Smart #2 Buying Guide: The New Smallest Electric Car for the City

Smart #2: The Tiny Electric Car That Should Be Your Default Choice

The Smart #2 is a two-seat micro EV city car measuring about 2.75 metres long and engineered for dense urban environments, offering a compact electric vehicle option that prioritises easy parking, tight turning and efficient daily commuting over rear seats or family-hauling space. For most city buyers, this smallest electric car is the one to get: it restores Smart’s original formula of a tiny footprint with enough real-world range, while modernising safety and charging for daily use. If your typical trip is cross-town rather than cross-country and you care more about threading through traffic than carrying four adults, the #2 fits your life better than larger budget EVs that waste space you will rarely use.

Core hardware is refreshingly straightforward. The Smart #2 uses a 60 kW motor driving a lightweight 1,130 kg body, fed by a 35.7 kWh battery targeting around 300 km of WLTP range. According to a technical filing, the car’s length is just 2,751 mm, width 1,669 mm and height 1,555 mm, with a 1,875 mm wheelbase that is shorter than the overall length of many compact SUVs. On paper, that makes the #2 the clearest choice today for drivers who want the smallest electric car they can buy without sacrificing the basic performance and range needed for modern city living.

Design and Interior: Back to Smart’s Micro-Car Roots

Smart positions the #2 as the successor to the seminal Fortwo, deliberately returning to its roots in the micro-car segment. The exterior carries over key cues from the Concept #2: teardrop-shaped headlights flanking a protruding "forehead", a big grille and a baseball cap-like floating roof that gives this tiny body a distinctive profile. Frameless windows and simple, conventional door handles emphasise function over flash, while 15-inch steel wheels or 16-inch aero alloys keep unsprung weight in check for city agility. This is not an anonymous pod; it is purpose-built to stand out in tight streets while signalling a clear focus on compact efficiency.

Inside, Smart confirms an S-shaped dashboard reminiscent of the original Fortwo, paired with a bench seat that integrates covered storage and centrally mounted window controls. That layout suits solo drivers and couples who want a relaxed, airy front cabin instead of a token rear row they will almost never occupy. Two-seat micro EV city cars maximise usable space in front, and the #2 follows that logic faithfully. Combined with its short 1,875 mm wheelbase and tight 6.95 m turning circle, the cabin design underlines the car’s mission: make urban driving and parking easier than any larger compact electric vehicle can.

Range, Charging and How It Compares to Larger Compact EVs

Under the floor, the Smart #2 carries a 35.7 kWh battery aimed at delivering roughly 300 km of WLTP-rated range, a figure that puts it squarely in the practical daily-commute bracket rather than the bare-minimum niche. DC fast charging from 10 to 80% is claimed to take under 20 minutes, making it painless to top up during a coffee stop or between errands. Combined with the efficient 60 kW motor and 1,130 kg curb weight, this gives the smallest electric car credible real-world range without the mass penalty of a huge pack.

Where the #2 stands out in any urban EV buying guide is how it substitutes size for maneuverability. At just 2,751 mm long and with a turning circle of 6.95 metres, it goes places five-door compact electric vehicles struggle: tiny curbside spots, cramped multi-storey ramps, busy inner-city lanes. It has been mentioned as an alternative to larger five-door EVs, clearly aimed at buyers who would rather gain parking ease and agility than extra seats. If you look at city driving as a sequence of short hops with frequent stops, the #2’s design and range mix hits the sweet spot more convincingly than bigger budget EVs whose extra length and weight add hassle but little everyday benefit.

Launch Timing and Why You Should Plan Around the Paris Debut

Smart has been building anticipation for the #2 with murals in major cities, ahead of the car’s world premiere at the Paris Motor Show on October 12. This artistic teaser campaign underlines the brand’s intention to make the #2 a halo product: "the evolution of a revolution," as its global marketing chief describes it, bringing playfulness and "effortless agility" back to the modern urban jungle. For buyers, that date matters because final interior photos, trim details and market roll-out plans should all be confirmed at the show.

If you are in the market for a micro EV city car, it makes sense to hold off major decisions until the #2’s full reveal. Early specifications already confirm a bespoke Electric Compact Architecture and a redeveloped tridion cell aimed at improving crash safety, signalling that Smart is not trading safety away for size. With two-tone paint options, bodykits inspired by the Concept #2 and different roof finishes, you will be able to personalise this compact electric vehicle more than many plain-looking rivals. Urban EV buyers who care about personality as much as practicality should mark the premiere date and be ready to commit soon after: this is the car most aligned with tight-city living.

Buy if / Skip if

• Buy the Smart #2 if you want the smallest electric car available and your driving is mainly short urban trips.
• Skip the Smart #2 if you routinely carry more than one passenger or need a full rear seat for family use.
• Buy the Smart #2 if you value easy parking, a 6.95 m turning circle and lightweight agility over cargo space.
• Skip the Smart #2 if your priority is long-distance highway travel where a larger battery and body would serve you better.
• Buy the Smart #2 if you like Smart’s micro EV city car heritage and want a modern successor to the Fortwo.
• Skip the Smart #2 if you prefer conventional compact electric vehicles with five doors and more traditional proportions.