2008 Smart Fortwo

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008...9:55 pm

Smart has recently redesigned the Fortwo and is now bringing it to America as both a coupe and a convertible.
Conceived by Swiss watchmaker Swatch and designed in conjunction with Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, the Smart Fortwo microcar has been all the rage in traffic-choked European cities since its introduction in 1998.
The Fortwo’s 1-liter 3-cylinder engine puts out 70 horsepower and 68 lb-ft of torque. Smart claims the Fortwo — which weighs 1808 lbs, 600 lbs less than a Honda Fit — gets to 60 MPH in a lazy 12.8 seconds and tops out at 90. In reality, pickup is snappy, if not quite quick, and the Smart putters along happily at 75 MPH, though it struggles on steep hills.
Fuel economy is good, though not as good as you might expect: I averaged 35.8 MPG. For comparison, I got 31.3 in the last Honda Fit I tested. To make matters worse, the Smart requires premium fuel.

2008 Smart Fortwo

2008 Smart Fortwo