2008 smart fortwo cabriolet
A smarter smart
Like Mother Nature in that commercial for Garden Cocktail, I sure can pick ’em.
Cars, that is. We’re talking about cars.
The vehicle in question is a smart fortwo cabriolet, which I picked up from Mercedes-Benz Canada the day when the mere threat of Hurricane Ike drove gasoline prices up by an incredible 12 cents per litre. With its economical 1.0-litre inline three-cylinder engine, the smart is the perfect car for a gas crisis.
Now if only I could pick weather the same way.
Because of the aftermath of Ike we were in a for a couple of rainy days and then cooler temperatures, so I wasn’t able to enjoy topless motoring in the smart as much as I’d have liked.
And topless is the way to go in this fun little car, which is much more pleasant to drive now than were the first smarts available in this country. That’s because 2008 models were sold in the U.S. for the first time. Americans don’t like diesel cars, so smart’s 800-cc, 40-hp three-cylinder diesel has been replaced by a more powerful gasoline engine (the diesel will be back, with BLUETEC hardware). It’s tucked away between the rear wheels and is accessed by lowering the trunk lid, then raising a thick, sound-deadening pad before raising a metal flap on the engine compartment.
Although Canadian prices for the smart fortwo coupe start at $14,990, you’ll pay a minimum of $21,250 for the ragtop. Normally, smarts come in two varieties – Passion and Pure – but our test car was the fully equipped Edition Limited One for $23,900.
It’s got just about everything except a navigation system and cruise control, including power windows/locks/mirrors, leather, air conditioning and heated seats.
The fabric top goes up and down via switches on the console. It can be slid back, much like a sunroof, or completely lowered. The side roof bars remove easily and store in dedicated slots in the rear deck lid. With the top down, there’s a fair amount of wind buffeting. If that bothers you, leaving the side windows up somewhat lessens the effect.
smart is primarily a city car designed to zip through traffic and slip into tight parking spaces, but I’m beginning to see more and more of them in the rural area where I live. It’s a 170-km commute – one way – for me to get to the big city and, quite frankly, it was a bit of a chore in the old diesel-powered fortwo.
So I really wasn’t looking forward to a couple hours on a busy superhighway with this week’s test car. And that’s when it delivered its big surprise. Despite generating a maximum of 70 hp at 5,800 rpm, the new gasoline-powered smart has no trouble keeping up with traffic. In fact, we cruised comfortably above the posted limit and a lot of traffic had trouble keeping up with us.
smart is sensitive to crosswinds, but other than that when you’re behind the wheel, there’s no sense that you’re in such a small vehicle with an overall length of just 2,695 mm (106 inches). smart rides on fat 15-inch tires, but because of its short 1,867-mm wheelbase rough roads – especially city streets with hazards such as potholes, trolley tracks and traffic-calming devices – make for a bumpy ride.
Lumpy rhymes with bumpy and that’s how the five-speed transmission feels in automatic mode. Shifts are leisurely and, in order to deliver optimum fuel economy, come too quickly. Thankfully, you can shift for yourself using either the console-mounted stick or wheel-mounted paddle shifters. The gear selected is indicated on the instrument panel and an arrow flashes to signal optimum shift points. But in manual mode you can let the revs build a lot closer to the 6,000-rpm redline and the transition between gears becomes a lot smoother. Slow to a stop and the transmission automatically resets itself to first gear.
Mercedes-Benz claims a 0-100 km/h time of 13.3 seconds, which is way quicker than the diesel’s 22.8 seconds. But neck-snapping acceleration isn’t what smart is designed to deliver.
smart is all about fuel economy, a small footprint and clever packaging. Unlike some sporty two-seaters (hello, Solstice) there’s actually room to carry more than a toothbrush in the smart’s cabin.
It’s got door pockets, a generous glove box, two cupholders and room to stow larger items behind the seats. Even when the top is fully lowered it doesn’t intrude into the trunk, which can hold 7.7 cubic feet – enough for a couple of two-fours or the week’s groceries.
Occupant safety is always a concern in a micro-car, but there should be no worries with smart. Its body is a safety cell made of super strong tridion and the cockpit has dual front airbags plus head/thorax side airbags. The anti-lock braking system (ABS) features electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) and cornering brake control (CBC). The electronic stability program (ESP) helps prevent fishtailing in winter while acceleration skid control (ASC) prevents loss of traction on slick roads.
Neither cheap nor cheaply made, the smart cabriolet has a great amount of charm. It makes not just a fashion statement, but a statement about how its owner views the world in which we live.
Our cities would be a lot better off if everyone drove a smart, and with the bigger gas engine it now makes sense for country folk too.
Summary:
Strong Points
Weak Points
- - cuteness factor
- - fuel economy
- - fun to drive
- - price
- - choppy ride
- - burns premium unleaded
Editors Rating:
Latest News
-
1.
-
2.
-
3.
-
4.
-
5.
-
6.
-
7.
-
8.
-
9.
-
10.