If William Shatner was transporter-beamed straight from the set of 1960s’ Star Trek and into Germany, 2003, he could be forgiven for thinking that he had jumped straight to the 24th century. Sure, there aren’t any people being beamed about and no one has pointed ears. But people are conversing using wireless devices even smaller than his prop communicator, and they pull out palm-sized computers that can display their exact location and destination. Before he can say, “Kirk to Enterprise,” he’d see a fleet of cheeky, funky runabouts, humming about the crowded city streets. Welcome to the 21st century, Captain.
The smart city coupe has become the car of choice for many urban dwellers in Deutschland, selling more than 100,000 units in 2001. That’s not a bad sales figure, considering that it certainly didn’t get voted “most likely to succeed.” It’s quite limited, having only two seats and about 260 liters of luggage space (little more than half of a midsize sedan’s). It has a puny engine and its body panels are made of plastic. Not that any of these things are inherently bad, but these will tend to scare off conventional buyers. Sales-wise, however, it does have one major thing going for it: it’s made by Mercedes-Benz. Having the Mercedes name behind it—on its engine cam cover too—lends credibility to the concept of the smart.
Still, it will surely take more than a hidden badge to pull in a regular stream of buyers. Forget that it’s made by Benz; take a long look and the smart is quirkily attractive. For starters, it has just about the cheeriest face you can find in automobiledom. The headlamps have been changed to pairs of melted ovals, a not-unintentional (we suspect) similarity to the C-class’ lenses. The smiling mouth, er, grille, now incorporates a pair of foglamps. The wheels are quite literally at the car’s corners, the fronts even bulging beyond the grille. If anything, it looks like one of those Alessi kitchen gadgets, and you half-expect it to start dispensing pepper when you open the door.
What you’ll find instead is an interior that is surprisingly roomy. The seats are set well back from the windshield’s base, and the seats themselves are sufficiently wide and deep. The roof is quite high, and there’s plentiful elbow and hip room all around. The overall impression is of sitting in a conventional midsize car. Until you look at the dashboard. A pair of round gauges pops mischievously up from the center dash: one for revs, the other for the time. Similarly, the side vents protrude upward from the corners. There’s a proper thick-rimmed leather steering wheel, with the usual light and wiper stalks behind.
To fire up the smart, slot the key into the center console, behind the gearshift, then twist it on. The engine’s rorty sound comes from behind, as it’s mounted below the trunk floor, just in front of the rear wheels. Three cylinders and 599 cc are all in there. All smarts have turbos to boost output—this one’s good for 60 bhp, and 88 Nm from a low 2250 to 4500 rpm, with power fed to the rear wheels.
The factory pegs the 0-100 km/h time at a lethargic 17.1 seconds, but on the road it’s able to keep up with city traffic, both from traffic lights and while on the move. The engine was smooth and willing, and we didn’t feel deprived of power. We weren’t able to drive it on the nearby autobahn, but it had no problems going up steep mountain roads. The left lane of the famed German highway is out of the question, though, as even with infinite patience, it will be maxed out at 135 km/h.
The smart’s gearbox is a six-speed sequential semiautomatic. The system uses a clutch, but it’s computer-controlled; there’s no clutch pedal. The gearshift has just three positions, neutral and reverse, and slotted to the left, Drive. Instead of an overdrive on/off button, there’s a button to select semi-auto or full-auto. In semi-auto, you just tip the lever forward to upshift, and pull back to downshift. Engine revs drop and there’s a slight pause during shifts, but no more so than when you do the clutching and shifting yourself. If you’re used to an automatic’s uninterrupted engine note, it will take some getting used to. Helping out is the large gear display on the instrument panel, and it also indicates when to up- and downshift. The gearbox downshifts automatically to first when the vehicle stops. The semi-auto mode is certainly amusing, but performance-wise, full auto will do just as well. In full auto, the gearbox is also programmed to downshift to the lowest possible gear when the gas pedal is mashed hard, aiding acceleration.
Highway blitz runs aren’t the smart’s forte, but it does provide other entertainment. A button on the cabrio’s center console pulls back the canvass roof. You can just crack the roof open or pull it all the way back. After it pulls back, it then folds downward toward the trunk door. Remove the roof rails manually and the conversion to full topless mode is complete.
Weighing in at 740 kg, the smart Cabrio is probably the world’s lightest convertible, and likely the most affordable too. The steering is weighted properly, and there’s a stable feel to the car’s cornering behavior. It tracks obediently, even around hairpin bends. The relatively large 145/65 R15 front, 175/55 R15 rear tires give the spunky little car reasonable grip. Small dips in the road are absorbed well. Rough pavement jolts the car, so it needs some adapting if it’s to be used on Asian roads.
Look at the smart’s profile and you’ll notice the black structural frame (painted silver on other models) wrapping around the door frame, floor section, and luggage compartment. That is the car’s steel safety cell, surrounding the entire passenger section. The plastic body panels are hung on this frame; they’re removable and can even be exchanged for a new set in a different color.
Aside from the safety cell, there’s also a sandwich type floor, similar to the A-class’, that’s able to channel collision forces away from the passenger compartment. The car’s diminutive length means that in a side impact, the other vehicle involved will hit one of the wheels. The wheel struts were designed help to absorb the impact energy. Electronic active safety devices such as ABS, EBD and Brake Assist are standard. Beginning with 2003 models, the ESP yaw-control system also comes with every smart.
Just how short is the smart? It checks in at exactly 2500 mm, or about half the length of an S-class Mercedes. That tiny length combined with tall driving position allows for a decent bit of carving up traffic. Not when other cars are protective of their space, though: the engine may be willing, but the displacement is weak. Beginning at 80 km/h, there’s noticeable lack of grunt that makes it difficult to keep up with other cars, and overtaking them becomes a remote possibility.
It’s almost (though not quite) possible to park by pointing straight towards the curb. Many car parks in Europe allot some 3-meter spaces for cars like the smart, and car washes even charge less for the vehicle’s bath. Promised fuel consumption is 16.6 km/liter in city driving, with 23 km/liter on the highway.
The smart’s premise is that 90% of the time, a car sits unused. The other 10%? Running with just 1.2 people inside. The smart figures that its 2-person configuration is already generous. It’s a limited vehicle, useful for just a couple without a family, or ideal as a second car. Plenty of small, two-seater bubble-shaped cars have come along before, but the smart brings the concept to thoughtful and thoroughly modern execution.
motioncars.com thanks Mr. Jürgen Frey for arranging this test drive.
By Jason Ang | Photos by Jason Ang
Originally Published in the February 2003 Issue
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