2009 SMART FOURTWO: Get Smart

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/12/2009 (5767 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you plan on buying a Smart car you’d better not be in a hurry.

It’s not that the car can’t keep up with traffic — once you get the hang of it, the Smart is actually surprisingly quick.

No, you’ll be constantly held up because people will want to talk about this car everywhere you go.

During my week-long test drive of the 2009 Smart ForTwo Passion Coupe, this miniscule machine received more attention than any other vehicle I’ve ever driven, including vintage hot rods and exotic European jobs. Questions about fuel economy, comfort, safety and how it would handle our winters were accompanied by more than a few wisecracks from friends and family doubting my ability to actually fit in the car.

Well, I did fit, quite comfortably I might add, but my initial reaction to the Smart was still to ponder why anyone would want a car this small. I mean, it makes the Mini Cooper look like a ’59 Cadillac. That said, in very short order I was totally tickled by this little bugger.

The first thing you notice when you climb into a Smart is just how roomy it is. The seats are both firm and comfortable and the seating position is perfect. You get the feeling that making a decent road trip could be done in total comfort — as long as you don’t plan to bring much along for the ride. With the exception of a tiny compartment behind the seats, there’s very little cargo space. So little that the Smart doesn’t even come with a spare tire.

It quickly became clear that the Smart wasn’t designed to move cargo, but rather to move two people in relative comfort. The added bonus is that it sips fuel, is easy to park and is a whole lotta fun to drive.

With a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder engine tucked behind the seats that churns out 71 horsepower, the Smart certainly isn’t a pocket rocket. But once you learn to fully utilize the 5-speed automated manual transmission, acceleration is sufficient for both city driving and highway travel.

At first, though, I actually thought there was something wrong with my tester. Although the transmission doesn’t feature a traditional foot clutch, manual shifting is pretty much mandatory, especially if you’re susceptible to motion sickness. If you leave it in normal drive mode and allow it to shift automatically, it feels like you’re riding with someone who hasn’t quite mastered a stick shift. Just before the automated shift occurs, the car jerks back. Apparently the RPMs need to drop to facilitate the automated gear change.

It’s extremely annoying but, in short order, I discovered the solution. Thanks to the paddle shifters on the steering wheel you can opt to shift it like a manual transmission. If you lay off the gas ever so slightly while changing gears, the result is a much smoother ride.

I also discovered something else during this exercise; you can buzz around in a lower gear that results in some surprisingly spirited and extremely fun acceleration. Thanks to the car’s short wheelbase, there’s something almost visceral about the ride characteristics at much lower-than-usual speeds. Remember how much fun you had the first time your dad took you to the go-kart track? For me, that’s what driving a Smart was like. There is also something almost motorcycle-like about it — a you’re so close to the ground and, with that short hood, the road in front of you is only inches away.

My tester featured the available Passion package and, although I liked the look of the black paint and 9-spoke alloy wheels, the interior looked like a crime scene from the hit TV series Dexter. From where I was sitting the Passion package added far more blood-red interior trim than any car should ever have. Still, the interior was packed with features you might not expect in a car this small, including air conditioning, heated seats, an analogue tachometer and clock, power windows and mirrors and a decent-sounding stereo. The thick steering wheel also felt good in my hands.

The fit and finish of both the exterior and interior appeared solid and tight, so apparently the Mercedes-Benz DNA is intact. Although the use of plastic is abundant, it doesn’t feel cheap and looks like it will stand up to the test of time.

Thanks to our beautiful fall weather I never had the chance to drive the Smart in any serious snow, but I did get caught in that short blast we had in October and the car was sure-footed on the slippery stuff. The heater is also great — with that tiny passenger compartment, if you set the heater fan on high and the temperature on hot, you could probably bake bread in this car.

Overall, I was impressed with the Smart for a few reasons, mainly the amazing fuel economy, how easy it is to park and how fun it is to drive. But I expected those things. What I didn’t expect was that people would actually smile, wave and strike up conversations about the Smart at every stop.

Granted the Smart certainly isn’t for everyone. But if you routinely find yourself alone or with only one passenger (and very little more than your lunch or a briefcase) along for the ride, this may just be the car for you.

For such a small car it makes a bold statement, yet leaves a tiny footprint both on the road and on the environment. Just make sure you’re not in a rush because, take my word for it, when you arrive in a Smart car everyone wants to talk about it.

willy@freepress.mb.ca