Smart Fortwo Passion Cabriolet
Smarts Fortwo Passion Cabriolet promises all of the joy of sub-canvas motoring, but at a
Smart size and price. Vanessa Hinkley tests it out
It has been a while since I first tried out the Smart, and I remember liking the hard-top version that lived on my driveway for a week. As a concept, the Smart is brilliant tiny dimensions, excellent fuel economy and enough to zip get you through the rush hour on the way to work. Designed for the single people of this planet, Mercedes (under the MCC banner) have created something truly unique and interesting and their initial collaboration with Swiss watch makers Swatch should say something about the build quality and general ambiance of the car. Let me say now that it does The weather boded well, the weather men promised me sunshine after each news bulletin (but were wrong again) and so it was the ideal time to test out the folding soft-top.
As first impressions go, the Smart made a good one.
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Lets face it the
Smart will never contend for the family buyer. Nor would it really contend in the DINKY (Dual Income, No Kids Yet) market. Where the Smart is really heading is the commuting single or second car sector: after all, youd have difficulty going down to the supermarket for anything other than a loaf of bread if you were carrying a passenger. The passenger
seat is removable so that if you do want to do the weekly shop on your own, you can be sure of getting a good amount in. The hood is one of the new generation electronic folding affairs, which actually worked really well. The only niggle on the mechanism is the fact that you have to get out of the car and push it flat so that the locks engage and then raise it up part way manually before the motors will cut in.
Otherwise, it was really nice to get the hood down and enjoy some of that "wind-in-the-hair" feeling.
The Smart doesnt really have anything to prove to the buying public it is in a class of one. The rear wheels are driven by a tiny 600cc 3-cylinder engine that can put out 61bhp not very much, but then the super light Smart doesnt need much more. If youre of a different opinion, though, theres always the 74bhp Brabus model. The driving experience is an interesting one dont expect too much from the rear visibility.
With the hood up, the Perspex distorts and colours it, while, when the hood is fully down, around half your vision disappears. Not to mention the weird shaped mirror The suspension irons out the city potholes but take it onto any other roads at over 30mph and you soon begin to feel the cracks, bumps and underground pipes like the princess and the pea. The 6-speed sequential Tiptronic-style gearing sounds all very exciting, but in reality is rather pedestrian. Leave it in automatic mode and you have to pay attention to the rev counter to stop the car lurching every time the gear is changed.
Put it in manual and the experience is much better, if a little slow. Dont expect any lightning quick gear changes here. The main area I found to be unacceptable in this car was the hood. All the time the sun shines, it is wonderful.
But get a rain shower and you may find the inside of your drivers door wet. Taking it around a corner, all the water pooled in the latching mechanism deposited itself on my thigh. Considering the car that I tested had covered less than 8,000 miles, I would never have expected the hood to leak like that. Perhaps the Smart is meant to appeal to the fun-lovers amongst us, or is that the childlike? Bright colours are all very well, but the rev counter and clock binnacles that started the week as cute soon lost their sparkle, the odd shaped rear view mirror was just a pest and the instruments lacked the solid feel of more lowly priced city car rivals.
At prices from £8,965, the Fortwo Convertible represents a whole lot of readies. For that price, you could be looking at a
Skoda Fabia,
Ford Fiesta or VW Polo each of which offers more space and practicality, and definitely more speed. But not of course, real convertible motoring. You pays your money.
More realistic normal rivals in terms of size are cars like the SEAT Arosa and VW Lupo all offering more practicality and (dare I say it) normal motoring for less cash. But again, theres no sun and air. Go for the Polo or the Lupo and VW do a good mega-sized canvas top sunroof which might be a good compromise option. So, wheres the Smart money going? Well, buyers can rest easy in the knowledge that safety was a key development priority.
This car claims to better all its citycar rivals, offering safety standards comparable with a mid-range family saloon. It has a steel passenger cell that keeps its shape in the event of a collision and reduces the effect of impact to a minimum. Other safety elements include the sandwich platform construction, front and rear crash boxes and a crash management system. To avoid a crash in the first place, theres Trustplus, an electronic stability programme which reduces power and applies gear intervention to correct the car if it swerves.
Twin front airbags, ABS, self-tensioning seatbelts, knee impact bolsters and a collapsible steering column are all standard. At the end of the day, it all depends what you are looking for. Minimal space, maximum ease of transportation? The Smart fits the bill perfectly. Enjoyable driving response? Let me get back to you on that there isnt anything actually wrong with it just nothing to set the world alight.
If I really liked the looks, didnt need much space and had to have a soft top above all else, then I might consider it. It does make sense in urban motoring, but that leaking hood has put me right off. For this kind of money, Id rather have one of the cars Ive already mentioned. Smart Fortwo is a concept that makes sense on paper and on the ten-mile inner city commute, but outside of that? Smart or clever? There is a difference
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