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Electric Smart Fortwo, Cabrio and Forfour revealed ahead of Paris

Smart has revealed its electric Fortwo, Cabrio and Forfour models, which debut at the Paris Motor Show next week ahead of sales starting in early 2017.

Smart Electric Drive range

The new Smart Electric Drive range includes the first electric Forfour plus the world’s only cabrio EV

The launch of the new models marks the fourth generation of the carmaker’s electric drive, which is being featured in the Smart Forfour for the first time and brings improvements in charging time.

The Smart Electric Drive uses a new 80bhp three-phase electric motor – up by 5bhp compared to the previous motor in the Fortwo and Cabrio. The new motor brings a range of just under 100 miles for the Fortwo and 96 miles for the other two models. 0-62mph time stands at 11.5 seconds for the Fortwo, 11.8 for the Cabrio and 12.7 for the Forfour.

The latest Smart Electric Drive can also be charged up to twice as quickly as before – 2.5 hours for the UK and US – while the addition of a new optional fast charger reduces charge time down as little as 45 minutes.

Features include radar-based recuperation, which monitors traffic using a radar sensor and selects the appropriate recuperation level. Drivers can also select an ECO mode, which enhances efficiency including through limiting the maximum speed, adjusting acceleration and selecting the maximum recuperation level.

As before, a ‘Smart Control’ app is also offered to enable drivers to control settings such as pre-entry climate control or intelligent charging remotely and has been updated with more operating options. A winter package with heated steering wheel will also be on offer.

The new models go on sale in early 2017, and first cars will arrive in the UK from September 2017.

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.