Super Mini Surprise

Introduction

There’s a general discrepancy between what is and what should be on Philippine roads, and it’s not just that the traffic lights and streetlights should be working but are not.

What’s just as disturbing is this: we have a lot of narrow streets, potholes, gridlock, crazy bus and jeepney drivers stopping in the middle of the road, and to top it all off, skyrocketing gas prices. And what do we see on our roads? Mitsubishi Pajeros, Ford Expeditions, Toyota Landcrushers, Nissan Patrols and their ilk. They hog up large sections of road and gulp down gasoline like there was no OPEC.

Yes, they are amazing vehicles in their own right, and yes, they have a right to be sold and driven around. However, they belong on Philippine roads as much as Godzilla does in Legoland.

If there’s anything that should be overrunning our Philippine streets, it’s the class of car know in Europe as the supermini. They’re mini because of their short lengths, and super because they go far beyond what you’d expect from such a small package…put another way, these cars are small only in exterior size.

Drivers and families from Japan and Europe have embraced the concept of the tiny car that is comfortable and fun to drive. In those areas, superminis are used not just as city cars, but as all-rounders. Whether it’s to the supermarket or the far countryside, owners can thrash them around on all sorts of roads while having a good time behind the wheel.

The original superminis came from the likes of Volkswagen—the original Beetle was slow and noisy, but its appeal stretched beyond the economic classes. The New Beetle is now a plaything for the rich, but VW has continued a tradition of good-to-own small cars in the Lupo and Polo. We don’t really understand why otherwise intelligent distributors would have a difficult time marketing Volkswagens, but the first to attempt it failed miserably because it pitted unrefined and unremarkable Polo against Japanese stalwarts Civic and Corolla. Now VW is selling the new Lupo but for the PHP815,000 that they’re charging, you could buy a 160-bhp Civic SiR and still have a lot of change left. It’s not surprising that we haven’t seen a single Lupo outside the showroom.

VW’s Czech subsidiary Skoda has come up with a ’mini that can beat the Lupo on value: the Fabia. The Fabia is not that sporty or a razor-sharp handler, but it offers something that a lot of buyers want: comfort, refinement and conservative good looks. Its interior benefits much from VW’s expertise in choice of materials and build quality. You could say it’s the Corolla of superminis.

Mercedes-Benz A-class and MCC Smart

Arguably the best-engineered supermini is another German, the Mercedes A class. The A-class, 40 mm shorter than a Kia Pride hatchback, boasts of interior space equaling that of the C-class sedans, and crash safety equal to the E-class. This was made possible by the double-floor construction. The engine and major drivetrain parts are the meat in the sandwich of two sturdy steel panels. If an A crashes into something, its engine is designed to be driven down and outside the car instead of backward into the passenger area. In a side or rear crash, the steel panels, resist deformation and protect the structure’s integrity at the expense of the other car. So it’s a 900-kg car that can impart more damage to a heavier car crashing into it. That’s a different kind of Benz intimidation.

There was just a slight flaw in this repertoire. It couldn’t dance around potential hazards in the so-called moose test, or rapid-right-left lane change maneuver. In fact, it rolled over 360 degrees during a Swedish magazine’s road test. This flaw was publicized worldwide, and Daimler-Benz halted delivery of the A-class to correct the problem. After working round the clock, the engineers chose wider tires, lowered the suspension setting, and incorporated as standard equipment the ESP stability program, which corrects over-and understeer.

The egg-shaped hatch was back on its feet, but the damage had been done. Previously a sure bet for European car of the Year, the A lost out to the Alfa 156. Some say its ride became too stiff after the Benz-engineered changes to the suspension and chassis. It still remains to be seen whether Merc will build a second-generation, better-designed A-class, but for now the A remains the only hatch to wear the 3-pointed star, and a worthy one at that.

Not satisfied with shrinking a Benz to Kia proportions, Mercedes teamed up with the Swatch group to produce the Smart car. If you look at books from the 1960s that attempt to illustrate what cities would look like in the year 2000, you’ll see something quite similar to the Smart—futuristic 2-passenger runabouts that use electricity. That’s basically what the Smart is, except for the electric part: there’s a supercharged 600-cc internal combustion engine tucked under the boot space. The Smart is quite limited in application, and would be most appropriate as a second car only.

The innovation extends to the marketing of the car. In Europe the Smart is displayed and sold at the curbside from towering transparent cube “vending machines.” Here, you can buy one from some M-B dealers or import shops, but at a steep price of more than a million! To buy one at that price would be the exact opposite of smart. How small is a Smart? It’s 2500 mm long (a Ford Clubwagon is 2014 wide)—almost short enough to park it sideways!

Fiat Punto and Daewoo Matiz

If you want a little style and performance in your supermini, look no further than the Fiat Punto. Don’t be confused and have nightmares about the ugly and unloved Fiat Uno sold here a few years back. This Italian company’s forte has been building small cars that can elicit a gleam in your eyes every time you see one waiting for you in the parking lot.

