Wednesday 3 July 2013

Small Car, Big City! - Smart Fortwo Cabriolet

I love these little cars!



I've had my black and silver Smart Fortwo Passion Cabriolet since February 2012.

I remember seeing an article in a motoring magazine many years ago about an up and coming car with replaceable plastic body panels. The body panels were changeable so it was possible to change the colour of the car without a respray.  It was designed by Mercedes and Swatch, the company who manufacture watches.  Well, this is it!  The Smart Fortwo.  It was remodeled around 2007 to meet the requirements of the USA market and the body shape has remained almost unchanged since then right up to today.  Mine is a 2010 model.

The company name 'Smart' is from a combination of the words 'Swatch, Mercedes and Art'.

I see my car as a very small Mercedes!

I love the way the cabriolet roof can be raised and lowered, with the removable side rails in place, whilst driving so whatever the changes in the British weather it's easy to change the roof with just a flick of a switch.

When I'm in the car it feels as though the car should be much bigger.  The designers have really though it through by putting the engine at the rear under a removable panel under the boot floor.  The passenger seat is set slightly further back than the drivers seat so, although the car is narrow, I don't rub shoulders with my passengers.  The tailgate drops down and the rear of the hood lifts up to give good access into the rear of the car.  I have managed to fit a boxed single bed memory foam mattress in my car with ease as the back of the passenger seat folds down to give more space, when required.

I love it how my car can fit in any social situation.  They're everywhere in Paris!  I have even photographed them outside the Paris Ritz Hotel and also outside the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco!  There were all these exotic cars worth a fortune parked outside the Casino and there was a car like mine.  I've found they are popular with some celebrities.  Simon Cowell has been photographed driving one in the USA. Also, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Justin Beiber, Britteny Spears, Joanna Lumley and Joey Essex.



I really love my car and find it great around town and on longer journeys.  It's easy to park where other cars would be too big like the small parking spaces outside the shops in Alderley Edge (See photo). I love the Lleyn Peninsula and love driving around over there where I have driven on the beach at Black Rock Sands (See photo) and it's great driving around Abersoch.

Mine can be driven as a full automatic or as a clutch-less manual.  The engine is only 999cc but as it's a light two seater it still has plenty of go!  It's also better for the environment with it being the MHD (Micro Hybrid Drive) model - It has the Stop / Start technology so the engine cuts out when I use the foot brake and the car is stationary and re-starts when I release the foot brake.

I would have another one of these cars.  They are certainly worth a look if you want something a bit quirky.




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