Of all the questions generated by the appearance of the Smart car, the one that surfaces the most is, ”Is that an electric car?” Well, come October, the answer to that question will, in some cases, be yes. And, from what we’ve seen so far, it will be a welcome development.

Small on the outside, big on the inside, Smart’s ForTwo has become a fairly familiar sight with approximately 40,000 of them currently on U.S. roads. Another question that comes up pretty regularly in conjunction with the Smart is safety. Designed to withstand high-speed crashes on the autobahn, we’re assured the Smart car is safe. It includes safety features found in many luxury cars, including a racecar like safety cage that protects the passengers.

Brooklyn, NY served as the perfect place for Decisive to test drive the environmentally friendly urban vehicle. The benefits of its size were readily demonstrated by squeezing the micro car through tight traffic. The electric ForTwo maneuvered quickly, thanks to the 30 KW motor’s ability to accelerate the Smart ForTwo from 0-60 in 6.5 seconds.

The little car pulls away from traffic signals and keeps pace with traffic quite readily. The extra weight afforded by the battery pack helps the ForTwo’s stability as well. Thanks to the one-speed transmission, the gasoline-powered ForTwo’s biggest mechanical flaw is eliminated. The semi-manual transmission in that car has a tendency to lag between shifts. With no gear changes to contend with, acceleration in the electric Smart is absolutely seamless.

Smart’s engineers had electric drive in mind when the car was designed, so substituting the gasoline tank with a 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery was fairly simple. The battery pack fits nicely into the area originally occupied by the gas tank in the petroleum-fueled version of the car.

We’re told the ForTwo Electric Drive is good for up to four to five hours of driving in normal city traffic––when fully charged. Projected range is 83 miles and it will take up to eight hours to get a full charge, using a 220v electrical outlet.

Unquestionably a city car, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, is designed to be a runabout. Still, two passengers and an overnight bag for each will fit nicely. The vehicle is 8.8 feet long and the height and width are 5.1 feet.

Since the gasoline version went on sale in the U.S. two years ago, about 40,000 have been sold. Smart’s representatives say the potential exists for more and demand is greater than manufacturing capacity for the gasoline powered Smart ForTwo. Toward mitigating that situation, Daimler AG, which owns Smart as well as Mercedes-Benz, recently increased production by 50% to help meet demand. Roger Penske, Smart’s US distributor, has opened 77 dealers in 37 states, including Puerto Rico and Hawaii.

To start, 250 electric ForTwos will be offered in five regions this year: Portland, Ore; San Jose, Calif.; Orlando, Fla.; Indianapolis, Ind. and the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to Boston––through a four-year lease at $599 per month. This equates to a sticker price of roughly $45,000. That includes all of the tax breaks available for electric cars. For comparison, the gasoline-powered version starts at $11,990. Like that one, you’ll be able to get the Electric Drive model as a hardtop or a convertible.

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The company is also launching a Car2Go membership club where members pay monthly to use the vehicle within certain city limits. The program has already launched in Austin Texas and will roll out soon in Detroit and Los Angeles.