Two years after joining the «Smart tribe» for the first time here, I got back into a Smart and ventured into the urban jungle. This time, in a Smart Fortwo Convertible.
Today, just as two years ago, Smart remains a “rare species” among the automobile fauna. For its technical solutions, for its philosophy, in short, for everything. But above all, for the sensations it offers us. Which are different from all the cars I've driven... and I've driven a lot, believe me. Starting with a modest 50 hp French utility vehicle and ending up in one of the most capricious and rewarding cars to dominate in the history of the automobile (I still have to finish the “dominating” part…).
Motor
Capacity
0.9 Turbo
power
90 hp
Binary
135 Nm
And when I talk about sensations I'm not talking about the feeling of the steering (which is not extraordinary), the speed of the gear (which is still not fast), the rigor of movements or the comfort on board (the short wheelbase does not allow miracles) of this Smart Fortwo. Anyone who wants all this in a city person chooses a Volkswagen Up!, a Fiat 500 or a Hyundai i10, just to mention a few (of my favourites).
Like it or not...
Smart Fortwo offers an experience different from all its hypothetical competition – are there really competitors for Fortwo? Experiences that left even an intrepid defender of late braking, off ESP's and powerful engines, like me, surrendered. Because not everything is performance, in the same way that not everything is comfort and gadgets… This Smart Fortwo Convertible is proof of that.
I give you two examples: parking and driving in town. Two tasks that rob me of years of life. I hate! The first because I'm terrible at parking (you can ask me to do a whole drift circuit, but don't ask to park in parallel to the first one) and the second because I'm less and less fussy about driving in town (you can take an Alentejo from Alentejo, but you can't take Alentejo from an Alentejo).
Fortwo miraculously turns these two tasks into something bearable. Parking a Smart is child's play and meandering around the city behind the wheel is so funny that I think I'll put it in my Curriculum Vitæ, in the part dedicated to fait divers.
Hobbies? Definitely: Reading, writing, fishing, karting and dodging traffic in a Smart Fortwo.
I understand now why I was never called on for many job interviews. Ahead, and back to the Smart Fortwo Cabrio…
This Smart Fortwo Convertible, being convertible, adds another dimension to the experience.
Taking off the top at the end of the day and walking around the city (or running away from it…) is really cool – you can read one of these “getaways” here. As I said two years ago when I tested the “normal” version of the Fortwo, the consumptions of this version equipped with the 90 hp 0.9 turbo engine are not nice (I can make better consumptions with my Peugeot 208, which is bigger and heavier).
But we make up for the lack of friendliness of the averages almost always above 6.5 l/100 km with the friendliness we receive from abroad. Everyone is funny with this Smart Fortwo Convertible – and this unit in particular in matte gray and with the burgundy hood works really well.
And out of town?
As I have said on other occasions, this generation of Smart Fortwo behaves much better than previous generations on national roads and highways. It's still not a wonder of curves and comfort, but it's safe and conveys confidence.
The electronic aids are always on "high alert", sometimes preventing us from removing as much juice as possible from this engine with a healthy 90 hp.
The hood. Have I told you about the hood?
The hood is automatic and simple to operate. If you have a garage and the price surcharge makes no difference to you, choose this Smart Fortwo Convertible over the rigid version.
Acoustic comfort hasn't been pinched, chassis rigidity hasn't been compromised, and the Fortwo is far more appealing in 'open skies'.
Almost 20,000 euros for a Smart
If you want a Smart like this, get ready to shell out almost 20 000 euros. “Almost €20,000 for a car this size?” you say. The trick is there. It's not a car… it's a Smart.
The Smart Fortwo Convertible, like other branded products, goes far beyond its intrinsic value.
Having a Smart is an affirmation of a lot of things that are cool and that look good on social media. And by my calculations, that costs around 5,000 euros. So you pay! Don't ask me how I got to that value...
But the logic is simple. In the same way that a handbag of a guy named Michael Kors (if you don't know who it is, ask your girlfriend…) it costs 500 euros. a white label suitcase costs 20 euros. In the end, both fulfill exactly the same function, but the first is that it is an object of desire.
Price. Price. Price.
Is price nonsense? Maybe it's not. Returning to the example of women's accessories, the truth is that Mr. Kors is rich and I continue to write about automobiles. In the same way that Smart continues to sell its cars (which in the most basic versions are not that expensive) with success. This is to say that the concept of “oh and such is expensive” is above all dependent on what we value or not.
In my case, if I had a child and if I had 20,000 euros to buy him a car, I would be extremely happy if he chose a 2nd hand RWD sports car (I even cried...), but if he chose a Smart Fortwo Convertible, he would also understand why. Although he was sad…
In the same way that I hope no one will judge me for thinking that spending €20,000 on a car for track-days is reasonable, I will not make the mistake of judging someone for buying a car that makes them feel good. At the end of the day, the truth is that the price of things is measured by their usefulness or by what they make us feel. This goes for a work of art, for a stove and… for a car.
Still, there are things that are not excusable, given the price and the premium positioning of the Smart Fortwo Convertible. Namely the lack of a keyless ignition system (in a car that makes the flag of the fact that it is practical) or the lack of a standard automatic braking system (in a car that spends its life in the city).
