Smart thinking

YOU have to be something of an oddball to really fall in love with the smart range, especially the fortwo.

For a start, you are committed to being a bit of a loner, and at the same time probably prefer to keep your travel on the roads to a minimum.

There is not much room for two, and if you want to holiday together, well, the answer is to send luggage on ahead.

But, and a big but, if you want an iconic and perky runabout that enables you to zip through the narrow streets of York, and another that means parking is a doddle, filling up a space deemed too small by others, then the smart fortwo is definitely a smart foryou.

On the parking benefits, I recall at the car's launch counting 15 smarts crammed into a space that would normally provide room for just three-and-a-bit E-Class Mercs. And don't forget that some cross channel operators charge half-price for a smart. Maybe, if you ask nicely, City of York Council will allow on-street and car park space for half price, too.

To move smart on from its single product brand, there is now a full range of models, including coup/cabriolet fortwo, a couple of roadsters and the forfour range (a range that really takes smart into the family car market, so losing that bit of eccentricity that originally caught the eye).

But back to the fortwo. In a clear demonstration that smart is not one to sit back and let the rest of the world overtake it (more smarts, incidentally, break the speed limits in London than any other car), it has introduced a limited edition all-singin' all-dancin' model called the fortwo i-move, kitted out with its own iPod play-back and charging box.

And not a moment too soon: let's face it the Walkman balanced on the fascia is getting to be a no-no today.

So there's plenty of music to enjoy, whatever your taste. A special zapper helps with the down-loading.

There are not many of the i-move models about, but at £12,500 on the road I suppose that's not surprising.

Also, the white i-move, with a silver tridion passenger safety cell in case of being bowled over by a burly 4x4 in a supermarket car park, has a matching 20 Gb iPod engraved with the smart logo, so it is easily identified.

The smart is an unexpectedly sophisticated little machine. Not just in features, like the dinky fascia-top clock and rev-counter, or the eye-blurring colour options, but also in its structural and mechanical design.

We are now well into the second generation of coup and cabrio models, and the latest come with electronic stability as standard, meaning that it can take over the braking when it feels the driver has lost it, and this is matched to a helpful hill starting system avoiding roll-back, as well as electronic brake force distribution that ensures even braking in an emergency.

With the cabrio, you get a neatly presented convertible body, with a press-button variable-position hood. It can be effectively just a rear wind deflector, or a partway-across sunroof, or a snug cover over the whole passenger cabin.

The cabriolet is fitted with a 61bhp engine, matched to a twin mode "Softouch" transmission system allowing for fully automatic or sequential changes.

It can take a bit of getting used to; there can be embarrassing moments at traffic lights while you are fathoming out the selection process. You think you know it all when you first leap into the car (one gear shift is like any other, surely?), but beware, because too much fiddling can confuse the transmission to the point where it won't go into any gear at all, and it just refuses to show you either an "A" for automatic or a gear-matching number from one upwards. I realised later that reading the car's manual could in fact be most helpful, certainly less frustrating in the long run.

The cabriolet can take around 15 or so seconds to get to 62mph, but once off its mark, it will zing around on out-of-town roads right up with most of the legal-speed traffic. Also, the smart takes a lot of beating when it comes to city driving: around 48mpg for example, and for long-distances we are talking nearer 70mpg.

You might expect to experience a few bounces with such a short wheelbase, but the car rides on a MacPherson strut front suspension, and the ride quality is remarkably good for a vehicle with all its wheels so close together.

The handling is fine in normal conditions, although I don't know that I'd like to push a smart passionately down the A64 on conditions we have experienced this week. It is just as well that the top speed is electronically governed to 85mph.

Overall though, when you consider just how much is packed into a machine with such a short wheelbase, items such as cushioned backrests, automatic wash-wipe, rev counter and clock, you might as well enjoy the experience.

It will bring a chuckle, if not from you then the neighbours.

Dealer: Mercedes-Benz York, Centurian Park, Clifton Moor, York (01904 694000).

Updated: 08:55 Friday, February 25, 2005