The smart brand is seen as an odd duck in the United States, a land of the free to purchase gigantic gas-guzzlers — and be proud of it. But not everyone needs or wants a large car, truck or SUV, or even has the space for it. Case in point: massive metropolises like San Francisco and New York City where lots of people means lots of competition for parking. A vehicle with as diminutive a footprint as a smart car would make perfect sense for these tight-spaced city dwellers. In theory, yes, it should. But we don’t live in theory.
All new for 2017 is the smart fortwo cabrio, which joins the coupe in the microcar brand’s lineup. Featuring a “tritop” retractable rooftop, occupants can experience a covered-coupe feel, vehicle-length sunroof or full-fledged cabriolet capability as the canvas top can fold down below the roofline and the roof side panels can be removed. And for $18,900 MSRP (excluding $750 destination), you are free to enjoy the daytime sunshine or starlit evening breeze without thinking you broke the bank. Or hmm.
Like the fortwo coupe, the cabrio is outfitted with a 5-speed manual transmission and a 0.9-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine, which produces 89 horsepower and 100 lb-ft of torque. Equipping the optional six-speed twinamic automatic transmission adds $990. As unimpressive as the numbers appear on paper, the power should be adequate for the vehicle, which weighs in at a slim 2,094 pounds (or 2,150 pounds with the automatic), resulting in an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 33 city and 38 highway MPG. Unfortunately, its lack of execution and a slew of other irritables will make the vehicle a hard sell to the everyday consumer.
Any modicum of fun to be had with the smart fortwo cabrio is soul-sucked away by the pedal-to-power delay, clunky transmission, rough suspension, poor NVH, fussy air conditioning, uncomfortable ergonomics, lack of useable space…when does the aggravating list end? No, it’s not a luxury vehicle but the fortwo cabrio should at least function like a car, any car.
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Pushing down on the gas pedal — flooring it or not — should instigate some kind of power to move the wheels in some kind of direction. It doesn’t. Not for a couple of seconds, anyway. As a New Yorker, those couple of seconds is enough to induce a couple of angry honks from commuters behind you. And the suspension absorbs almost nothing. Road imperfections made the ride feel like a qualifying heat in a pogo stick-riding competition.
Regarding the transmission, once actual acceleration begins, the automatic works fine but braking is a different story. With our test vehicle, smooth stops were nearly impossible as the downshifts “dropped” just before coming to a complete stop, which led to “It wasn’t me; It’s the car!” exchanges between my co-driver and I. Utilizing the steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters produced steadier runs.
Maneuvering through city streets, the fortwo cabrio is plenty nimble and its 22.8-foot turning circle is so ridiculously tight, you’ll find yourself giggling. It’s one of the vehicle’s rare hallmarks. Customer customization also is unmatched as buyers have more than 100 color combinations to choose from. But cute does not equate comfort as ergonomics are awkward. The steering wheel is fixed, meaning no tilt or telescopic modifications. While the seat height can be adjusted, the cozy cabin’s headroom has its limits. Legroom, on the other hand, can accommodate the six-foot-plus set.
In terms of navigation and connectivity, until the dash-integrated smart Media System becomes available this fall, any sort of infotainment interface requires downloading the free Cross Connect smartphone app and then securing the phone into an optional dash cradle, which itself docks directly over the radio controls.
Consider the smart fortwo cabrio a car that really wants to be something but has no idea what that something is. Yet the 220,000 cabrio models sold worldwide show that consumers with expendable incomes don’t care for practicality or even purpose. They purchase what they want simply because they can. Let freedom ring.
