With a tiny passenger compartment, limited cargo room and underwhelming performance, the Smart Fortwo is never going to be a mainstream vehicle. But considering it can fit into almost any parking space and turn on a dime, it undoubtedly has niche appeal for consumers living in dense urban areas. Well, now that niche is even smaller. Smart has discontinued the gasoline-powered model from the current lineup, leaving only the Fortwo Electric Drive version.

On the upside, we think the Electric offers the better driving of the two. It doesn't have the gas model's rough-shifting transmission, and it benefits from the electric motor's instant torque and smooth acceleration. However, the Electric is more expensive than the old gas model, and its maximum range of 58 miles is considerably less than any other EV's.

All of this piles on to the Fortwo's existing problems such as a punishing ride and a low-rent cabin. We strongly recommend checking out other EVs in this price bracket for their better range, greater utility and higher emphasis on passenger comfort.

Trim levels & features

The 2018 Smart Fortwo Electric is a pint-size city car with seating for two (get it?) and a surprising amount of passenger space inside. The Fortwo Coupe is sold in three trims — Pure, Passion and Prime — while the Fortwo Cabrio (convertible) is available in Passion and Prime levels. There isn't a huge price differential between the trims, but the starting MSRP for this stylish two-door EV is quite high. As with many cars produced by parent company Mercedes-Benz, there are a number of available features packages and stand-alone options.

The Fortwo Electric's 17.6-kWh lithium-ion battery pack and 60-kW motor (80 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque) drive the rear wheels directly. The EPA estimates that the Smart Fortwo Electric can travel up to 58 miles before it runs out of juice and takes three hours to charge an empty battery using a 240-volt power supply.

The Fortwo Coupe's base Pure trim includes 15-inch steel wheels with plastic covers, LED daytime running lights, cruise control, power windows, a rearview camera, a driver information display, cloth upholstery, automatic climate control, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, and a two-speaker sound system with an auxiliary input and a USB port.

Also standard is the ability for iOS and select Android smartphone users to download a free Cross Connect app that controls phone, audio, internet streaming radio, vehicle information and a navigation system.

The Passion trim adds alloy wheels, heated and power-adjustable mirrors, contrasting interior upholstery, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, a height-adjustable driver seat, an additional storage compartment in the center console, and a retractable cargo cover.

The Prime further dresses up the Smart with foglights, cornering lights, a panoramic glass roof, automatic headlights and wipers, leather upholstery, heated seats and interior ambient lighting.

Several options packages are available for the Smart Fortwo Electric. The Cold Weather package adds heated seats and additional cabin insulation, and the new Sport package (Passion and Prime only) dresses up the Fortwo with 16-inch alloy wheels and stainless steel pedals. The 10th Anniversary Edition pack is similar to the Sport, but the wheels are of a different design and certain exterior elements are painted blue. There's also the Smart Media System bundle, which combines a 7-inch touchscreen, a navigation system and Android Auto functionality. It can be ordered with or without a six-speaker JBL audio system.

Individual options include rear parking sensors, a forward collision warning system, imitation leather (premium vinyl) upholstery, a center armrest, and a phone cradle that positions your smartphone in the middle of the dash so it can function as a touchscreen controller.

Trim tested

Each vehicle typically comes in multiple versions that are fundamentally similar. The ratings in this review are based on our first drive of the 2017 Smart Fortwo Electric Prime, as well as the full rating of the gasoline-powered 2016 Smart Fortwo Proxy (turbo 0.9L inline-3 | 6-speed automatic | FWD), which is no longer available.

NOTE: Since this test was conducted, the current Smart Fortwo lineup has received some revisions, including the deletion of the gasoline-powered Fortwo model starting this year. Our findings from the gas-powered version carry over to the EV model, as well.

Driving

Driving a tiny and lightweight car is intrinsically fun. The Fortwo also benefits from the electric motor's instant torque, and it feels quite peppy when you first start to accelerate. But it runs out of steam past about 40 mph. Handling abilities are low.

Comfort

You might assume the Fortwo gets dinged on comfort due to its smallness, but size doesn't factor in here. Seat comfort is compromised for aesthetics, and the suspension is much too stiff to provide any peace over rough city roads.

Seat comfort

The cushions offer decent padding but have minimal lateral and lumbar support.

Ride comfort

With an extra-short wheelbase, large road bumps are an adventure. Hit them with some speed, and you'd leave your seat if you weren't strapped to it. The ride is continuously busy because of the stiff suspension tuning.

Noise & vibration

Levels of road and tire noise are mostly quelled, but the Fortwo's flat front nose pushes air like a mini bulldozer, which makes it sound windy outside at all times. In the cabriolet, noise is even more apparent.

Interior

2.5

Some cost-saving measures, such as the nonadjustable cupholders molded into the hard plastic center console, are laughably obvious. But there are some redeeming qualities to the Fortwo's interior, such as generous passenger leg- and headroom and a cabin design that looks modern and fun.

