[Eunicholas]

I never see them around, I see them at work but not on the road, it looks like a good little car the boss uses it and he said he can get 90miles fairly easy, and you can spec it to have a 22kw charger installed, you can charge of a rapid charger but only at 22kw and you can use the ecotricity 22kw as well.

 

[Paul]

They look great, that is to say just like a regular smart, seems like the ideal runaround EV to me.

 

[Eunicholas]

Yer I think it's a very good city car

 

[richardglover]

The allocation to the UK last year was 90 units, was interested but never got to have a test drive.
This year when they phoned to see if I was still interested I happened to be watching that Kandi EV tower video and asked the sales person how many allocated this time for 2014.
90 again.
I told her what I had paused to answer the call and explained that Kandi are producing 100,000 units and how the Kandi vehicle was being compared to the Smart in looks.
It was the significant uptake of (albeit two wheel) ev over my last visit to China in Christmas 2010 that triggered my interest in ev and I have been watching to see the Chinese storm the market since then.
90 units is not smart. 90,000 units at the right price would get them taken seriously.

 

[Eunicholas]

90 what the hell 90? That must be a joke lol

 

[Jason Wallace]

I saw one parked at 90 degrees in London today

 

[WJLambert]

I see an Electric Smart every day, but that's because I drive one. But then on top of that, I do see at least one Smart ForTwo every day (whether ev or ice).
I'd estimate that I see one electric (other than my own) every week or so, but then I live in Silicon Valley.
I definitely cannot speak to how many are sold in the UK and Europe

http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

 

[Paul]

I see an Electric Smart every day, but that's because I drive one. But then on top of that, I do see at least one Smart ForTwo every day (whether ev or ice).
I'd estimate that I see one electric (other than my own) every week or so, but then I live in Silicon Valley.
I definitely cannot speak to how many are sold in the UK and Europe

http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

Excellent, welcome!

 

[Adrian Berry]

Hi,
I see one every day as well - and for the same reason. I took delivery on 12th Feb this year - placed the order 2nd Feb last year! I know of one other person locally who also has one. I used to drive one of the phase II smart ED and gave him a test drive. He was so impressed he went out the next week and bought a cancelled order straight out of the dealer showroom.

I'm told by the dealer that mine is the first in the UK with the 22kW charger. I've tried it out a couple of times at the Ecotricity charging station at Warwick services on the M40. Its really impressive how much charge you can get in in a short time. Even using it on my 6-7kW home charger is quite effective.

I live in the countryside on top of a big hill. So I do quite a bit of quite fast driving round country lanes and the occasional motorway sprint. I haven't managed to completely flatten the battery yet but it tells me that I should get about 66-70 miles - a reflection on my less than eco friendly driving style?!

 

[WJLambert]

Wow, congrats on the 22kW charger. I do feel a tinge of jealousy at that. Alas, I'm unaware of any place in the U.S. that offers charging at that rate (that's not CHAdeMO or Tesla). I'm glad that I can at least charge up 12 mi / hr, but It would be amazing to get a full pack in < an hr.

If you don't mind me asking, what was the added cost for the 22kW charger?

Note: On the SmartCarofAmerica forums there's a thread about the 90+ mi club. http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/forums/f170/90-mile-club-144-9-km-51521/index7.html

 

[Adrian Berry]

I'd have to go back and check the original paperwork - which is now a year down my paper pile - but I think it was an extra £2500. Hugely expensive but, in theory, it allows me to travel to most of the major towns in England without having to stop overnight on the way!

An electricity company called Ecotricity has done a deal with one chain of motorway service stations and is busy installing high power chargers in them. I think it may also be government sponsored as well. Its a bit like what Tesla are doing, installing an Electric Highway in the USA - and China?

 

[Glenn Garrett]

My 22kW on-board charger was a £2,650 option in February this year. It's expensive but it does change the way I can use the car. I agree with Adrian Berry - without the charger, I couldn't easily travel to destinations further than 40 miles away unless I stay somewhere overnight.

I understood from the dealer that it's not easily possible to fit the charger later, hence I ordered the car with it. From research on the Internet, I believe the charger is a Brusa NLG6 although Smart never refer to its brand or part number so I don't know that for sure.