Smart Car ? ?Surprising? is the word (Smart Car)

Member Name: bikerchris

Product:	Smart Car
Date:	10/09/04 (12565 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Parking, (semi or) automatic, comfort (surprisingly), 300 miles to a tank

Disadvantages: handling, heat from engine, 87mph speed limited

MY STORY
I had this car for several months as a hire car after a motorcycle accident(?not my fault?), though I first got a bike but the ribs were too painful to ride, much to my irritation. The model is the basic model (Pure) so perhaps paying for the extra?s would make it a bit more user friendly/functional. Having never owned a car I am not comparing to any other vehicle of the four wheeled variety?errr?which may help.

THE CAR(T) ? Is it comfy?
This car has many attributes considering it?s size. It?s very comfortable and I once did 800 miles in a (stag) weekend without backache or any aches come to think of it, throughout my 6? 1? stature. Two friends had a go and both are 6? 6? and about 15/20stone and they also said it was surprisingly comfortable. The automatic gearbox certainly takes the choir out of driving though ? especially traffic jams.

DRIVING IT
Petrol tank capacity: 33L + 5L reserve
OK, believe it or not, that little 698cc, 3 cylinder engine (with 2 spark plugs?) does actually shift up to at least 50mph. However, approach a corner to fast and the understeer is unbelievable. This is not the car to ?take to the max? as you have to remind yourself of the short wheelbase. PARKING ? now this is where it obviously shines?being as short as the average home floor to ceiling is high (2500mm x 1500mm wide) parking is easy, even for an all weather day or night biker like me. On many occasions I was able to park it perpendicular to the kerb, but even when this isn?t achievable, parallel parking is a doddle. Oh, driving in windy conditions can be...errr...interesting.

LIVING WITH IT
I personally, like most I hope, have more than one friend, so it can be irritating not having those extra two seats in the back, even when compared to a 3 door. Storage in the back is surprisingly good and I reckon a medium size suit case could fit in the back, otherwise I have had a huge rucksack, a medium rucksack and a Suzuki V-twin eng
ine in the back successfully. Because of the engine heat I don?t advise putting perishable food in the back though. The engine, should you wish to check oil levels/water is easy to access by removing the back trim and opening up a metal cover panel. Be warned though, the metal panel gets hot enough to burn your hands! Actually, you may want to try frying an egg on it one day. The two back flaps open up and down in a range rover way, so you could sit in/on the back and watch some bike racing or something, with a little protection from rain. I?ve had the back open during rain and only a little gets in.

SMOKING
If you are also ?one of the evil that should burn in hell? like me, the desire to smoke in a car is inevitable considering traffic jams and learner drivers (nothing against the latter, we?ve all been there). The bad news is that if you?re a bit on the tall side, it?s a fair reach to it when driving and it?s ideally situated for the passenger. Also, in darkness, you can?t see where you?re aiming that ash! One excellent feature is that once you?ve ?closed? the ash tray, there is barely any smell at all after a short while, to the point of our angels, the non-smokers, could never be offended.

THINGS THAT CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS/CURIOUSITIES:
To turn the interior light on, you press the tiny front light that?s below the stereo in the centre column.
If the gears muck around, depress the brake and make two movements with the gear stick until the ?N? shows.
Can?t unlock the petrol filler cap? Press the unlock button on the key fob once and open it within 15 seconds.
If you don?t go for air-con and if there?s nothing in the back, there?s no problem with opening the back window. There is a design flaw in the engine heat expulsion (just a few holes in the bumper), so provided you?re not in LA central, just open up the back. NB Doesn?t apply to roofless models?of course)
You can central lock from the inside by pressing the button surrou
nding the red hazard warning light button.
If you tilt the back rest right back, the seat belt snags and becomes ineffective.

CONCLUSION
I?ll stick with the bike thanks. But if I were a ?car person? and had the money, I?d have a real car and a smart car for town journeys. For its intended purpose, it does an excellent job AND, to boot, it has Mercedes build quality so it will just keep going. The one I have has done 15,000miles and is 5000miles over-due on it?s service, and I can?t hear/feel/smell anything suspicious!

Summary: