Get Smart!

The beauty of the Smart fortwo though (if you‘ll pardon the pun), is its cuteness, which, in no small measure (here we go again-sorry) is directly attributable to its size. The Smart fortwo is so small you can fit one sideways in a mall parking space. In fact, you can fit two of them in that same parking space. A Mini looks iong parked next to the Smart fortwo.

Inside though, it‘s a completely different story.

In what has to be the most efficient packaging feat ever accomplished in a modern car, the Smart fortwo really is for two. Shoulder, head, and legroom are business class, if not exactly first class. Icious, that after a driving it for a while, you forget how small the Smart fortwo is.

The interior is roomier than it might appear from the outside.

Smart usurped the demand for city cars before it was there. Now, in these more environmentally and economically conscious times, the Fortwo has come into its own in both ‘Coupe’ and ‘Cabriolet’ guises.

The Smart works well in the city, where its lofty driving position and tiny dimensions make it easy to spot parking places and squeeze into them.

The ‘micro hybrid’ models come equipped with stop-start technology to improve emissions and consumption even further.

Petrol engines are all 1000cc in capacity, with outputs ranging from 71-98bhp – that headline figure for the preposterous Brabus model.

Engines with middling outputs make most sense, and the small 45bhp diesel is also interesting as it brings 85.6mpg capability – if you can put up with its slovenly performance.

Two seats, a small luggage compartment, choppy suspension and dim-witted automatic transmission mean no version is great to drive, but it’s a clever town car.

Easy to get wheelchair either in boot, or on rommy passenger side.

Clear view to mirrors.

High seating position.

The smart city-coupé and cabrio, with its high seat height, amount of leg room and wide-opening doors, is ideally suited to the majority of disabled drivers. Automatic transmission is standard across most of the range, while gear-change paddles mounted on the steering wheel already come as an option. For drivers who need to carry a wheelchair, you can fit one in the boot.

The Smart Fortwo is more fun to drive on tight, congested city streets at low speed than even the MINI Cooper. But as soon as the traffic thins out and the roads open up to the motorways, the Fortwo’s cons–a hard ride, a noisy interior, the lack of power, and tense roadholding–become more serious drawbacks. Factor in the middling fuel economy of only 33 mpg city, and the “wow” factor is quickly muted.

Thanks to Pauline Lyndsay at Smart Glasgow.

Model

Smart fortwo

0808 000 8080

www.smart.com

Cost

£8,272-£15,306

Motability

15 Models are available through the scheme, ranging from the 1.0 petrol version to the 1.0 fortwo Brabus. Call 0800 093 1000, or visit www.motability.co.uk.

What the critics say:

WhatCar?

FOR: Smart owners can park where other drivers wouldn’t even consider. Plus the running costs and emissions are very low.

AGAINST: The ride is too firm, it’s noisy and poor to drive. The entry-level Pure trim is stingily equipped too.

AutoExpress

It may be flawed but there’s still plenty of appeal in Smart’s ForTwo. It looks as distinctive as ever, is full of character thanks to a rorty three-cylinder turbocharged engine and, perhaps most important of all for town dwellers, can be parked anywhere.  Shell out just £6,912 and you can bag yourself a 61bhp Pure model with Smart’s Micro Hybrid Drive (MHD) stop-start system, which means that while 0-60mph takes 16 seconds, you’ll hardly ever visit the pumps thanks 66mpg combined with a yearly road tax bill of just £35 thanks to 103g/km of CO2.

EveCars.com

You can park the Smart Fortwo in places most drivers wouldn’t even consider, making it a sensible choice for space-poor urbanites. It’s zippy around town and can just about keep up on faster roads, so go for the most powerful engine if you do a lot of motorway driving. The engine noise gets annoying on long journeys, so pack your heavy metal albums. You have to pay extra for power steering, but you can learn to live without it. Because it’s so tall, the Fortwo needs stiff suspension to stop it toppling over in corners – make sure you dodge deep potholes or you’ll be risking a bruised bottom.

Alternatives

Citroen C2

(£7,885 – £13,210, 21 models on the Motability scheme)

TopGear.com offers this report:  The Citroen C2 is a small three-door supermini that was supposed to replace the Saxo as the object of affection of the nation’s youth. Never quite managed it, but this is cheap and cheerful motoring. You’ll get a fair bit of bump-thump thanks to that tautness that makes it fun to drive in the first place. It’s small, can be noisy and isn’t the best motorway car. Stick local and it makes sense. The ‘Sensodrive’ doesn’t make for a great auto.

Nissan Micra

(£7,320 – £13,045, 30 models on the motability scheme)

WhatCar says: The Micra’s oddball looks shouldn’t detract from the fact that it’s a decent and well-sorted supermini. A handful of petrol engines and one diesel are available, all of them frugal, and all versions are available with either three or five doors.

Nissan has built the Micra from solid stuff, and the well-ordered cabin should last a long time, despite being a bit scratchy in places. It’s spacious inside, too, thanks to a tall roof, and of the six trim levels available, one of them should suit the pocket and taste of any supermini buyer.

Kia Rio

(£6,420 – £10,085, 8 models on the motability scheme)

Eve Cars says: Cars don’t have to be fast or exciting to be good: take the Kia Rio for example. It doesn’t boast spine-tingling performance but its engines are willing to rev and are perfectly sprightly. It’s no country lane chuckabout, either, but the steering does what you ask of it and it feels tidy on the bends. The ride is a little bottom-bruising over speed bumps, though, and the petrol engine loud when worked hard.