smart driving
Clean and efficient city runabouts: A hundred smart fortwo ed cars with electric drive are currently involved in a small-fleet practical test in London, where they are demonstrating the advantages of zero-emission driving. Over the next four years, the London Metropolitan Police will also be sending out smart ed models to patrol the city center.
On the outside, the smart ed patrol cars used by the London Metropolitan Police don't look any different from the conventional smart fortwo variants with a diesel or gasoline engine - except, of course, for the police car equipment and the "Met" name stickers on the sides. That's because only the abbreviation "ed" in the name, the electric socket under the gas tank cover, and the lack of a tailpipe at the back reveal that these are cars with electric drive systems.
The heart of the vehicle is a permanent-magnet electric motor with an output of 30 kW/41 hp that delivers its maximum torque of 140 Nm to the wheels from the very start. Stepping on the "gas pedal" accelerates the city runabout from 0 to 60 km/h in only 5.7 seconds. A Zebra battery (also known as a sodium-nickel-chloride battery) with a capacity of 15.5 kWh and voltage of 300 V provides the necessary electric power. It takes just 3.5 hours to charge the battery at any normal 230 V socket from 20 percent of capacity to 80 percent, which are the figures for a normal charging process. With a fully charged battery, the e-smart has a maximum range of 115 km (72 miles).
From the viewpoint of environmental friendliness, the smart ed is currently unrivaled, because its statistics regarding noise generation and direct exhaust emissions are exemplary. If the electric current used for recharging the battery comes primarily from renewable sources such as wind power or biomass, the smart with electric drive is a genuinely "green" alternative form of mobility with a high degree of energy efficiency. This is due in part to the electric motor's high degree of efficiency and in part to the "recuperation mode," in which the braking energy is used to recharge the battery pack in the manner of a dynamo.
For regular drives into the City of London - in other words, into the "C-Zone" - the quiet and zero-emission electric city runabout is an excellent option, based on cost factors alone: The drivers will not have to pay the daily "congestion charge" of approximately 10 Euro. Electric vehicles are basically exempt from the congestion charge, which is imposed from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday on passenger cars driving in central London.
