The Smart Car (From Crewe Guardian)

The Smart Car

3:14pm Wednesday 7th October 2009 in Motors By Catherine Lawler

I know there is a legion of Smart Car fans out there, but I’m afraid to say that I’m definitely not one of them.

There are a multitude of advantages to owning a Smart Car. You can pretty much squeeze into any parking space anywhere, at any angle, which is a real godsend if parking the car is an ongoing nightmare in your daily routine.

It’s environmentally friendly. It’s also incredibly economical, with this model averaging at a not-to-be-sniffed-at 85.6 miles per gallon.

But at what price? It’s comical to look at; the automatic transmission is far from smooth, the ride is hard and motorway driving should be avoided at all costs.

On a particularly windy day on the M56, the Smart Car simply didn’t feel stable and I sat firmly in the slow lane (a lane I’m not generally familiar with) gripping the steering wheel tightly and praying hard that I’d reach my destination without enduring some kind of comedy death.

The Smart Car certainly makes people smile though. It caused great hilarity when visiting my parents, with my dad asking why I hadn’t brought the car inside the house?

However, there appears to be a certain kind of rapport between Smart Car drivers – who wave or flash at fellow ‘Smarties’, like the old VW Beetle drivers used to, although the Beetle had a little more kudos.

Standard equipment includes 12-spoke alloy wheels, air-conditioning with automatic temperature control (and dust and pollen filter), full-size driver and passenger airbag, crash sensor, H7 projection headlights, anti-lock braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution and automated manual five-speed transmission with kick down function.

The model I was driving had heated seats, a Smart sound system and a three-spoke leather sports steering wheel with steering wheel gearshift.

Apparently, there’s an electric Smart Car on its way soon. Hmmm. Simply can’t wait to drive that one.

Factfile

Vehicle: Smart fortwo coupe cdi passion (45bhp)

Price: from £8,972

Max speed: 85mph

0-62mph: 19.8 seconds

Insurance group: 2E

CO2 emissions: 88g/km