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A smart way to get around.


Byline: ROBIN ROBERTS

SMALL is beautiful in today's car market. While many manufacturers are struggling to introduce truly economical city cars and make it pay for them, smart is enjoying a head start.

It was launched in the 90s to derisory remarks, but now the technically-advanced two-seater is coming into its own. s

The smart range was launched as a small-capacity petrol model, but it is now available with a diesel engine and automatic transmission.

This is the car which has just won the MPG Marathon, averaging an incredible 96mpg over a 350-mile course.

The compact dimensions, high-efficiency engine and effortless transmission give it instant appeal when looking for a city car and the fact it attracts low road tax and no congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load.

congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity.
 charges may clinch it for many.

The engine and gearbox sit behind the driver, so there is just a short front luggage compartment and all the space between the wheels is given over to the driver and passenger. Revving freely, the engine sounds busy all the time and the gear changes are better than the original models, but can still be a little jerky.

When you appreciate its limits and drive it to them but not past, the engine is much smoother and economical.

The steering has a very good turning circle and minimum effort is needed when parking, but it's not so twitchy twitch·y  
adj. twitch·i·er, twitch·i·est
1. Characterized by jerky or spasmodic motion: the twitchy whiskers of a cat.

2. Nervous; jittery.
 that it's nervous on the open road.

The visibility is very good to front and sides, but its stubby stub·by  
adj. stub·bi·er, stub·bi·est
1.
a. Having the nature of or suggesting a stub, as in shortness, broadness, or thickness: stubby fingers and toes.

b.
, high tail can hide some objects from the driver's view and you need to carefully check behind before reversing.

The room for driver and passenger is good, so long as you are not much above average height, but it pays to travel light. Seat adjustment can be fiddly fiddly
Adjective

[-dlier, -dliest] small and awkward to do or handle

fiddly adj [task] → delicado, mañoso; [object
.

It settles down to a comfortable 60mph on motorways, but is really in its element when the driver is weaving around town.

If you are not in a rush and don't want to pollute the air too much, then the smart fortwo cdi is an attractive proposition.

CAPTION(S):

COMPACT DIMENSIONS - the smart fortwo comes into its own when driving around town
COPYRIGHT 2009 MGN Ltd.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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Article Details
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Title Annotation:Features
Publication:Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England)
Date:Oct 23, 2009
Words:356
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