| First Drive | London, England| smart fortwo cdi |

The smart fortwo has long been available on the Continent in turbodiesel guise for other European buyers, but it's taken until now for it to arrive in Blighty. It's not very powerful with just 45 horses to call upon, but they're grafters with plentiful low down torque to make it an easy drive. What really matters though is the claimed combined consumption figure of 83.1mpg and CO₂ emissions of just 88g/km. That's not just the greenest smart you can buy, but pretty much the greenest car you can buy. At least until the battery-powered one arrives in 2012.

In the Metal

That should read plastic, as the smart's low weight is down to its plastic rather than metal panels. There's tough alloys and strong steels where it matters around the smart's structure, meaning if you stuff it you're better protected than if it were a mere Tupperware constructed machine. It's all actually rather safe thanks to its engine under floor design, high seating position and the light but tough metal frame.

Styling-wise the second-generation fortwo has never quite cut it as convincingly as its predecessor. It's wider than before and its styling looks a bit heavier - the rather cute looks of the original lost with its advancing years. It's small though, meaning you can park it nose or rear in to the kerb, allowing you to exploit spaces where other cars wouldn't dare. In cabrio guise you can slide back the roof in a variety of ways, dropping it completely behind you and removing the roof bars, or merely leaving it open like a large canvas sunroof.

What you get for your Money

Smarts always seem inexpensive when you look at the list prices, but it's possible to spend a good deal more by dipping into the options list. This 45bhp cdi passion cabrio costs £10,880, though you have to fork out for kit like a lockable glovebox, electric power steering, the clock and rev counter, and the must-have steering wheel gearshift function. That, and a few other bits and pieces add up to a smart that's £12,475, which is a lot for an urban run around. You could have a turbodiesel Ford Ka, with four seats, a bigger boot and more conventional driving dynamics for a good deal less than that.

Driving it

Typically you've paid for the smart fortwo's diminutive proportions, economy and usefulness around town with a fairly compromised driving experience. That's still very much the case with the fortwo cdi, the suspension still crashy and unyielding and the steering utterly devoid of any feedback. The key criticism of the fortwo has always been of its transmission, the semi-auto two-pedal system resulting in gearshifts that at best are ponderous and at worst infuriatingly, head-nodding-ly bad. The steering wheel mounted paddle shifters have always helped counter this - as has as a judicious lift of the throttle when swapping cogs in the petrol-engined smarts - but the cdi's plentiful low-down torque helps ease the gearshifts, smoothing the transition between ratios.

It's thi,s allied to the need not to rev the hell out the tiny three-cylinder 800cc engine, that defines the cdi driving experience. Power might be rather lacking, but it's quick enough around town, though you could fall asleep in the time it takes it to reach 62mph - 19.8 seconds meaning it's about as accelerative as construction equipment. Performance against the clock has never really been the smart's forte; instead it excels in terms of economy and emissions, the 83.1mpg and 88g/km figures being very impressive indeed.

Worth Noting

The smart is small: the boot is about as capacious as the glovebox on some cars and there's precious little stowage space in the cabin either. It's also a strict two-seater. The two-year warranty seems a bit stingy these days, though service intervals of 24 months/25,000 miles mean you'll rarely be sat waiting in a service centre reading out-of-date magazines and drinking rubbish coffee.

Summary

The smart fortwo in cdi turbodiesel guise is the car it always should have been. It might not be quick, but it's sensationally frugal and the engine's torque does a good job of easing the awful gearshift. That alone is enough to recommend it over its petrol relatives.