“It looks like something from the set of Tron,” said a colleague as we viewed a photo of the Smart e-bike, about to be delivered to the Guardian office for a test.

And it is undeniable: the first venture into the two-wheeled market from Smart, the micro-car arm of the Daimler automotive empire, is sleek, shiny and avowedly futuristic. It has a gently curving frame into which the battery sits flush. There’s a carbon belt drive, and built-in lights. There’s a big control screen, even featuring a USB port to charge your phone as you ride along.

E-bikes, also known as pedelecs, giving you an electrically-powered boost when you pedal, are increasingly big business in the UK, albeit on a much smaller scale than countries like the Netherlands and Germany, where around 600,000 were sold overall last year.

It’s thus interesting for a car giant to venture into the market in a serious way. Some car brands already make bikes, for example BMW and Land Rover (the former even makes e-bikes), but these tend to be fairly generic and sold almost like an accessory, like the branded rain jacket or umbrella.

Robert East, operations manager for Smart in the UK, talks of the company building up an “e-mobility brand,” comprising electric cars, e-bikes and an imminent electric scooter.

While many e-bikes, especially in continental Europe, tend to be pragmatic and aimed at older riders whose knees might creak on long climbs, the Smart brochure pictures younger, fashionable types striking ecstatic poses as they consider the joy of their new two-wheeled machine.

The bike is, East says, “a way to attract younger people into the brand.” He adds:

Where we position the Smart with things like build quality and the control module it is very much a premium product in the e-bike sector.

It’s certainly premium-priced for a bike, though admittedly not massively so for a top-end e-bike: it’ll cost you £2,495.

Smart are keen to compare this price tag to a small car, or an annual rail travel card. My own mental calculation is more bike centric: for that you could get, say, a folding bike, a city commuter and a posh road bike, or maybe a cargo bike and a hybrid.

But let’s say you are an urban sophisticate with some spare cash and a desire to ride about town quickly but without getting clammy in your charcoal grey suit. How would the Smart fit into your lifestyle?

There’s two elements here: those specific to this bike, and those more general to e-bikes as a concept.

It’s undeniable that the Smart is very well engineered. The motor boost kicks in smoothly, without the shove-in-the-back jolt familiar from some cheaper e-bikes. Similarly, when the power assist cuts out at the legally-required 15mph this is quite gentle. Changing power settings is easy, using a click switch on the handlebars.

Smart claim a maximum possible range per battery charge of 62 miles, though of course this is improbable in the real world of hills and stop-start traffic. That said, the bike has a notably better range than some I’ve tried. My 12-mile daily commute made not much of a dent in the battery indicator even on full power, which is, frankly, the only way I ever ride e-bikes.

But one consequence of the chunky frame and electric kick is weight. A lot of weight. A full 26.1kg, or almost three times as heavy as a not overly posh hybrid commuter. This is moot when the motor is in operation, but hit 15mph – or, God forbid, run out of battery – and you’re left pedaling a lightweight moped.

My colleague, Adam Vaughan, who also tried out the bike, sums up this problem here:

I wanted to like this bike, I really did. But after a couple of days commuting on it I was relieved to get back on my middle of the road hybrid. First impressions were good: it looks eye-catchingly futuristic, it's smooth as the motor kicks in, and glided south London hills that would usually leave my sweating and crawling along. But the problem for me was the weight and the 15mph cap. I've used a handful of e-bikes before and they're obviously heavier than a normal one, but the Smart felt painfully heavy. Even a fairly slow cyclist like me often goes faster than 15mph, and on this thing, it feels like cycling through treacle once you pass that threshold.

It’s worth noting that our hypothetical latte-sipping loft dwellers at whom Smart are aiming the bike must hope to have either a lift in their building or a secure garage in which to park it. Lugging 26kg up a flight of stairs would not be fun.

That brings a parallel problem: if you’re nipping to the shops on your Smart (and they do sell a luggage rack and Smart-logo panniers), how confident would you feel, leaving £2,500 of space-age shininess locked to a lamppost? As with many posher e-bikes the control console clips off, without which the motor won’t work, but I’m never convinced thieves know that.

Overall, I’m not sure if the Smart really has a practical target market, beyond the design conscious, cash rich and toy fond. Our imaginary urban trendy would, for my view, be far better off with, say, a Brompton and a road bike and some cash to spare. If you’re the hill dwelling, long commuting or older rider at whom many other e-bikes are aimed there are cheaper, lighter options which are less obvious thief magnets.

More:

• Helen Pidd reviews Tesco's £500 electric bike

• Video: Peter Walker takes a new e-bike out for a ride

• Laura Laker on why electric 'Boris bikes' are a good idea