally aspirated 999cc engine (available in 59- or 70-horsepower states of tune) and a 898cc turbo kicking out 89 hp. Either engine can be mated to either a five-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch transmission (save for the lowest spec, which can only be had with the manual). We sampled the top-spec model, fitted with the same turbo engine as the Fortwo we'll get in the States, sending 89 hp and 100 pound-feet of torque through the five-speed manual straight down to the rear wheels. The Forfour's (relatively) great mass means that, even with forced induction, it still takes 11.2 seconds to reach 62 miles per hour from a standstill. That's a 0.8 seconds behind the Fortwo with the same powertrain, but a solid 4.7 seconds quicker than the next (naturally aspirated) version down. It hardly felt rapid, but it kept pace just fine with European city traffic. Regardless of spec, however, the rear-engined layout it shares with the Fortwo and Twingo makes the new Smart Forfour exceptionally agile. That it felt any less scrappy than the Fortwo is a testament only to the latter's agility, because compared to anything else on the road, the new Forfour will change direction like a frightened street cat.