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By
EWAN KENNEDY
1 September 2008
I think I’ll scream the next time someone looks at a smart car
and says, “Wouldn’t be much good on the open road, would
it?” Because they are completely misunderstanding what the
little car is all about. This is one very smart machine aimed at
those who live in cities, who suffer from severely limited parking
and who love to be able to come and go as they please.
The
diminutive two-seater suits those guys and gals perfectly. And,
let's face it, Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in
the world. Almost everyone lives in one of our major cities or the
surrounding suburbs. A smart car can fit into any parking spot a
tad more than three metres long. The sort of space that often
offered by a couple of sloppy drivers who leave just such a spot
between their big six-cylinder cars and giant 4WDs.
Around
town a smart is so much at home it’s a wonder that everyone who
doesn’t need a back seat isn’t driving one. It zips about with
ridiculous ease, the engine has no trouble keeping up with traffic
and it uses so little fuel that you smile every time you drive
into a service station. Thirty to forty dollars will generally
fill the tank and fuel will be used at a rate of only five to six
litres per hundred kilometres in city and suburban driving.
The
two seats are full-sized units, though they are closer together
than in other cars, so two big blokes may rub shoulders at times.
However, the new model is significantly wider than the old and
this is now less of a problem. Headroom is somewhat restricted,
chiefly because the glass sunroof takes up a bit space. There's no
height adjustment on the seats to alleviate this. Sitting high
certainly gives you a good view of the traffic ahead, a real bonus
in tight city running. Legroom is as good as in any other car,
even a large six-cylinder Aussie family machine.
Boot
space is bigger than you might expect and is capable of holding a
large suitcase, a week’s shopping for a couple, or all sort of
other bits and pieces that go with an inner-city lifestyle.
Despite
the aforementioned doubters, the smart is surprisingly capable on
country roads. You wouldn’t want to drive one on corrugated dirt
tracks, but on roads that have seen better days the suspension
soaks up bumps reasonably well. Though not as good as a lower,
longer small car to a conventional design, the smart is not
compromised in its ride and overall handling. Side winds do affect
it at times on the open road, but no more so than in a typical
people mover or tall SUV.
It’s
happy cruising at 100 to 110 km/h. Indeed, I took my licence and
life in my hands and wound it up to 130 km/h on a local motorway
and found it to be perfectly happy at that speed. Which doesn’t
come as a surprise as 130 km/h is the motorway speed limit in most
civilised countries.
Our
smart came with a self-changing manual gearbox, with all that
means in the way of slow shifts and an irritating slowing down and
speeding up of the car as it changes up through the lower gears.
That was in Auto mode, it’s possible to do the changes yourself.
There's no clutch pedal, all you do is shift the floor lever or
the paddles behind the steering wheel, and smooth things out a
little.
Smart
is fun to own as well as to drive, because its appearance can be
totally changed in less than two hours. True! That’s achieved by
installing different coloured, interchangeable body panels.
Although smart recommends this be done at a dealership you can
also do it in your garage. Just think about it, go for a drive in
the afternoon with one car, then for an evening at a restaurant
with one that looks completely different!
The
biggest change in the new smart fortwo is under the boot where the
rear-mounted, three-cylinder petrol engine has been increased in
size to one whole litre, from the somewhat meagre 0.7 litres of
the original model Power is 52 kW and torque is all of 92 Nm. A
turbocharged variant of the engine is also on offer, just the
thing for those looking for smarter acceleration.
Prices that start at $19,990 might seem
a bit high for a 1.0-litre two-seater car. But think of it as a
small Mercedes-Benz (smart is a fully-owned subsidiary of
Mercedes) and it doesn’t seem so expensive. Particularly when
you realise it has top notch safety equipment, including front and
head/thorax airbags, stability control and ABS brakes. The tiny
smart impresses by having a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating in
crash testing.
Lateral thinking abounds in this smart
little car designed by Benz in Germany and built in a smart
factory in France. If you’ve ever been infuriated by a lack of
parking spaces in your home city this machine is guaranteed to
bring your blood pressure down!
AT
A GLANCE
MODEL
RANGE
fortwo 1.0-litre two-door coupe - $19,990
fortwo 1.0-litre turbo two-door coupe - $21,990
fortwo 1.0-litre two-door convertible - $22,900
fortwo 1.0-litre turbo two-door convertible - $24,900
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: Standard in all models
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Not offered
Dual Front Airbags: Standard in all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard in all models
Stability Control: Standard in all models
Traction Control: Standard in all models
SPECIFICATIONS
(smart fortwo 1.0-litre two-door coupe)
ENGINE
Capacity: 0.999 litres
Configuration: Three cylinders in line
Head Design: Four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: N/A
Bore/Stroke: 72.0 x 81.8 mm
Maximum Power: 52 kW @ 5800 rpm
Maximum Torque: 92 Nm @ 4500 rpm
DRIVELINE
Driven Wheels: Front
Manual Transmission: Not offered
Automatic Transmission: Five-speed
Final Drive Ratio: N/A
DIMENSIONS,
WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 2695 mm
Wheelbase: 1867 mm
Width: 1559 mm
Height: 1542 mm
Turning Circle: 8.75 metres
Kerb Mass: 750 kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 38 litres
Towing Ability: Not recommended for towing
SUSPENSION
AND BRAKES:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts, wishbone, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: De Dion suspension tube, coil springs, telescopic
shock absorbers
Front Brakes: Disc
Rear Brakes: Drum
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 13.3 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION/EMISSION RATINGS:
Fuel Type: Petrol 95RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 4.7 L/100km
GREEN
VEHICLE GUIDE RATINGS:
Greenhouse Rating: 8.5/10
Air Pollution Rating: 6.5/10
STANDARD
WARRANTY:
Three years/ unlimited km
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Marque Publishing Company
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