Smart Fortwo

I spent a a number of days with a rented 2008 Smart Fortwo convertible.

Well it is my own fault really. I did ask for a small rental car.

First impression was that you can actually fit more luggage into the boot than I expected. I did not expect we would fit all the stuff we had with us into that car.

Second impression was that it was not as bad as I expected. Even on the motorway, I thought it would have been much noisier.

The general quality feel of car was fine and I have to say I liked the engine - it made some nice noises when reved. 

The seats were quite comfortable - even after a 160km drive I felt fine.

One thing which is good to know is that you have to have your foot on the brake in order for the car to start. Slight panic situation the first time I turned the key without the foot on the brake! 

As soon as the engine was warm, it would shut off when you stop (or almost stop) the car. Basically, this is fine. However, I found it most annoying when slowly manovering into a tight parking spot (this car kind of inspires you to try to park in the most impossible places) and the engine cutting out when rolling very slowly or changing gears from 1st to reverse. But there is a solution, turn the ECO mode off, and it will not shut the engine down.

"Convertible"? Well yes, and no. The frame around the windows is still there when you take the top down so I would say convertible-ish. Bit of a flashback to the 3-series Bauer. The weather did not really allow much top down motoring so I cannot really judge how it was to drive in open air mode. Overtaking big lorries with the roof up it did flap around a bit, but there is real glass for a rear window.

Even though this car is at home in a town or suburb - it is ok on the motorway. As long as there is no wind. In hard side winds it is a real challenge to keep in a straight line and no fun at all. There is no rev counter, so I don´t know what revs you are keeping at 120 km/h, but the sound is not too bad.

The one thing that is a draw back around town and when parking in tight spaces is the heavy steering, it does not appear to have PAS.

Now to the bit I did not really understand. The gearbox.
It is a semi-automatic 5 speed.
You shift up and down with a small gear stick which is between the seats. The shifts are slow - probably around 2 seconds. You can shift while at full throttle - but if you want a smooth shift you need to lift off the throttle when shifting.
If you forget to downshift, it will downshift for you. If you hit the rev limiter it will upshift. If you floor it, it will downshift. So if you are in 5th on the motorway and "kick down" it will go into 3rd, when you lift off it will shift back into....4th...and stay there, so you need to shift manually into 5th. But no full auto mode. Around town a fully automatic mode would have been good.

Keeping the revs up on small roads is quite fun however.
Lighter steering would have helped when throwing it into corners however.

Full auto and PAS would make it a better city car.

Fuel consumption was just over 5 l / 100 km with two people and a boot full of stuff, combined motorway driving, suburb driving and being stuck in traffic.

The stereo was very poor in the Smart and it had no Aux In.

Smart ForTwo vs Aygo?

Obviously the lack of rear seat limits it´s use compared to say an Aygo - but I would consider driving one again.

My only real complaint on handling with the Smart was the motorway driving in sidewind. That was dreadful. You do sit quite high up in the Smart compared to say an Aygo.

Smart feels higher quality.
Smart has the better engine.
Smart looks nicer (I think).
Smart is more "individual".

Aygo is probably cheaper to run.
Aygo is more practial, with rear seats.
Aygo has Aux in on the stereo.
Aygo is noisier.

With the heart I would prefer the Smart, but with the mind the Aygo. If I were buying I would probably end up with an Aygo due to cost and practicality.

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