http://thechronicleherald.ca/wheelsnews/1300780-michael-clark-plugs-in-charges-up-heads-out-with-smart-fortwo-electric-drive Michael Clark plugs in, charges up, heads out with smart fortwo electric drive MICHAEL CLARK July 22, 2015
[image http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/ch_article_main_image/articles/B97481291Z.120150722153822000GE7AAIM3.11.jpg The 2015 smart fortwo electric drive. (Handout) ] I ain’t too proud to beg, especially when it comes to press cars. What you should know is that The Steel Belted Mind has been begging for an electric car for testing for years, and finally, someone at Mercedes-Benz realized that life does exist outside of the Greater Toronto Area. Say hello to the 2015 smart fortwo electric drive coupe, Canada’s least expensive full-electric vehicle, not counting the one I want to hack together with an old forklift powertrain. The wallet dent for the electro-smart is $26,990, and for $3,000 more, you can even go topless, with the cabrio model. Depending on where you live, those MSRP numbers can get some serious rebate help. In British Columbia, the land of the lotus has just received an infusion of cash to keep their electric vehicle rebates alive. A $5,000 rebate can occur for an electro-smart, with no additional rebates for a home charging system. That program ends in 2018, or sooner, if the funds allocated are depleted first. In Quebec, an $8,000 rebate can occur, plus $1,000 for a Level II home charging station install. Moving to Ontario, we find an $8,500 rebate for the electro-smart, plus a $1,000 home charging station incentive. Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation has some interesting stats to share too, with 4,496 electric vehicle registered in the Province as of June 2015. Interesting to note that of the 3,414 electric vehicle rebates awarded to date, only 776 people have taken advantage of the home charging station rebate program. That means that plenty an electroid driver is simply plugging into the same spot that fed the block heater on the old Sunbird. This is also what we call Level I charging. I do have a few block heater plugs on the bungalow, and that’s all I used to charge the electro-smart for the week. How long does it take to charge a smart fortwo electric drive with your standard household current? 16 hours. Let me say that again; 16 ow-errrrrs. I don’t think I get that much sleep over three days. Well, let’s get that Level II home charging station pronto, because that means you can charge the car in...carry the two. Hmmm. Eight hours. This is all assuming you don’t have juvenile scofflaws in your neighbourhood that would be quite amused with unplugging your electric vehicle for something to do. How many kilometres can you squeak out of a full charge? Mercedes-Benz says up to 138 kilometres. I did see 134 for one charging period, and I will say this; you can do a lot of aimless screwing around-driving with 134 kilometres of range. That’s starting to make an electric car interesting for those living in bedroom communities. In case you’re wondering where the $26,990 smart fortwo electric drive compares with affordable zap mobiles, here’s the current Cana’jun breakdown. In the Number Two position, the Mitusbishi i-MiEV ES trim, priced at an MSRP of $27,998. It seats two more people than a smart fortwo ever could, plus an eight-year battery warranty to boot, versus four years for the smart. Too bad it looks like something that a HAL 9000 wouldn’t open the pod bay door for. Nissan did bring out a less expensive version of their Leaf electro car in recent years, with the current base S model starting at $31,998. The Ford Focus Electric has an MSRP of $32,505, and a battery bunion in the hatchback that needs to be lanced, and I mean right soon. A first-gen Mazda Miata has more trunk space than a Ford Focus Electric. We’re not going to get into plug-in hybrids or Tesla’s, though I will say that what Tesla fully understands is that people want range in an electric car, and if you spend about 100 grand, that’s exactly what Tesla will sell you. As for the electro-smart, I will say that my touch of naturally-occurring range anxiety meant that I didn’t let the battery charge level fall below 30 per cent, during the week of testing. No weird alarms went off, with the exception of the ones in my head, and visions of being mocked in rush hour traffic, huffing and puffing the dead smart to safety. When it comes to performance, there is truly nothing more exciting in the world of car than instant torque. I found that I could zip away from most of the annoying comments volleyed at traffic lights about the electro-smart faster than a respectable muscle car, without all that annoying tire squealing. A note to electric vehicle intenders; an electric car does tend to attract the interest of large diesel trucks with lift kits for some reason (AKA: The Jabroni Factor). The best part about the smart fortwo electric drive is that it doesn’t drive like a gas-powered smart fortwo. It’s a smooth, seamless delight, with no weirdness in the powertrain whatsoever. Remember that the smart fortwo was conceived from the get-go as an electric car, which makes this version about as Mensa as it can get. As for range anxiety, yes, it is real, but you can manage it, without all those tasty ask-your-doctor-about meds. I found myself thinking about traffic differently. I didn’t want to sit in traffic with the electric AC on max, waiting to find out how easy the smart was to push. I found myself finding detours, taking the roads less taken, with the windows down for climate control. Keep moving, keep regenerating. If your fuel source has limits, you will adapt to your new driving surroundings. The electro-smart had the optional three-spoke wheel with shift paddles, but those paddles aren’t for sport; they’re for power, as in regenerative power, topping up the battery as you’re driving. The most aggressive of those regeneration events occurs with the Plus paddle, which feels as though someone just threw on the parking brake, as you lift your foot off the accelerator. This setting will practically stop the car, not a great setting for traffic, when you’re not touching the brake pedal till the very last second. Would I buy a smart fortwo electric drive? Well, a few more Level III electric charging stations would be nice in most urban areas, though my money is on the coming-soon Chevrolet Bolt EV. Price estimates are in the low 30s, with a projected range in the realm of 300 kilometres. Life is an expert at throwing us detours, and 300 kilometres of range is just the amount needed, even when everything goes completely sideways. Like most electric cars, the Bolt EV will feed its HVAC systems electrically. I'd rather have 300 klicks of juice on tap than 138, especially when its minus 40, or plus 30. Here’s hoping Chevy makes these numbers happen, and here’s hoping that the rest of the electro cars up their mileage game. Range is the answer to the electric car question, and it always will be. Is electric right for you? [© thechronicleherald.ca] ... https://books.google.com/books?isbn=146855445X Jabroni Factor, noun. slang: A dumbass, a meathead, a moron For EVLN posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ https://transportevolved.com/2015/07/25/electragirl-six-months-with-the-2015-smart-electric-drive/ ElectraGirl: Six Months with the 2015 Smart Electric Drive http://www.godanriver.com/news/danville/fermata-s-vehicle-to-grid-power-storage-technology-coming-to/article_c9ffb6d6-2cdb-11e5-bed5-afb9ed2c26b5.html $2M Tobacco grant> danville-va.gov Leafs use fermataenergy.com,UVA V2G http://www.wxxv25.com/news/local/story/Electric-Vehicle-Charging-Station-Installed-in/20oMcuZqy02mYjyN1krO1A.cspx Free L2 EVSE @Biloxi-MS CTA’S transit center + EVLN: 2016 Mitsubishi i-MIEV ES EV review {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-CAD27k-Smart-fortwo-ED-plugs-in-charges-up-heads-out-r-134km-tp4676964.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
