Mike T.

The Mercedes-Benz dealer in Victoria, British Columbia had a Smart Cabriolet "Passion" micro-car on July 8th and I was able to arrange for a test drive just to see what this thing is all about.

I've known about the MCC Smart since the days when Swatch was behind it but I never believed that we'd ever see them for sale in Canada. Well, the dealer says they'll be sold here starting next year and they had a couple in town over the weekend to gauge interest.

The Smart seems to me like a modern, shrunken 2CV Citroën. The Cabriolet adds to the impression with its fully retractable canvas roof (electric!) which then folds away above the small trunk. Then the roof bars above the side windows can be removed (if desired) and with the (electric) windows rolled down it's like a VW Golf Cabriolet - a convertible with a roll hoop.

The equipment is good, with a decent air conditioning system, a CD changer and all sorts of other goodies like heated seats (Smart seats are made by Faurecia, a Peugeot company!), and lots more. There's no getting around the fact that it's a relatively cheap car, though - it's fairly basic in many other respects (such as the bare painted metal inside the car, which I like, actually).

The rear mid engine (ahead of rear wheels) is 600 cc, turbo intercooled, 3 cyl with 61 HP and the car is quite peppy despite its 740 kg of mass. The CEE average fuel economy is 4.7 L/100 km, or 50 MPG US overall, with nearly 60 MPG US on the highway. The top end is 84 MPH.

The car is made in Hambach, Alsace-Lorraine (open the hood, "Made in France" on the Mfr plate) and the tiny engine says "engineered by Mercedes-Benz" on the intake manifold. To top it off, the car's alloy wheels are held to the hub by only three bolts, just like a Citroën 2 CV or a Peugeot 404. So French.

The SOFTOUCH gearbox is semi-automatic, with a servo-actuated clutch. It has a self-shifting routine or you can shift it manually, though there is no clutch pedal. Just like a Citroën GS "Convertisseur" (I saw one of those on Saltspring Island a day before the first Smart test drive). Again, very French.

The steering is nice and light, the car is unusually stable for a 2.5 m long car due to its wheels being at each corner and the wide track - the rear wheels are outrigged quite a bit compared to the bodywork. The engine is not too noisy. Though the car does 0-100 km/h in over 16 seconds, it feels quick enough. Man, did we ever get some looks when driving this car in traffic, it was more disruptive than a Ferrari 360 Modena would be. Even a motorcyclist on a crotch rocket said "hey, your car is shorter than my bike", only slightly exaggerating.

The estimated cost is between $12,000 and $18,000 CDN ($7900-11,800 US), the lower figure being for the hardtop and the higher for the Cabriolet with most options. It's about the same price as some Korean cars here in Canada, and maybe a stripper Civic, which would never tempt me even though I know Honda makes a good vehicle.

Apparently Mercedes-Benz is not contemplating introducing this little French-built car in the USA at this time, too bad. I hope they follow through and bring them to Canada next year, in which case we'll have a German company to thank for returning French-built cars to North America.

Mike T.

On July 9th I was also able to test another Smart Passion, a hardtop in this case, at the M-B dealer in Nanaimo.

This car is very similar to the Cabriolet in appearance, with some subtle differences, such as a different "Tridion" passenger cell and a non-opening glass roof panel. This Smart has a heated rear window with a wiper, unlike the Cabriolet which makes do with a typical plastic rear window (like a BMW Z car).

Once again I was surprised by the pep of this tiny car, though it must be said that the Passion is not the most powerful version. There is another model "Pulse" with somewhat different equipment that has 61 HP (over 100 HP per litre) instead of the 55 of the Passion model.

No Smart is quick by any means, but it can keep up with traffic all right. In addition, the 6 speed clutch-pedal-less sequential gearbox has an "auto-shift" program, which makes driving the car in traffic almost too easy. The alternative is to use the shift lever and shift ones' self, in which case the clutching and declutching is still handled automatically by an electrical servo. You can even get a paddle shifter at the steering wheel as an option, which makes the Smart seem a bit like the BMW M3 SMGII, though the Smart is a tad slower in absolute speed and also in shift speed The 6th gear is VERY tall, giving nearly 23 MPH per 1000 rpm, so the Smart can return exceptional highway fuel economy in the right conditions. The Cd is 0.37, pretty good for a bubble car.

The handling is great, though one should probably take the same precautions one would in driving an ML or other SUV. The car is tall but the very wide track and stability control system should take care of most difficult situations.

We were so impressed that we have placed a deposit for a Smart with the dealer in Victoria BC, along with about 65 other people. We hope for confirmation of the car's arrival soon and then ordering our heavily-optioned Cabriolet Pulse or Passion when the time comes.

Mike T.

I was in Richmond and North Vancouver on July 19th 2002 and the smart cabriolet and coupé are at the M-B dealers there...as a static display only, no test drives

Well, luckily for me I had my chance to drive both of them on Vancouver Island two weeks earlier.

BTW, if you're in any way interested in the smart car, please fill out the survey form at www.so-smart.ca

This will help M-B Canada decide whether to import the smart to Canada or not. My dealer says they're 99.3% likely to do so, but every bit of encouragement will help!