Summer Soft-Top Fun: 2011 Smart ForTwo Passion Cabriolet

By Lyndon Conrad Bell

Lyndon Conrad Bell

Contributing Writer

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Summer Soft-Top Fun: 2011 Smart ForTwo Passion Cabriolet
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1,478 views May 25, 2011

2011 Smart Fortwo

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We're quickly counting down to the Memorial Day weekend and, at least where we are, the weather is nice (for once). What better time to consider the single greenest soft-top available, the 2011 Smart ForTwo Cabrio?

Driving the little Smart through a particularly "urban" part of town, a brother crossing the street shouts: "I LIKE that, man, that's a sharp little ride there!"

Hustling down the freeway, easily keeping up with traffic, the Smart ForTwo Cabriolet even gets a nod of approval from the pilot of a high-in-the-air Ford Super Duty Club Cab. Ironically, the Ford was so big; the ForTwo might easily have fit in the huge pickup's truck bed.

Those were but two of the many people who proved to be smitten by the diminutive matte green convertible. Even though the Smart car been on the market in the States for three years now, people are still very curious about it.

And everyone who took a seat behind the wheel of the tiny car was impressed by the roominess of its interior.

Smart ForTwo

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So spacious is the Smart's cockpit, you're routinely startled on exiting, or catching a glimpse of its reflection, at just how small the 8.8-foot long car really is. A Mini Cooper is, by comparison,  12 feet long.

A clue to the interior's spaciousness is actually available from outside the car. Opening widely to reveal the new-for-2011 interior, the side doors are the convertible's largest body panel—except for the roof.

Powered by a 70-horsepower, 1-liter, three-cylinder rear-mounted engine, the 2011 Smart ForTwo is a rear-wheel drive car.And it uses a five-speed automated manual transmission that's not particularly smooth in its shifts.

In many instances, in fact, driving the Smart car may remind you of experience of riding with someone who's just learning to operate a manual transmission. There are huge lags between gearshifts, but they're rough to boot.

The engine's rather meager output of 68 ft-lbs of torque at 4,500 rpm is just enough to set the little convertible into motion. It takes under 13 seconds to push the ForTwo Cabriolet to 60 mph, and its top speed is given as 90 mph.

As for fuel economy, the EPA rates it at 33 mpg city, 41 mpg highway.

2011 Smart Fortwo

Once you've accelerated, the Smart car holds its speed pretty well, though an occasional manual downshift is required when ascending hills.

Handling, as you might expect, is on the sprightly side—although the car understeers quite a bit. On rough roads, because the wheelbase is so short, the front end is usually still recovering from an irregularity when the rear end hits it. But it's comfortable on smooth surfaces.

At highway speeds, you'll experience quite a bit of wind noise through the canvas roof. We've also driven the coupe, which is much quieter. You'll find driving the Smart Cabriolet with the roof open to be comfortable, and the top can be opened without stopping the car.

With the rear folding part of the two-piece roof left in place, buffeting is minimal--and that's a better way to drive, as rear visibility is severely compromised when it is folded.

Speaking of the highway, the question comes up frequently: Aren't you anxious on Interstates when you're by large trucks?

2011 smart for two cabriolet

In our experience, large trucks were less a problem than were other cars and light trucks. For some reason, those drivers seemed to feel they should be going faster than the Smart car, no matter how fast it was going.

On several occasions, on both surface streets and freeways, other drivers would crowd it, then look down at their speedometers and realize the little car was driving at—or slightly above—the speed limit and back off.

New features for 2011 include the matte green paint job on our test car, and an all-new interior configuration. Fabric covers the redesigned dash, the instrument cluster has been reworked and secondary switches for door locks, fog lights, and other accessories have been grouped in the middle of the panel.

A new optional video screen housing a navigation system is also available for 2011.

Still the only car of its type on the North American marketplace, the 2011 Smart ForTwo Passion Cabriolet is priced starting at $17,690.