Smart Car CDI (2011) First Impressions

Wow what a little car…

OK so I only got to cover about 20miles or so with 40 minutes of driving, manly in town with a quick blast up and down a local bypass.

First thing I always do before even considering the Smart Car was to read reviews of it elsewhere.
Well reading the review actually put me off a little, from a BBC report that said the 85MPG advertised is a long way from the truth from the gearbox being dodgy.

Well I decided I would try the car for myself and see how it feels.

Obviously during the test I certainly couldn’t measure the MPG that the car was able to achieve but I could try it out at least.

First thing I notices was how it felt much like a normal car in the front and didn’t feel cramped at all, and the high driving position helps make you feel safer.
Obviously things change when you look behind you as that’s the rear of the car!

Ride and Comfort 6/10

Ok the ride isn’t great, however is wasn’t as uncomfortable as a MK7 Feista Zetec S I used to have! However to forgive the car, is has a TINY wheelbase.

Its ride is pretty good I felt directly connected to the road, no doubt helped by the lack of power steering (which isn’t an issue since the car doesn’t weigh much)

Power- for a little car if you you put your foot down it certainly picks up quickly, however you wont have much rev range before you need to change up which leads me to the next section…

Gears

OK, after ready lots of reviews about the Smart Car, it it obvious that the Professional reviews dont always know what they are talking about.
The Smart Car has a SEMI automatic gear box, meaning that the clutch and change is automatic but otherwise is is a manual box.

If you have ever driven a Manual car and changed gear whilst still keeping your foot on the accelerator you will also find the car lurches!

Auto vs Manual.

This “lurching” is certainly more apparent in “Auto” mode as the car will decide when best to change the gears. To be honest I stayed in auto for the first 10minutes so I had one less thing to worry about when driving it for the first time. After that I was in the manual mode, using the flappy paddles for most of the journey (only using the gear stick itself when the steering wheel is being used like on a roundabout)

Road Noise- around town I didn’t notice much difference however at speed 60mph+ it was noticeably louder than my other car.

That’s it for now and I’m looking forward to an extended test drive later in the month in which I can really put it though its paces and see whether it is actually a suitable car for me!