Ease of use

The stereo is basic but easy to use. The climate controls are also straightforward and are done up in a creative and stylish fashion. Simple does work.

Getting in/getting out

Wide door openings and a low step-in make this tiny car surprisingly easy to get into. However, the doors are long, which might hamper your ability to easily open them in tighter parking spaces.

Roominess

The Fortwo creates a mirage of roominess inside. The steering column doesn't telescope, but the high roof and useful amount of seat travel mean 6-foot-tall drivers will fit relatively comfortably. But when another 6-footer climbs into the passenger seat, you realize how narrow the car really is.

Visibility

The thin front roof pillars and a big windshield provide good forward visibility, but the rearview mirror is narrow and thick rear roof pillars create big blind spots. The Cabrio's tiny rear window makes it even harder to see out back — good thing a rearview camera is standard for 2018.

Quality

With the exception of the seats and headliner, not one surface in the cabin is soft to the touch. A chic and trendy-looking interior design makes the hard plastic appear less cheap, but it's hard to pick out anything of real quality in this cabin.

Convertible top

The convertible top opens or closes in about 12 seconds (with two pushes of a button). Two roof pillars then manually unlatch and stow away in the trunk. It's a bit of a process to get into full top-down mode, but few of the Smart's competitors can even pull off that trick.

Utility

3.5

You don't buy a Smart expecting much in the way of storage solutions, but the Fortwo does the best with what it's got. The pull-out drawer from the center console is clever, as are the storage nets behind the seats. The bottom edge of the soft top folds up to increase the cargo opening.

Small-item storage

3.5

There are two small central cupholders and a decent-size holder in each door. There's a net behind the seats that will carry light items just fine. A small tray slides out from the central console on the passenger side, which is good for keys, coins and other small things.

Cargo space

The passenger seat cleverly folds flat for longer cargo items, but 9.2 cubic feet of trunk space is nothing special. The Cabrio's cargo area measures 8.9 cubic feet, decreasing to 6.7 cubes when the top is rolled down. Only small convertible sports cars offer less.

Technology

The free Cross Connect app that turns your phone into an audio and navigation controller is an innovative way to integrate touchscreen controls with the basic radio setup. The 7-inch touchscreen is a worthy upgrade.

Consumer reviews

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Features & Specs

MSRP

$25,290

MPG

124 city / 94 hwy

Seats 2

1-speed direct drive

Electric

N/A

MSRP

$26,640

MPG

124 city / 94 hwy

Seats 2

1-speed direct drive

Electric

N/A

MSRP

$23,800

MPG

124 city / 94 hwy

Seats 2

1-speed direct drive

Electric

N/A

See all 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback features & specs

Safety

Our experts’ favorite fortwo safety features:

Proximity Warning Function: Helps avoid collisions by alerting the driver if the Fortwo is approaching the car in front too quickly.
Rear Park Assist: Uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver when the Fortwo approaches an object while backing up.
Crosswind Assist: Detects if the Fortwo is being pushed around in its lane by strong crosswinds and applies brakes to keep it straight.

IIHS Rating

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.

Side Impact Test
Good
Roof Strength Test
Not Tested
Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint
Not Tested
IIHS Small Overlap Front Test
Not Tested
Moderate Overlap Front Test
Good

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More about the 2018 smart fortwo

Ever cruised around the city looking for parking, dreaming of a car that could fit into all those little spots you had to pass up? Here it is: the Smart Fortwo Electric. Did some inconsiderate pickup driver park over the line? No problem. Did an idiot in a Bimmer leave only half a spot between his back bumper and the car behind? With the Fortwo, that spot is yours. The 2018 Smart Fortwo Electric makes other minicars look as big as old-school Cadillacs, and if you have to drive in a crowded city, you'll find no better runabout.

Unfortunately, once you head out of the city, the disadvantages begin to pile up. The Smart Fortwo Electric has a hard ride, it accelerates slowly at highway speeds, and the blind spots are huge. Even worse, you won't be going very far since the maximum electric range is a paltry 58 miles.

Freshly redesigned just two years ago, the latest Fortwo is powered by a 17.6-kWh lithium-ion battery pack and a 60-kW motor, making 80 horsepower and 118 pound-feet of torque. The gasoline-powered version has been dropped for 2018, leaving the Fortwo Electric Coupe and Cabrio (convertible) the only models in Smart's stable. That's not necessarily a bad thing — we think the Electric is the superior variant — but its price is pretty high and you can't fill up at a corner gas station.

The Smart Fortwo has a turning circle of just 22.8 feet, which means it can pull a U-turn on all but the narrowest of alleys. With its high center of gravity and narrow tires, the Smart isn't a great handler, and the ride is abnormally stiff. Short-wheelbase cars generally have a choppy ride, but the Fortwo takes this to a new level: Large bumps have the potential to toss you out of the seat if you aren't strapped in (which, considering the lack of seat comfort, might not be the worst thing).

