Fortwo: a good scooter but not a car
Historically, automakers partnering with fashion labels to design “cool” cars have had mixed results. Take this Smart limited edition Fortwo micro car, for example. It’s been given a makeover by British streetwear label Boxfresh. Whether your average Boxfresh fan a) has their eye on a two-seater Smart, b) can afford this limited edition two seater, or c) thinks the car represents urban cool, is a matter of conjecture.
There are people who love the Smart Fortwo, it has an almost cult-like following around the world. It has bags of personality and you can drive nose-in to park the car – which theoretically means you could park three of them in a standard car parking space – and it is undoubtedly nippy in town.
The interior of the Boxfresh edition of the Smart Fortwo has been given a makeover to create a more exclusive version. It is significantly improved by “cognac” coloured leather, carbon fibre and chrome accents. There’s badging on the glovebox, gear stick and headrests to let you know you’re in one of just 55 limited Fortwo coupes, though there is still use of some cheaper feeling plastics, which is a shame. What is surprising is that the interior remains so characterful. Not bad when you consider it has its design roots back in the early 1990s. And while the new look is cool, this was really just an opportunity for me to reassess the Smart after not having driven it for more than a decade.
This is a car that lacks flexibility more than any other I have driven. It so happened that my week with it coincided with a launch in Birmingham. My choice of how to travel there came down to driving the Smart Fortwo or paying for an eye-wateringly expensive peak train ticket. And the rail travel nearly won. This is because driving a Fortwo on the motorway isn’t fun. You have to work the 70bhp, 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine very hard to keep the car at speed and the driving isn’t comfortable; it’s noisy from the engine, the road and the wind. Power-wise, there is certainly nothing left in reserve for overtaking. You feel very small.
Smart, of course, makes no great claims for the car on the open road and it is clear that the City is the Fortwo’s natural home. Even here, though, the ride can be too firm – speed bumps in particular can seem menacingly high and must be negotiated at particularly low speeds. I found myself planning its use in the same way I would use a scooter.
It is an apt comparison. As a car, the Smart Fortwo’s restrictions are obvious: it has little space, only seats two people and is pretty rubbish at speed on open roads. Just like a scooter. Yet as a scooter it’s great – you don’t get wet, you have a car body surrounding you in case anyone drives into you, the stereo is good and the Boxfresh leather interior looks great. But – and here’s the big but – unlike a scooter you can’t make progress through stationary traffic and parking isn’t free.
Five days into our time together I begin to appreciate the Smart Fortwo Boxfresh for what it is. It can be a remarkably convenient runabout. I even became accustomed to its stammering gearbox. Lift off the accelerator when driving – with a little less urgency – and the impact of that lag in the gear shifting is considerably reduced.
I’m not sure how much fun a Smart Fortwo is. But then I probably wouldn’t like Parkour either. While this car was revolutionary when it launched well over a decade ago, nowadays if you like the idea of a car this small, there are rivals such as the Toyota iQ, which is equally pint-sized but at least its design allows you the flexibility to give a couple of people a lift. As a car, the Fortwo Boxfresh edition is a compromise too far for most people, including me. But as a scooter it’s excellent.
THE FACTS: SMART FORTWO BOXFRESH EDITION
PRICE: £11,700
0-62MPH: 13.7sec
TOP SPEED: 90mph
CO2 G/KM: 98g/km
MPG COMBINED: 65.7mpg
THE VERDICT:
DESIGN ***
PERFORMANCE **
PRACTICALITY **
VALUE FOR MONEY **