http://thechronicleherald.ca/wheelsnews/1283365-lady-driven-living-with-the-2015-smart-fortwo-electric-drive-coup%C3%A9 Lady Driven: Living with the 2015 smart fortwo electric drive coupé Lisa Calvi | April 29, 2015
[images http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/default/files/imagecache/ch_article_main_image/articles/B97450703Z.120150429094845000GG29C3P2.11.jpg The charger at Dalhousie University is just outside the Ocean Sciences Building. It requires a Dalhousie parking permit. (Lisa Calvi) http://thechronicleherald.ca/sites/default/files/u27129/Calvi3EVweb.jpg (thumbs-up) ] I did it. I survived a week with an electric vehicle. I didn’t blow the house up, electrocute myself or get stranded by the side of the highway with a dead battery. Life is good. Electrifying even. I pick up the 2015 smart fortwo electric drive coupé car on a blustery, rainy day. A caution sign on the MacKay bridge warns drivers to reduce speed because of extreme high winds. Great. The tiny two-seat smart car and I are going to be mercilessly flicked off the high bridge into the harbour below like a bug. This irrational fear momentarily dulls the thrill of thinking that my vehicle is not burning any fossil fuels. I make it across the bridge with surprisingly little buffeting by the wind. I’m a bit nervous about living with an electric vehicle. I hope it likes me, I joke to my husband, Garry Sowerby, who is waiting for me to drive him to the airport for a business trip. Don’t forget to plug it in, he jokes back. I never forget to charge my smartphone, tablet or laptop. Why would a plug-in vehicle be any different? It’s just another device, right? Don’t forget to plug it in, he repeats. I vow to only use the electric vehicle this week even though that means shuffling the two other vehicles crowding the driveway to get in and out and to get the smart car within reach of the life-giving power outlet inside the garage. I’m drenched by the sideways rain by the time I get the smart electric drive coupé into position and ready to be plugged in. A vague thought of electrocution passes through my mind but surely the manufacturer factored in driver dampness when working on the safety aspect of plugging a vehicle into an electrical outlet. My head is filled with questions. How long will this take? How far can I go? Can I drive Garry to the airport? It’s an 80-kilometre round trip. With the battery gauge registering only an 80 per cent charge and a published range of approximately 138 kilometres on a full charge, we don’t want to risk it. We take one of the other ‘old-fashioned’ vehicles, powered by an internal combustion engine, and leave the smart fortwo coupé tethered to the garage. If I owned only an electric vehicle, would the spontaneous road trip become a thing of the past? With this particular electric car, a road trip of 60 kilometres in one direction is certainly all my range anxiety could handle. There are other charging locations in Nova Scotia. I could drive 130 or so kilometres in one direction, stop to charge the vehicle, then hit the road again. Free as the wind. But with a common household outlet (120v system), it takes up to sixteen hours to go from zero to a full charge. With a Level II charger (240v), this process takes eight hours. Not exactly spontaneous but forward planning should eliminate any charging mishaps. Don’t forget to plug it in, are my husband’s parting words at the airport departures door. Yes, dear. I’ll take our 6’2” daughter, Layla, to get groceries. Will she fit? Will the groceries fit? We are obviously not going to buy furniture or bulk toilet paper but there is room for one order of groceries in the cargo area behind the seats. The cockpit of the smart fortwo coupé, with its high ceiling and tall seat backs, is actually spacious and quite comfortable, with lots of leg room. It’s cute, Layla claims. I have to agree, despite having to get used to that feeling of ‘where’s the rest of my car?’ on catching a glimpse of my reflection in shop windows. It’s raining and blowing again when I arrive home after our somewhat silly, self-imposed mission to find all the charging stations in Halifax’s downtown core. Between my smart electric drive car and the power outlet in the garage, there are two vehicles to move in and out of the driveway. I hear Garry’s voice: don’t forget to plug it in! But, I reason, I don’t have go out again today and there’s nothing on the schedule until 4 p.m. tomorrow that requires mobility. Plenty of time to plug it in tomorrow morning, I think, as I rush into the house out of the inclement weather. Could I really live with this vehicle? With a base price of $26,990 ($27,535 as tested), it’s reasonably priced but it would almost have to be a second vehicle for most households. Or you could work at a location, like the Halifax Central Library with three charging units in the underground car park or the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market with one charger out front. There’s a Level II charger at Saint Mary’s University and one at Dalhousie University’s Ocean Sciences Building. Charles P. Allen High School in Bedford has five chargers! Plug your vehicle in while you’re at work, then again at home at night and you’d never have to set wheel in a fuel station again. I love whipping around town in the compact cutie. I enjoy the effortless parking and the kick of that instant acceleration. I feel downright self-righteous about not polluting the atmosphere. Sure, I procrastinate when it comes to plugging in the vehicle in our crowded driveway much to my husband’s chagrin. But if the electric drive smart fortwo coupé was a permanent fixture in our fleet, I argue, we would install a Level II charger, leave a dedicated space in the driveway next to the charger and plan ahead. Definitely plan ahead. What if your 4 p.m. outing gets moved to 11 a.m. and your only wheeled option is the smart fortwo electric drive coupé? asks Garry, so innocently. I guess I’d better go plug it in. 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