SMART fortwo cabrio passion cdi (Price, as tested, £13,625) (From The Northern Echo)

SMART fortwo cabrio passion cdi (Price, as tested, £13,625)

9:53pm Monday 5th July 2010 in

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THE words Smart, diesel and cabriolet would appear as unlikely bedfellows as the words England, World Cup and Final.

No, you're far more likely to hear the likes of 'tiny, noisy and washing machine' uttered when the German designed, French built car is the topic of conversation.

As unjust or otherwise as those criticisms may be, I must admit to a slight feeling of trepidation when I took delivery.

Having driven the more conventional petrol version of the car last year it wasnt its practicality or its funky looks, as endearing as they were, but the constant thrum of the 799cc engine that was the abiding memory I was left with.

Located just behind the driver, it is to motoring, what vuvuzelas are to football matches.

Imagine then the noise from a diesel engine in such a car and, not only that, but one that has been shorn of its roof.

There is, quite literally, no getting away from it.

Despite that, I felt duty bound to drop the top whenever I could, which, thanks to a lovely spell of summer weather, was more often than not.

With the push of a button the canvas rolls back effortlessly, stopping only to inquire if you want to go all the way or just three quarters.

The latter leaves the glass rear screen in place and cossets those inside a little more from the effects of the wind. Dropping it all the way gives the Smart the look of a pram as the roof sits concertina like on the rear shelf, all but obliterating vision behind you.

To be fair, what's behind you is practically within touching distance so a quick look over the shoulder works just as well.

With the roof and the windows down the Smart loses what little poise it possesses and passing juggernauts requires no little wrist strength allied to a fair degree of bottle.

With a powerplant as small as its, it should come as no surprise that its not the fastest mover out there, but while it takes almost 17 seconds to reach 60mph once there it feels quite happy.

The town and not the open road, however, is the Smart's natural environment, but it is not helped by a clutchless semi-automatic gearbox that feels like it's taking a deep breath between changes. I am told that by using the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters and lifting off the accelerator slightly you can reduce this lag, but it's a skill I never managed to master.

Because of its size manoeuvring through traffic is a synch, u-turns are a doddle and parking becomes a game of just how small a space is it possible to fit in. Be aware, though, that when you find your spot despite these proportions, the Smart's doors are both quite large and quite heavy.

On the plus side, your petrol station attendant is going to think he's done something wrong because you will hardly pay him a visit thanks to way the diesel sips fuel. It is possible to get in the order of 85mpg out of the tiny 33-litre tank and while a friend of mine pointed out a Volvo C30, for example, gets close to that, that doesn't take pocket money to fill it up.

Space is obviously at a premium with a car of this nature and while you're never going to get the monthly shop in, unless you open the roof and pile it vertically, there is enough space to cater for a weekend break, for example, presuming you are not Imelda Marcos.

There's a small, but perfectly formed boot and in addition there's some room behind the front seats, so long as you are not so tall as to require them to be pushed all the way back.

In addition to the standard equipment, our test car came with leather seats and a Pioneer stereo that, when cranked up, turned it into a boombox on wheels.

There were a few rattles to be heard in addition to engine, road and wind noise, but the car appeared well built and sturdy.

Overall, while there are positives to be found among the negatives, I am just not utterly convinced that a diesel should really be the engine of choice for a vehicle like this, or maybe I am just not Smart enough?