Smart Fortwo Cabriolet (2016 – 2019) Review

A funky small car with an easy-to-operate fabric roof sounds ideal for the city, and that’s what the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet provides. But it’s not as rounded as rivals such as the DS3 Cabrio, popular Fiat 500C, or even the short-lived Renault Wind. Read on for our full Smart Fortwo Cabriolet review.

With its cute styling, compact size and easy to drive nature, the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet is great for nipping around town in the sun.

However, its folding fabric roof does mean some compromises. The back window is prone to getting dirty quickly since it has no rear wiper, and while the boot is the same size as in the Smart Fortwo hard-top, access is tighter in the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet.

The roof can be retracted while on the move and set to any position, so it can be treated like a sunroof or taken all the way back.

If you know it’s going to be nice and sunny with no chance of rain, you can go one step further and remove the bars from above both doors, storing them in a special pocket in the tailgate.

On the move, the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet is extremely easy to drive, with very light controls and a tight turning circle. U-turns in busy streets, parallel parking and tight gaps in traffic are almost effortless.

Both the 71PS and 90PS engines are perky and responsive and they work well with either the manual transmission or the smooth dual-clutch automatic, which is a great choice for stop-start urban driving.

But the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet clatters over speed bumps and feels a bit wobbly and jittery on uneven tarmac.

It’s loud on the motorway, too, although it can hold its own when it comes to overtaking and keeping up with high-speed traffic if you opt for the more powerful of the two engines.

That said, any used car buyer is likely to know the limitations beforehand and, while there may only be two seats, there is a surprising amount of space in the cabin.

Tall drivers and passengers shouldn’t have much trouble with headroom or legroom and there is enough storage for the usual odds and ends – such as coffee cups, smartphones, dash cameras and maps – to be stored neatly.

The lack of rear seats and a small boot mean the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet will hold limited appeal for the average urban motorist.

But many buyers will fall in love with the quirkiness. If that’s the case with you then you’re unlikely to be disappointed – it’s great in town, easy to drive and packed with character.

Fancy a second opinion? Read heycar’s Smart Fortwo Cabriolet review here.

The Smart Fortwo Cabriolet has an unusual rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout. This has the advantage of giving it an extremely tight turning circle.

Paired with the tiny size, it means getting in and out of tight gaps and small parking spaces is incredibly easy. U-turns are effortless, too – a three-point turn is only necessary on very narrow roads.

While the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet is easy to drive in town, there are some issues.

The suspension jiggles and wobbles over uneven surfaces and thumps over potholes, while the fabric roof makes motorway speeds blustery and loud. Speed bumps are uncomfortable, too, thanks to the short wheelbase.

That said, the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet copes well in corners. The handling is predictable and stable even on country roads, with good body control for the most part.

Despite the rear-wheel-drive layout, there is no sense the car ever wants to spin around even on loose surfaces, like in a gravel carpark.

Both the 71PS and 90PS petrol engines are perfectly at home around town and come with a slick five-speed manual transmission.

If you make longer journeys regularly, then the higher output engine is a better bet – it’s a little more responsive thanks to a turbocharger, so it’s more effective when accelerating on a slip road or overtaking slower traffic.

The Smart Fortwo Cabriolet was offered with a very smooth, slick dual clutch automatic gearbox as an option that was a massive improvement on the laughably slow and jerky auto box of original Smart models.

It works very well, particularly for those frustrating urban stop-and-start jams.

Driver aids included cruise control and a speed limiter as standard, along with hill start assist.

In terms of options, there was a lane keep assistance system that provides a visual and audio warning if the driver starts drifting out of their lane on the motorway.

There was also a front collision warning system that provides an alert if an imminent crash is detected.

The Smart Fortwo Cabriolet is not rated to tow any type of trailer in the UK.

The folding fabric roof on the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet retracts electronically at any speed.

Fully folded, it bundles up above the load cover, plus the roof bars can be removed easily from above the doors and stowed in the boot. In this configuration, it feels more truly ‘open’ than the Fiat 500C or DS3 Cabrio. 

On the hard-top Smart Fortwo coupe, the tailgate glass opens as well as the tailgate itself, which makes access easy. Sadly, the folding fabric roof means this isn’t possible in the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet, which makes access to the boot a little tighter, although it has exactly the same 260-litre capacity.

It’s still fine for shopping trips or soft luggage, though.

Up front, there is a surprising amount of space, with enough legroom and headroom for tall occupants. Obviously the big caveat is the lack of rear seats, but you wouldn’t be looking at a Smart Fortwo Cabriolet review if you needed those.

There’s plenty of seat adjustment so getting comfortable is straightforward.

Material quality is very sturdy and there are neat touches such as a fabric-covered dashboard and cute slider controls for the temperature.

The ball-like vents and pod-mounted rev counter are clever throwbacks to the original Smart ForTwo too – though they’re much better made in this car.

All versions have Bluetooth connectivity, an Aux input and a USB socket, along with climate control and electric windows.

Opting for a higher trim level brings largely cosmetic improvements, meaning useful extras like the touchscreen navigation unit are cost options across the whole range.

From 2016 onwards, this system included a phone cradle to make it easier to hook up your smartphone, and also introduced the Smart Media System, standard on Smart Fortwo Cabriolet Passion models but also available as a standalone option or as part of the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet Premium package. 

This adds a seven-inch touchscreen, Android Auto and DAB (plus navigation depending on the model), and is a significant upgrade.

Unfortunately it isn’t compatible with Apple CarPlay, so you’ll have to make do with just the Bluetooth connection if you have an Apple device.

Later cars also add a USB connection, so you can charge and stream from your phone at the same time.

There will always be a limited pool of used car buyers for the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet because of its very nature.

However, those who have set their hearts on it will be happy to pay as much as £8500 for a five-year-old example with 25,000 miles on the clock.

An earlier, eight-year-old Smart Fortwo Cabriolet that has covered 40,000 miles will still attract a price of around £7800, which demonstrates how stable values are for this car.

The Smart Fortwo Cabriolet claimed official consumption of between 44.1mpg and 56.0mpg. Our Real MPG data shows these numbers to be very close to the truth, with real-world figures even exceeding them in some cases.

All Smart Fortwo Cabriolet models (except the Brabus variants) come with carbon dioxide emissions of less than 100g/km.

For older models, this means free road tax, while the Brabus pays £20 per year – hardly a disincentive. More recent cars from 1 April 2017 onwards all pay the flat rate of £190 for a year’s road tax.

Servicing a Smart Fortwo Cabriolet will be the same as for the hard-top, so it should be easy to budget for routine maintenance.

Getting insurance cover for the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet will be a little pricier than for the hard-top, with the open-roofed model in bands from group 4 to 16, although most sit in the middle ground.

The Smart Fortwo Cabriolet Passion is the base model and includes 15-inch alloy wheels, black interior fabric, automatic air-conditioning, electric windows and colour multi-function instrument computer.

There’s also a USB connection, Bluetooth, Aux-in, cruise control, speed limiter and hill start assist.

The Smart Fortwo Cabriolet Prime adds an alternative alloy wheel design, different interior colours and heated seats.

Go for the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet Prime Sport and it adds 16-inch alloy wheels, a chrome tailpipe, 10mm lower suspension, sports steering wheel and stainless steel pedals.

The Smart Fortwo Cabriolet Brabus Sport models have 16 or 17-inch alloy wheels, and Brabus exterior and interior details.