The
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MCC Smart City Coupé isn’t quite a unique vehicle, but it certainly occupies a
niche! A very small niche: make no
mistake, the Smart is tiny. It is
as long as a Mondeo is wide, which means you can park it nose first (or tail
first) in to a very small car parking spot.
Technically,
the Smart is rather clever. The engine
sits behind the passenger compartment, under the boot, driving the rear wheels
through a six speed semi-automatic (or full automatic), sequential transmission. There are a total of four engine options, all
turbocharged three cylinder donks: three 600cc petrol versions and one 800cc
diesel.
The
Smart & Pure is the entry level model and comes with the least powerful
engine (producing just 44 PS).
The next model up is the Smart & Pulse, with 60 PS, and the top
level model comes with a 55 PS version.
The higher powered versions have a rather more sophisticated engine
management system with electronic turbocharger control, whereas the Pure has a
mechanical turbo controller. All are
very economical with fuel - the petrol models having a Euromix of over 57 mpg
and the diesel (at the time of writing, unfortunately unavailable as a right
hand drive model in the
To
drive, the Smart City Coupé is a bit strange.
All models have ABS, traction
control and skid protection systems. The ride is surprisingly compliant for such a short
wheelbase car, but this isn’t saying all that much: the ride is almost
identical to that of the Mercedes Benz A-Class. Performance on paper is quite similar - they
take around 18 seconds to hit 60 mph (18·9 for the Pure, 16·8 for the Pulse
and 17·2 for the Passion), and on to an electronically limited maximum
speed of 84 mph. Surprisingly, to drive,
they feel quicker than these figures suggest.
I tried the Smart & Passion, with the 55 PS engine, and it proved to
be reasonably flexible, with little turbocharger lag, and a pleasing, sporty
growl.
The
Passion model comes with MCC’s SoftTip and SoftTouch transmission programs. SoftTip is the semi-automatic gearchange:
flick the level back to change down, and push it forward to change up. It will automatically change down for you as
the speed falls, but you must change up yourself – with the LCD screen telling
you when to change up for maximum fuel economy.
In SoftTouch mode, the car does everything for you. Gearchanges are not as smooth as most
conventional automatics, but better than I was expecting. More to the point, the Smart’s gearchange is
huge fun to operate. Flicking up and
down the ratios, with the tiny little engine growling away behind you, is
certainly entertaining!
The
Smart’s real appeal is in the running costs of it. It is very cheap to run. Insurance is dirt cheap and they’re very easy
on petrol. It is also a surprisingly
good drive. In-gear performance is
pleasing, and on the motorway, sixth gear is quite high for economical
cruising. Although I didn’t try myself,
the Passion is still accelerating reasonably well when it reaches the speed
limiter (and since then, I’ve seen Smart Coupes tearing along the motorway,
including one shown here and detailed here,
which I assume must have been modified!).
The
compromise is in the size. The Smart
Coupe is a two seater car, with a small boot.
In fairness, there is a lot of room for two people and the boot is
around the same size as the Cinquecento’s. With the glass roof (rather than the metal
one), the car feels very airy and spacious, and they come with a moveable
sun blind for the summer.
A
Smart Coupe would have been perfect for us, if it were not for the waiting
list, which was nudging five months. If
we had of gone for the MCC car, we would not have picked up the Smart until
around April 2002.
I
like the Smart Coupé’s clever design, funky dashboard, F1-style
gearchange, driver visibility, excellent fuel economy and, in Smart &
Passion trim, the good specifications.
I
dislike the waiting list for right hand drive cars.