If you caught the first episode of the HBO show called "Silicon Valley", then you've seen the Tango. It's the very narrow electric car that eccentric billionaire Peter Gregory drives in the show. And yes, George Clooney has one. But how does it compare to the Smart ED?
On similarities, the Tango and the Smart ED are both electric. They're both exceptionally small vehicles that seat two people and they get about 80 miles of range on the standard battery pack. One of the comments that both cars get regularly is that they look like they'd fall over in a tight turn. But with all the battery weight in the floor, they both corner quite well.
The differences between the cars are distinct. The Tango uses two DC motors to the Smart's one AC motor. The reason for the Tango to use these is the raw power, DC can push a vehicle quite a bit faster than AC Although the Smart has been clocked at around 7 seconds for 0-60 MPH, the Tango is more like a motorbike with its 3.2 second time.
There's no denying the size differences, since the Tango weighs about 50% more than the smart despite being about 2/3rd of its width. Also, the Tango is 4-inches shorter in length. At 3200 lbs, where does all the weight come from? The battery pack is about 1200 lbs alone, and much of the frame of the Tango is reinforced with steel bars to guarantee that you will survive in a crash.
The most notable difference between the two vehicles are not the dimensions, but rather the price. The Tango is quite a bit smaller and does not accommodate two people in the traditional side-by-side seating style. Oddly enough, the Tango costs nearly seven times more ($160k) than a Smart ED. But hey, it's still cheaper than a half-million dollar Porsche Carrera GT.
Frankly, the Tango was not built to be direct competition for the Smart. Mercedes Benz created the Smart ForTwo over 15 years ago as an inexpensive city car for Europe. It was not sold in the United States until 2008 and then only as an internal combustion model. The Smart started out at a mere $12,000 and could be leased for $99 per month. It's remains the smallest and least expensive car in the U.S. market.
The Tango is a limited production model that will never be powered by internal combustion. It is slim so that two Tangos can be driven in the same lane. It's basically a motorbike with four wheels... a very expensive motorbike. Okay, okay,... it's more of an electric toy for wealthy people. But it is at least comparable in size and drive train to the Smart ForTwo ED. As it is the Smart ForTwo ED gets a lot of attention, I don't think that I'd get that much more from owning a Tango.
If you're interested in either of these cars, check out the websites
National Smart ForTwo ED
San Jose Smart Center
Commuter Cars
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