Smart Fortwo Cabrio Pulse

Smart Fortwo Cabrio Pulse – Economical and Eco Friendly.

The first thing that struck me about the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet when it arrived was the fact that it had lurid green writing plastered over the side proclaiming its green credentials.

It even had a phone number to ring if you wanted to find out more, although I didnt see anyone pointing at it and reaching for a phone or pen and notebook!

But eco friendly this new Smart Fortwo cabrio Pulse certainly is.

For this is a Smart Fortwo Micro Hybrid, with improved fuel consumption, lower emissions and all sorts of eco friendly devices.

The most obvious and probably, one day all, all cars will be like this one. It is a stop start system, which basically means when the car is stationary and your foot is on the clutch the engine cuts out.
When the clutch is released again the engine fires into life and your ready for the off once more.

According to SMART, this little trick can cut fuel consumption by arround nine per cent, and, in heavy city traffic, you can notch up a saving of nearly 25 per cent.

But it takes some getting used to, in reality, when you brake approaching a traffic light, or perhaps the queue for the Tyne Tunnel, at lower than 5mph the engine stops.

This is a moment when for anyone who has ever had the misfortune to drive a banger which cuts out at low revs the urge is to whack the accelerator down to catch the revs again.

But once you can overcome that urge the stop start system is a remarkable way to save petrol and cut emissions. The engine fires up again with barely a split-second lost.

And there is a button on the dashboard which cancels this function anyway.

All Fortwo cabriolets are powered by a one litre engine but buyers can choose between outputs of 71bhp, 85bhp or 98bhp.

The lower 71bhp model while nippy arround town requires some work on longer journeys with high speeds.

With a top speed of 90mph, though the little soft top will get there in the end.

My main gripe wasnt with the performance but mainly with the handling, Power steering is an optional and on the test car did not have it, It took real efford to manoevre, especially while parking at low speeds.

Things improved at higher speeds but I’d definately recommend adding a bit of power to the steering wheel.

The stiffened suspension needed to stop the tall Smart struggling around bends means that the potholes and bumps of the north east are transferred to the seats of the Fortwo.

In particularly bumpy conditions this can drill right through your backside and indeed your stomach.

But for a car of the dimensions of the Smar the ride is ok. The engine, whic is just behind the seats is apparent but not too intrusive, and wind noise is surprisingly minimal despite the soft top

The automatic gearbox was smooth and responded well when required. But if you’re going to buy a cabriolet you are going to want some roof down time.

This cabriolet is unusual in the fact that you can take the roof off at any speed at the touch of a button.

The fabric hood is pulled back from the main section of roof at one push and the rear section, where the rear window would normally be, is then flattened at a second push.

It’s all very smooth and swift, and wind protection is pretty good especially with the side windows up.

You can actually remove the rear struts if you want to go even more open air.

For a small car its deceptively roomy inside. There is enough space for two large people in the front, and legroom and headroom is fine.

There’s very little space in the boot though.

The Fortwo cabrio is most at home around the city its nippy, easy to park (with power steering) and extremely frugal with the juice.

A decent drive with top down or up a Smart can still turn heads even without bright green writing splashed down each side!

SMART FORTWO CABRIO PULSE
Engine: One-litre Petrol
Transmission: automatic
0-62: 13.3 seconds
Top Speed: 90mph
Combined MPG: 64.2mpg
OTR price from: £10,181 (range from £9,202)