Wednesday
3rd October 2001, 0900 BST
Being
a smart owner
Beth Porter supplied us with her individual view of
living with a smart car in the household |
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It
may not suit everyone, but in car terms getting a Smart was the Smart-est
thing I ever did. This is driving, Jim, but not as we know it!
It nips through the brutal Bristol traffic with ease and parks like
a dream.
And it turns heads wherever it goes. Strangers wave and smile. When
I pull up at the lights, and other drivers peer over with approving
glints of the eye, I nod back and give a thumbs up sign.
Bonded in a moment because of a teensy-weensy cutest widdle car, which
looks as though you could fold it up and tuck it in your bag!
But don’t let the fact that it’s adorable blind you to its more pragmatic
credentials. It’s engineered by Mercerdes-Benz, uses recycled materials
in its manufacture, and performs beautifully both around town and
out in the open. Many drivers report upwards of 65-70 mpg.
I always use the automatic override, and I still clock up an average
of 40-45 mpg.
There are three models: the basic Pure, the sportier Pulse, and the
top-of-the-range Passion [complete with air-con]. There’s also a Cabriolet
convertible. Well, Bristol’s getting like the Riveria, innit? And,
because of the way the body is constructed in panels, changing the
colour is as easy as changing your mind.
At the moment the cars are only made on the continent, and though
the officially imported ones conform to British standards without
further modification, the steering wheel is on the left. But because
the car’s comparatively narrow, you just don’t notice the difference
on the road.
As noted, it’s quite small. There are only two seats, count ‘em, two.
And one of those folds down flat [revealing a very handy drinks and
spare change holder]. So if your family is bulging at the seams or
you need a vehicle to port your canoe, this Ian’t it. But if you’re
a singleton, or need a second car, you couldn’t do better than the
smart.
Now a word of warning.
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| Beth proudly
displays the club logo on the bonnet of her smart car. |
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Being the Net-head I am, I should have joined the Smart Owners Club
BEFORE I bought the car. Then I would have learned that there are
only three or four official smart dealers in the UK.
Yes, you can buy a smart elsewhere, and some of those, called "grey
importers," claim they’re official. But they’re not.
The nearest official smart dealer to Bristol is in Birmingham. But
the Daimler-Chrysler Group who own smart promise a South-West branch
soon to cope with the increasing number of owners and potential owners.
Many Bristol smart owners meet online in the smart owners chatrooms,
a great source of info and smart gossip.
One enterprising chap recently organised a smart convoy and about
a dozen of us, all in different models and colours, convened at Ashton
Court and drove down the motorway to Weston, causing quite a stir
along the prom!
So get smart and beat those Bristol traffic Blues.
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Trying
to outsmart city parking
Motorway
gridlock special
