Updated electric Smart Fortwo and Forfour EQ preview
The electric Smart Fortwo and Forfour EQ are getting a bit of a makeover before they’re replaced, teased by a sketch ahead of a Frankfurt debut.
In fact, as we reported a few months ago, Daimler has flogged a 50 per cent share in Smart to Geely – owners of Volvo, Lotus and more – in an effort to relaunch the brand and mop up what they hope is pent-up demand for an affordable, stylish and quirky electric city car.
But that’s not going to happen for another couple of years, so to keep Smart relevant in the intervening period we’re getting an update of the current electric Smart Fortwo and Forfour EQ, previewed ahead of a Frankfurt Motor Show with a sketch (above).
As always, you need to take ‘design’ sketches with a big pinch of salt, and try to ignore the comic exaggeration of design features the artist wants to highlight. So don’t expect anything too far removed from the current Smart on the design front.
But you can expect the new Smarts to have a titivated bonnet and bumpers, a bigger grille (does an electric Smart even need a grille?), some new wheels, new lights, new paint jobs and a bit of an interior titivation.
Where the changes are expected to come are under the skin, where Daimler need to give the Smart an electric powertrain which offers something buyers might actually consider is worth shelling out for.
The current Smart EQ comes with a 22kWh battery, a range of just 70 miles and the ability to charge at just 7Kw. And that makes the current Smart EQs a woeful buy.
So you can probably expect the battery pack to grow a bit (although size is a limitation) and hopefully range to head up for twice what it currently is. Oh, and the ability to use a 50kW charger would be a big boost as would be a bit of extra oomph from the 82bhp electric motor.
All will be revealed shortly.
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