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Photo Gallery: 2006 Smart Fortwo

I guess bringing this tiny car to Canada was a “smart” idea after all.

Naturally, there were many skeptics who felt this diminutive car wouldn’t fly in Canada’s marketplace. There were doubts about its crashworthiness, what with all the large SUVs the Fortwo would share our roads with. Then there were the questions about how it would handle our less-than-pleasant winters. And never mind that it only had 40 horsepower and was funny-looking.

The crashworthiness question can be answered this way: here’s an account from ClubSmartCar.com about a member whose Fortwo was hit by a Kia Sorento in 2005; his family believes the car, which rolled over at highway speed, saved his life. Then, British TV show Fifth Gear crashed an unmanned smart Fortwo into a concrete barrier at 70 mph (about 120 km/h) to see how it would hold up. The answer? Remarkably well, considering the circumstances. See the video on YouTube.com.

As far as hard crash safety data is concerned, the Fortwo’s unavailability in the U.S. means that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) haven’t tested it. But EuroNCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) has. EuroNCAP is more or less the European equivalent to the U.S. NHTSA; they noted some weaknesses as far as occupant protection in frontal crashes – in particular, a high risk of severe leg injury for the driver and chest injury for the passenger – but side impact protection proved quite good, and this without side airbags; these were optional in European models but standard in Canadian-market cars.

2006 Smart Fortwo. Click image to enlarge

And as for the Fortwo’s winter driving characteristics, talk to CanadianDriver contributor Michael Clark, who spent a week with one in Canada’s winter capital, Winnipeg, Manitoba. His assessment was mostly positive; read his review here.

Obviously, the Fortwo’s frugal fuel consumption is a big draw here. Natural Resources Canada’s ratings for the Fortwo are 4.6 L/100 km in the city and 3.8 L/100 km highway. Many Fortwo owners at ClubSmartCar.ca proudly display their fuel consumption figures; most fall within, or at least close to, NRCan’s numbers.

Reliability-wise, the Fortwo has had a few issues since its introduction here. Air conditioning problems seem to be common, but it appears Mercedes-Benz has issued a technical service bulletin to deal with this; as long as your car is under warranty, this should be repaired free of charge. Some ClubSmartCar.ca members have had airbag problems, mostly with the driver’s side airbags; a common fix seems to be replacing the steering wheel and/or the airbag.

2006 Smart Fortwo. Click image to enlarge

Watch for problems with the turbocharger and intercooler bolted to the Fortwo’s little diesel engine; many ClubSmartCar.ca members say they’ve had to have this component replaced. This would be covered by the car’s powertrain warranty, but this would be a pricey repair once that coverage expires. Some owners feel that problems can be avoided, or at least put off, by following accepted turbo practices – gentle acceleration when the car is cold, and letting it cool down before shutting the engine off. Turbo problems might be linked to overfilling the engine’s crankcase when changing the oil; others believe the problem is caused by not enough oil getting to the turbocharger. In other words, no one knows for sure, and Mercedes-Benz isn’t admitting any kind of design flaw.

For more technical info, check the “General vehicle operation and maintenance” forum at ClubSmartCar.com.

2006 Smart Fortwo. Click image to enlarge

So long as a two-seater is all the car you need, a Fortwo is a very affordable used proposition (not to mention an attainable new car, too). Used values range from $12,500 for a basic 2005 Fortwo Pure coupe, to $19,350 for a 2006 Fortwo Passion cabriolet. My advice: look for a 2005 model with some factory warranty left. This gives you a little bit of piece of mind in the face of the Fortwo’s known reliability issues, but these older cars will be a little cheaper than the 2006 models.

Normally, at this point, I might point out some alternative used vehicle choices to consider, but what other cars can one compare to the Fortwo? Sure, you can find other subcompacts that offer the added practicality of a back seat and better cargo space for less money than a Fortwo will cost, but only a small motorcycle will rival the Smart’s low fuel consumption. If predictable reliability and more practicality are paramount for you, I’d suggest hunting down a used Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio or Toyota Echo/Yaris. But if you want to own something more unique, well, cars don’t get much more unique than the Smart Fortwo.

Online resources

ClubSmartCar.ca is the best North American Smart-related website I found, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s a Canadian one. It truly does appear to be a great resource, too: the forums are busy and full of useful information, and the site boasts more than 2,000 members – an incredible number for a Canadian site that caters to a niche vehicle like the Smart Fortwo. These self-professed “smarties” are pretty passionate about their cars. For example, read about the second annual ClubSmartCar.ca Cross Canada Relay and Fundraiser here.

Related stories on CanadianDriver

• First Drive: 2005 Smart Fortwo
• First Drive: 2005 Smart Fortwo cabriolet
• Test Drive: 2006 Smart Fortwo winter test

Manufacturer’s Website

• Smart Canada

Recalls

Transport Canada Recall Number: 2006228; Units affected: 551