At least the Fortwo offers decent room; with only two seats, there's plenty of space. The interior design is stylish and well laid out, but the materials feel chintzy. There's no padding on the door armrests, and a center armrest is an extra-cost option. Trunk space is limited to 8.9 cubic feet in the coupe and 8.7 cubes in the Cabrio.

Smart sells the Fortwo Electric Coupe in Pure, Passion and Prime, while the Cabrio is available in Passion and Prime models only. The Pure is a bare-bones grocery-getter, the Passion adds some creature comforts, and the Prime includes luxury features that help detract from the Fortwo's low-rent cabin. Let Edmunds help find the perfect 2018 Smart Fortwo for you.

2018 smart fortwo Hatchback Overview

The 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback is offered in the following styles: electric drive passion 2dr Hatchback (electric DD), electric drive prime 2dr Hatchback (electric DD), and electric drive pure 2dr Hatchback (electric DD).

What do people think of the 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback?

Consumer ratings and reviews are also available for the 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback and all its trim types. 0 Edmunds consumer reviews allow users to sift through aggregated consumer reviews to understand what other drivers are saying about any vehicle in our database. Detailed rating breakdowns (including performance, comfort, value, interior, exterior design, build quality, and reliability) are available as well to provide shoppers with a comprehensive understanding of why customers like the 2018 fortwo Hatchback.

Edmunds Expert Reviews

Edmunds experts have compiled a robust series of ratings and reviews for the 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback and all model years in our database. Our rich analysis includes expert reviews and recommendations for the 2018 fortwo Hatchback featuring deep dives into trim levels including electric drive passion, electric drive prime, electric drive pure, etc. with careful analysis around pricing, features, performance, mpg, safety, interior, and driving and performance. Edmunds also offers expert ratings, road test and performance data, long-term road tests, first-drive reviews, video reviews and more.

Read our full review of the 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback here.

Our Review Process

This review was written by a member of Edmunds' editorial team of expert car reviewers. Our team drives every car you can buy. We put the vehicles through rigorous testing, evaluating how they drive and comparing them in detail to their competitors.

We're also regular people like you, so we pay attention to all the different ways people use their cars every day. We want to know if there's enough room for our families and our weekend gear and whether or not our favorite drink fits in the cupholder. Our editors want to help you make the best decision on a car that fits your life.

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Shop with Edmunds for perks and special offers on new cars, trucks, and SUVs near Ashburn, VA. Doing so could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars. Edmunds also provides consumer-driven dealership sales and service reviews to help you make informed decisions about what cars to buy and where to buy them.

Which 2018 smart fortwo Hatchbacks are available in my area?

2018 smart fortwo Hatchback Listings and Inventory

Simply research the type of used car you're interested in and then select a car from our massive database to find cheap used cars for sale near you. Once you have identified a vehicle you're interested in, check the Carfax and Autocheck vehicle history reports, read dealer reviews, and find out what other owners paid for the 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback.

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Why trust Edmunds?

Edmunds has deep data on over 6 million new, used, and certified pre-owned vehicles, including all models of the 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback and all available trim types: electric drive pure, electric drive passion, electric drive prime. Rich, trim-level features & specs and options data tracked for the 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback include (but are not limited to): MSRP, available incentives and deals, average price paid, warranty information (basic, drivetrain, and maintenance), features (interior and exterior color, upholstery, bluetooth, navigation, cruise control, parking assistance, lane sensing, keyless ignition, satellite radio, folding rears seats,run flat tires, wheel type, tire size, sunroof, etc.), vehicle specifications (engine cylinder count, drivetrain, engine power, torque, engine displacement, transmission), fuel economy and MPG (city, highway, and combined, fuel capacity, range), vehicle dimensions (interior cabin space, vehicle length and width, seating capacity, cargo space). Edmunds also provides tools to allow shopper to compare vehicles to similar models of their choosing by warranty, interior features, exterior features, specifications, vehicle dimensions, consumer rating, edmunds expert review, safety rating, and color.

Should I lease or buy a 2018 smart fortwo?

Is it better to lease or buy a car? Ask most people and they'll probably tell you that car buying is the way to go. And from a financial perspective, it's true, provided you're willing to make higher monthly payments, pay off the loan in full and keep the car for a few years. Leasing, on the other hand, can be a less expensive option on a month-to-month basis. It's also good if you're someone who likes to drive a new car every three years or so.

2018 smart fortwo Hatchback

New

Used

2018 smart fortwo Hatchback pricing

Which fortwo does Edmunds recommend?

Edmunds' Expert Review

Overall rating

Trim levels & features

Trim tested

Driving

Comfort

Seat comfort

Ride comfort

Noise & vibration

Interior

Ease of use

Getting in/getting out

Roominess

Visibility

Quality

Convertible top

Utility

Small-item storage

Cargo space

Technology

Features & Specs

Safety

People who viewed this also viewed

2018 smart fortwo Hatchback for Sale

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2018 smart fortwo Hatchback Overview

What do people think of the 2018 smart fortwo Hatchback?

Edmunds Expert Reviews

Our Review Process

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Should I lease or buy a 2018 smart fortwo?

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