Smart EQ ForTwo Cabrio Review and Prices

What’s powered by electricity and helps with your tan? No, not a tanning booth – it’s the Smart EQ fortwo cabrio. 

It’s a tiny, two-seat, open-top city car that runs purely on electricity. In fact, it’s the smallest EV on sale and is unique, being the only electric cabriolet. The closest alternatives are cars like the Skoda Citigo-e iV, VW e-Up and Renault Zoe, but all three have a solid roof. 

The Smart’s look has changed a bit over the years but its same basic cheeky face remains despite a new grille and bumper. There are now more alloy wheel and colour choices than ever, too, allowing even more personalisation.

Inside the Smart EQ fortwo cabrio’s dashboard has a funky design that changes slightly depending on which model you buy. Most of the plastics higher up are of decent quality, but some of those lower down and the Smart’s switches feel cheap.

Smart’s touchscreen infotainment system is poor too. Its sat-nav truly is one of the worst on sale and the screen is laggy to use. Happily, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard so you can mirror your smartphone instead. Phew.

Want an electric car, but also want the wind in your hair? Then you’ll have to buy a Smart EQ fortwo cabrio, because it’s the only one on sale.

The fortwo cabrio is a strict two-seater but there is good space around them for adults to stretch out. However, the high seat positions and lack of wheel reach adjustment means the driving position won’t be for everybody. Storage options inside are few and far between and the boot is also comically small.

Every fortwo cabrio is powered by a 17kWh battery, which via a motor offers 81hp, a 0-62mph sprint of 11.6 seconds and a modest 70-mile range. Charging to 80% via a 22kWh fast charger takes less than 40 minutes, but a full charge at home using a 7kWh wall box will take more like three hours. 

That home charge will cost you less than £3, which is around £7 cheaper than fueling the average petrol car over the same distance. 

Although the fortwo cabrio’s sprint to 62mph is pedestrian, the Smart EQ Coupe gets to around 40mph in less than five seconds, so feels urgent away from lights. There are few cars that feel so agile and maneuverable in town, too, but it’s small dimensions cause it to hop and skip over lumps and bumps too often.

Motorway journeys aren’t the most comfortable, either, and although the Coupe feels agile its light steering and bumpy drive remove much of the fun when cornering hard. 

As such, it’s best to keep the fortwo cabrio in an urban environment where it excels – bumpiness aside. It’s worth investigating the similarly priced and more spacious EV Citgo-e and e-Up first, but if only the quirkiest will do, then the Smart EQ Coupe is the car for you. 

Check out our Smart deals page for the very best prices.