Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio charger: which one suits your car best?
The Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio charges at home with a maximum of 4.6 kW through a Type 2 connection. That figure is low on purpose. This compact city car has a small battery and does not need to charge quickly. A full battery holds 16.7 kWh, good for roughly 135 kilometres on the WLTP cycle. An evening at home refills that with room to spare. So speed actually works against the obvious choice here. A three-phase charger charges this Smart more slowly, as the next section explains. What matters is what still makes sense in a few years. Want to see the other versions? Browse our overview of EV chargers for Smart.
For the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio we recommend a charger from our 11 kW EV chargers.
Charging specifications of the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Usable battery capacity | 16.7 kWh |
| Max. AC charging power (home) | 4.6 kW (single-phase) |
| Range (WLTP) | about 135 km |
| Charging time with a suitable EV charger | approx. 3.5 hours |
| Charging connector | Type 2 (Mennekes) |
| DC fast charging | Not available |
Why a three-phase charger charges this Smart more slowly
The Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio never draws more than 4.6 kW at home. The car caps the power itself. On a single-phase 32 A charger you get that full 4.6 kW. An 11 kW three-phase charger delivers 3 x 16 A, and this Smart uses only one of those three phases. It then drops back to 3.7 kW. So a three-phase unit does not just fail to speed the car up, it slows it down. Purely on charging speed, a 7.4 kW EV charger is the faster option for this car today.
Even so, we advise most drivers to look beyond this one car. Do you already have a three-phase supply in your fuse box? Or do you expect a bigger electric car within a few years? Then 11 kW is the wiser buy. Almost every modern EV charges at 11 kW, and a future EV can make full use of it.
The trade-off is yours to weigh. The fastest option today is single-phase, the most future-proof one is three-phase. On this Smart the difference is roughly one hour per full charge. For a car that sits on the drive all night, that hour rarely costs you anything. If the Smart is your only car and you plan to keep it, the single-phase route stays the sharper buy.
Which charger suits the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio?
Only the single-phase route reaches the car's full 4.6 kW. Two other features matter more over the life of the charger, and both outlast this one car. The first is a built-in MID meter.
MID stands for Measuring Instruments Directive, the European standard for certified metering. Such a meter records your home charging separately from your household use. You then know what a full battery actually costs you. In our range that meter starts at 11 kW. You find it across our 11 kW EV chargers and on our chargers with a MID meter.
The second feature is app control. It lets you set a charging schedule, follow a session while it runs and check your usage afterwards from your phone. On a car that charges overnight anyway, that is mostly about cheap night-time electricity. Our EV chargers with an app all support it. Are you fitting out a driveway or garage for the first time? Our home EV chargers bring together the models people install at home most often. The Smart has a Type 2 connection. For public charge points on the road you only need a separate Type 2 charging cable.
How long does the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio take to charge?
The sum is simple. A 16.7 kWh battery divided by 4.6 kW comes out at roughly 3.5 hours for a full charge. You reach that with a single-phase charger that delivers 4.6 kW. Connect the Smart to an 11 kW three-phase charger and the power falls back to 3.7 kW, which takes about 4.5 hours. Either way the car is fully charged by morning if you plug it in during the evening. For a city car with this range, that is plenty. In daily use you rarely start from empty either. The Smart has no DC fast charging, so you charge it at home.
Other versions of the Smart ForTwo
Wallbox Discounter also has charging information for the other versions and generations of the Smart ForTwo:
- Smart EQ ForTwo Cabrio, the newer EQ generation cabrio
- Smart EQ ForTwo Coupe, the coupe with a fixed roof
- Smart Forfour Fortwo Electric Drive, the four-door Electric Drive
Frequently asked questions
Does the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive Cabrio need a three-phase charger?
No. This Smart charges at a maximum of 4.6 kW on a single phase. A three-phase charger actually charges it more slowly. It brings the car down to 3.7 kW, so charging takes about an hour longer. We only suggest three phase if you already have that connection, or if a bigger electric car is on your list.
Why does a MID meter matter for this car?
A MID-certified kWh meter measures your home charging accurately and keeps it apart from the rest of your electricity use. You then see what each session costs instead of guessing from your energy bill. That is useful whether you drive privately or for work. With a battery this size the amounts stay modest. The meter still shows you how much of your bill the car is responsible for. The Smart charges fine without one, but you lose that insight.
Can I connect the Smart without a certified installer?
We always recommend having the connection made by a certified installer. That is safer and it matters for your insurance. Wallbox Discounter arranges installation in the Netherlands, Flemish Belgium and Germany, carried out by a certified partner. We ship worldwide, so outside those three countries you arrange the installation locally.