R U Smart Enough?
Last updated: 07/09/2006 - 09:37
Wherever you drive a smart car - people smile. And with its good looks, affordability, and environmentally friendly concept, a smart car will make you smile, too. Being behind the wheel of a smart car is an experience like no other. Pedestrians and fellow motorists never fail to gaze with curiosity, amazement, and, always, with pleasure.
The unique design of Daimler Chrysler's nifty two-seater, new to the UK, provides a welcome slice of positivity, in the not always pleasurable world of the open road (and clogged motorway!).
At 2.5 metres, smart is half the length of a traditional car - ideal when searching for that elusive parking space! - or, in the case of smart-driving Rome police officers, the perfect dimensions for finding their way through hectic city centre traffic.
smart comes in three main versions:
Beyond the style - there's plenty of substance. smart comes with: ABS, electronic traction control system, driver and passenger airbags, electric windows, remote central locking, rev counter, clock and RDS radio cassette are all standard across the smart range.
The smart has an electronic accelerator, instead of a throttle cable. And, thanks to an automatic sequential six-speed gearbox, there is no need for a clutch when changing gears.
Automatic transmission, (available as standard on smart & passion, and optional for pure, and pulse versions) enables drivers to switch from manual to automatic shift mod, at the flick of a switch.
All smart models have extremely low carbon dioxide emission levels, as a result of their fuel economy. With CO2 emissions of only 118g/km, smart falls into the lowest taxation band, under the new business car taxation scheme, which comes into effect in 2002.
More than 85% of a smart car can be recycled, thanks to what its boffins call its "modular production technique."
Virtually all the component suppliers manufacture on the factory site, eliminating up to 95% of transport needs. Smart says that its coating process is "unique" in the car world. The steel chassis is given a powder spray coating, rather than conventional paint.
The powder coating technology emits no solvents, and no paint sludge or effluent is produced - with smart recovering, and reusing, 95% of the coating that does not end up on the chassis.
And industry experts agree that smart lives up to its name.
smart also received glowing praise from one of Britain's leading motor magazines. In reliability tests on two-year-old smart and pulse, experts at Auto Express reported no mechanical faults after 30,000 miles of hard driving, and "exceptionally low wear and tear" on the engine, and described the gearbox looking "like new inside."
Road Test
Public Servant Lifestyle road tested a left-hand drive version of the new smart City Cabriolet, a stunning take on the top-of-the-range smart & passion, with three-cylinder, 600cc engine, air conditioning, side airbags and Starline alloy wheels, as standard.
Stylish new designs, inside and out, makes this super 2001 smart one to be seen in.
And, when the weather's fine, there's no fewer than three options for driving with the roof down - a nice touch of added class for such a competitively-priced car.
The smart certainly lives up to its reputation when commuting to and from work - a pleasant whiz through A-road traffic, and surprisingly powerful on motorways.
And, come the evening, and at weekends, the smart is a certain head-turner among nightlife crowd - as the crowds of fascinated clubbers witnessing our (sober) early-hours city centre excursion will testify!
As a first, second, or third car, smart is a terrific addition to anyone's lifestyle.
The first right-hand drive version of the City Cabriolet is £9,995 on the road.
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