Fiat is not the parent company of Ferrari for nothing. If the F360 Modena can have an F1 semi-auto gear change, why not the Punto? Indeed, the Punto Speedgear is offered with a continuously-variable transmission that has seven “ratios.” The Punto is no F1-2000, however, and the semi-auto lags behind the manual in performance and overall smoothness. Still, the Punto offers great styling inside and out, and when you rev that willing 16-valve 1.2 you can imagine that you’re Michael Schumacher…after all, he too drives a Fiat.

In terms of internal volume, the Punto is beaten only by the slightly shorter (!) Toyota Echo hatchback. The Echo/Yaris / Vitz was quite a shock when it was launched by blandmaster Toyota in 1999. Its radical looks and clever interior packaging completely obliterated memories of its predecessor, the Starlet. (Although we still see a lot of 1980s Starlets competing in slalom events.) We have a lot more to say about the Echo in this month’s Car Review.

Combine Italian style with Korean small-car know-how and you get the Daewoo Matiz. The Matiz’s single-wedge shape was penned by Giugiaro’s Italdesign studio, which also designed the Lotus Esprit and first-gen Lexus GS300. Power comes from an 800-cc 3-cylinder producing 50 bhp, which is adequate to accelerate its 778 kg. Though it looks too small to drive around on the open highway, the Matiz looks quite comfortable zipping around the city, flashing its well-tailored Italian clothing.

Suzuki Wagon R+, Mitsubishi Minica and Nissan Micra

Going the opposite way by introducing a more van-like vehicle was Suzuki with its Wagon R+. The Wagon R+ features rear seats that can fold flat into the floor, leaving a large cube-like cargo space. Toyota also followed this idea for the Echo Verso. For its part, shareholder GM was quick to adapt the Wagon R+ to produce the Opel / Vauxhall Agila. By improving the interior and ride comfort, and of course changing the badges, Opel hopes to take this supermini to the mainstream European market.

If you want to go Naked, run to the Daihatsu dealer (in Japan), and jump into the Naked Turbo G. To increase interior width in what is a very narrow car (20 mm narrower than an Atoz), Daihatsu pushed out the Naked’s B-pillar. If you think about your four-door car, the B-pillar is normally hidden by the front doors for appearance’s sake. Daihatsu pushed out the B-pillar to skin level, thus exposing the B-pillar and the hinges for the rear door. This also enables the doors to swing open 90 degrees. In keeping with the bare-all theme, the entire exterior is made to look like an unpainted unit-body ready for further assembly. Just don’t try to convince your boyfriend/girlfriend to shed his/her clothing on account of your car’s name.

The old, fully-clothed Mitsubishi Minica, with its motorcycle engine and chain-driven rear wheels may have been long forgotten here—it deserved it!—but the brand is alive and well in Japan. The engines are three-cylinder 12-valve units, and include a mad turbocharged variable-valve-timing version. In true Japanese fashion, the Minica is available in a multitude of variants with strange names like the Pg, Pj, Town Bee, and a car Professor X could love, the HeartyRun. Designed for the disabled, the HeartyRun features a passenger seat that pivots and sticks out the door, and a wheelchair rack accessible via the rear hatch.

Speaking of mutants, Nissan has been grafting strange DNA to its Micra/March lineup of small cars. The Micra may look normal in Europe, but in Japan this sensible platform has mutated into various configurations. It began with the sleek retro-mobile Figaro in the 1980s, and vans like the Pao and molluskan S-cargo. Now most of the Micra variants resemble shrink-rayed vintage Jaguars.

A few years ago, Nissan deferred its plan to bring in the March as a car in the PHP300,000 range; small cars were not doing so well then. Now Nissan has introduced one of its Brit-bodied minis. The shagadelic among you would appreciate its leather interior and old-style looks, but for us it’s another botched opportunity. At PHP648,000 the Verita isn’t cheap either, and we don’t expect it to break any sales records.

Renault Clio

Perhaps Nissan’s new parent Renault could teach it a thing or two about small but high-performance cars. Renaults’ Clio comes with the most powerful engine in this class, a 2.0-liter 16V inline-4. If the thought of 172 bhp churning through the front wheels doesn’t sound exciting enough for you, Renault is coming out with a mad V6 variant. The mid-engined (!) 3.0-liter V6 with rear drive should firm up the Clio’s position at the top of the supermini performance scale.

Of course the main reason why superminis are popular is the low purchase and running cost. Tax breaks are given in Europe and Japan to cars in this class, and they consume much less fuel. Our 4×4-riding lawmakers would do well to adopt similar measures to encourage their use.

Indeed, Manila has a history teeming with cheerful, if not exactly fun or sporty little runts. It’s probably the American influence and inexpensive gasoline that made us believe that bigger is more desirable. With Europe and Japan leading the cultural charge, and OPEC leading drain on your wallet, the small car could return to favor.

So there you have it, folks: a dozen smart Davids to jostle with all the lumbering Goliaths on the road. Of the dozen, the Clio, Echo, Lupo, Matiz, Smart and Verita are available at official dealers. The A-class is sold by independent import shops. However, at current prices, only the Clio, Echo and Matiz sound anywhere near reasonable. Next time you’re at the gas pump, gnashing your teeth at the expense, won’t you wish you were driving a supermini?

By Jason Ang | Photos courtesy of the respective car makers