Used Smart – Driving a Smart Car
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When I say driving a Smart car, I definitely don?t mean driving one of the Smart ForFour models that came out recently, or even the strange yet oddly endearing Smart Roadster model. Nope, I mean the real original, Smarts most popular model to date ? the ForTwo. These are the cars that Smart still currently produce, and which are available around the country for bargain prices at used Smart dealership or Mercedes-Benz showrooms with a Smart tag-on!
I don?t actually own a Smart car of any description. Despite the fact that I have always quite liked them, it simple never crossed my mid to actually head to a used Smart showroom and buy one for myself. Now I think about it like that, I don?t really know why I didn?t, especially as all the driving I do tends to be around towns and cities! Silly me! Anyway, it doesn?t? matter that much anyway, as I still got o have some fun driving my friends Smart car, and that more than made up for it.
I know very well that Smart cars aren?t anything like Ferraris, or Lamborghinis, or Aston Martins. I don?t try and kid myself that my ?having fun? driving a Smart would be anything like the kind of fun I would have in a supercar. I would say, however, that there is a certain feeling for freedom and silliness that means when driving these cute little two seaters you feel chirpy that you ever do in a real grownup persons car!
Driving the tiny car my friend owns was brilliant. I clambered in for the first time, and before I had even started the little 0.7 litre engine I had noticed ho many people look and stare. Even now, years after the Smart was released, people still can?t stop themselves for laughing, smiling and generally just enjoying seeing one. Even if they find it ridiculous they still do so with a smile on their face. When I drove the creature (which, I might add, is pink with vinyl custom stars all over it!) through my local town centre, I was stunned by the attention I got.
At the same time, however, I was actually enjoying if for how it drive. The engine may be tiny, but so is the car, meaning that the drive was lightweight and surprisingly nippy. That nippiness soon meant that I realised how agile the ForTwo was, squeezing through tight gaps and navigating awkward lane systems without a seconds thought. This car was clearly born for the city, and the moment I got to part it at right angles to the pavement I knew that I was completely sold on it.
Fair enough, I wouldn?t suggest this car for long distance trips, or for people who are acceleration hungry. With a low maximum speed and teeny engine, that just wouldn?t be sensible. But nothing beats its cosy little dimensions for urban driving, and even some of the more comprehensive small city cars don?t make the grade. What fun!