Smart Cars in their various guises often polarise opinions. Many people look on them with a smirk and believe they are not real cars, more like toys than true automobiles. Others love their petite shape, multitude of colours and options for personalisation. They appeal to the eco-conscious as well thanks to their fabulous fuel efficiency, low carbon emissions and low road tax but also horrify petrolheads who bemoan the expected lack of oomph from something so small, their tiny ‘toy car’ dimensions and dinky looks illustrating a nightmare drive. Either way, they do make a statement.
For me, I think they are as close to the perfect vehicle as you can get and I will explain why...
Design
Design comes down to personal taste and Smart are loved or hated in equal measure. Whilst clearly no Veyron or Atom in the design stakes, their cars do a fabulous job of making the most of what they have. Created for the urban environment, the popular ForTwo and its numerous formats is the most common variant but the now out of production Roadster is also a regular sight. There was also the ForFour but that model is now out of production like the Roadster but not as common a sight on the UK roads and not as eye-catching as the two-seater models in my opinion.
Personally I like the ForTwo’s style, it’s quirky yes but highly practical for nipping about city streets. Deluxe models allow for removable roof panels and convertible options to create a summertime open top and the limited edition Crossfire is striking in anyone’s eyes - but maybe not so practical for the Scottish climate! Despite there being only 2000 ever made, I did spy one on holiday in Greece....the perfect car for warmer climes and one that easily turns heads. The Brabus tuned models offer more power for the discerning driver.
Environmental Factors
The Smart cars are some of the lowest emitting vehicles on the road, some even attract zero road tax in the UK thanks to their emissions being below the various carbon thresholds. According to NextGreenCar.com, the average co2 emissions of the three Smart variants is as follows:
ForTwo (petrol) - 113g/km
ForTwo (diesel) - 88g/km
Roadster - 116g/km
These figures place them all amongst the lowest emitting cars available at present and the upcoming all-electric variant will only strengthen their appeal to both the green-centric driver and the financially frugal one.
Ease of Maintenance and Repair
There is a thriving underworld of Smart Car spares and personalisation parts on the internet for the enthusiast owner to either exact swift repairs to their vehicle themselves or to put their own spin on its look. I love this as I have always thought there was an opportunity for someone to design aftermarket modification in from the start. I always thought it would enhance a car’s appeal if the owner was able to make relatively-straightforward mods to their car to personalise it’s appearance or exact repairs in a classy way, not in the usual gaudy Subaru way (no boy racer growling exhausts or jumbo jet spoilers please!).
Anyone who owns a car knows that it is often small superficial damage to body panels such as bumps and scrapes that annoy the most and yet cost the most to repair relative to their size (e.g. a small scrape leads to a full respray costing hundreds.). The fact with a Smart that you can source spares from sites such as this and get simple real-world how-to guidance on the installation process from sites like this brilliant website show that there is a) demand for such customisation options among cars owners, b) a strong love for Smarts from their owners driving demand for this marketplace and c) a relatively straightforward process to complete any upgrades or repairs. Very ingenious and could only have been improved if Smart themselves had a prominent ‘spares and how-to shop’ online where you could source the parts and information you needed directly.
Fuel Economy
Fuel economy on the cars is also incredible - look at these manufacturer quoted numbers:
Smart ForTwo (petrol) - 64mpg
Smart ForTwo (diesel) - 86mpg
Smart Roadster - 58mpg
The diesel mpg numbers are insane and only rivalled by a handful of other cars such as the diesel Mini or Bluemotion Volkswagens for endurance.
Electric Edition
With the recent release of the electric drive version of the car, the Smart’s green credentials have been strengthened further. Coming in at a relatively paltry £12,275 (after plug-in subsidy for purchasing a green car but before battery rental), the EV Smart is significantly cheaper than competitors such as the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV or Citroen C-Zero. It is still relatively nippy and an advertised 90 mile range is excellent news for those looking beyond the daily commute. However, given the cost of battery leasing over and above the capital cost of buying the car and installing a charging station at home, it is likely that the petrol and diesel editions represent better financial value than the EV edition, albeit sacrificing higher emissions as a result. however at least the option is there for those wanting to adopt true zero emission transport...but it will cost you.
Economics
The economics of a Smart car also make incredible reading. Say you commute an average of 10500 miles per annum, look at the savings a Smart would deliver compared to an average family hatchback based on petrol and road tax costs per annum:
Total Running Cost Per Annum
|
Annual Running £
|
Difference p.a. in £
|
Average Family Hatchback
|
£1,735.56
|
-
|
Smart ForTwo
|
£980.40
|
£755.16
|
Smart Roadster
|
£1,086.00
|
£649.56
|
Smart ForTwo Diesel
|
£739.20
|
£996.36
|
Smart ED
|
£359.04
|
£1,376.52
|
Conclusion
It only takes a day or two in London to see how popular the Smart is there because of the congestion charge but even outwith the capital a Smart is in my opinion the ideal roadcar. Have a look at the other cars on the road the next time you commute to work and see how many only have one driver on board - we need to get away from the ‘bigger is better’ mantra for cars - most of us only need something that can carry two people and what better, more economical and greener a way to travel is there on the road than in a Smart....in my opinion at least!
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