This is one area where we hoped Smart would have significantly improved matters over the original ForTwo. Yes, the Smart is a city car, but as the likes of the Fox, Ka and Panda show, that doesn’t mean you have to confine yourself to using the car only in urban areas.
Our Passion test car has a 999cc three-cylinder engine producing 70bhp, and although the ForTwo weighs only 810kg as tested, its performance is still sluggish. The 0-60mph time of 13.1sec is okay but it takes even longer (13.6sec) to go from 30-70mph in kickdown. Even 30-50mph takes six seconds.
Of just as much concern is the operation of the five-speed automated manual gearbox. There’s too much dead air between shifts, and the Smart slows quickly when under no power, so it accelerates with a rather off-putting gentle bobbing motion.
From rest, the clutch lacks predictable progression, making it difficult to ride when manoeuvring slowly.
At least the brakes are fine. Sure, the pedal is spongy, but overall stopping power is decent, stopping from 60mph in a little over three seconds. There’s also a hill hold programme on the brakes which makes pulling away on inclines far easier.
And where it does score is economy. We couldn’t match the official 60.1mpg combined figure, which isn’t unusual, but our overall 47.0mpg return is good and the 63.2mpg on a gentle touring route excellent.
Thanks in part to its 11mm wider tracks and a wheelbase stretched by 55mm, Smart has remedied one of our biggest dynamic complaints about the previous ForTwo: the ride. What was incompliant and crashy is now more forgiving and sophisticated in feel.
What hasn’t changed so much is the feel of the unassisted steering. It’s accurate, and more linear in response, but it still feels a little dead and is too heavy at parking speeds. Power assistance is £310.
Handling? This is still a short, unstable car that depends on its brutal, if effective, stability control system and skinny front tyres to keep it on its wheels.
