passion cdi (54bhp) 2dr Auto Open Car

The Economy King is no longer with us Rest in Peace

With the unfortunate loss of the beautiful 799Cc Turbo diesel in October 2013, possibly the most fuel efficient car on Britains roads will go down in motoring history as a car you either love or hate.

I always wanted a CDI Smart, having read about its incredible economy way back in the January 2000 Diesel Car magazine.

In late 2009 Mercedes eventually introduced right hand drive cars to the Uk market, and in March 2010 I took ownership of my dream car.

Build quality is really excellent as you would expect from a car owned by Mercedes, with an interior as funky as the For Two its no surprise it remains in production, even though its not everyone's idea of daily transport , if you only require a two seat vehicle the Smart ForTwo makes great sense.

The Passion model comes with all the right kit, Sat/Nav, A/C, Electric Windows and a quirky gearbox that only true lovers of the Smart brand understand.

Many people simply hate the automatic function on the cars gearbox, remember if you try and overwhelm the gearbox by over revving the engine then it will respond very slowly, but remember this car is not a powerful machine, treat it with respect and operate the gearbox with restraint and it will change normally , but still not as well as a more modern gearbox., but that's one of the joys of ownership, the weird and wonderful world of the Smart For Two, some understand it but lots hate it for its supposed weaknesses.

How about the cars fabled fuel economy of 85mpg, well over long distances I have equalled that figure and surpassed it once or twice, with a best of 91mpg.

Unfortunately getting that kind of economy does not come easy, you have to use specific Hypermling techniques, and few owners have the time or patience to drive that way hence the reported average fuel economy of 60-70mpg by most owners.

It still remains one of the most affordable ways of running a car on British roads, and if your commute to work is only a short distance, your fuel bills will be extremely low.

Not that the Smart is a car that is overwhelmed by long distance travel, I've driven mine very long distances to Scotland and the North of England on many an occasion, and even circumnavigated the North Yorkshire National Park and Lake District in one very long day outing, using not much fuel in the process.

A manufacturer as large as Mercedes would never claim a vehicle of theirs could do 85mpg unless they had proved it in testing.

Certain drivers, Mic Linford being one of them have have managed nearly 100mpg, so you see it is possible to get very high fuel economy from the CDi., but most people are under the apprehension that the car will do 85mpg with little effort, that unfortunately is not the case, you have to work hard to be rewarded with those kind of figures, but rewarded you will be if you drive with fuel economy in mind.

The ride comfort is firm as you would expect for such a short wheelbase car, but there are few vehicles on the road that are as fun to drive as a Mercedes Smart and with car insurance being very low and zero road tax, running costs are so cheap that it only costs me around £10 a week of fuel to commute to and from work.

In the nearly four years of ownership, the car has been trouble free, and even though the ride quality is firm nothing has fallen off the car, and there remain few rattles on the car which shows how well its screwed together.

I thought that over time the novelty of owning the car would have worn off, but its still immensely great fun to get behind the wheel, and being such a small car the sense of speed is heightened.

It will easily keep up with traffic if one visits the busy motorway, and even though at first it can be quite intimidating driving amongst far larger vehicles you soon forget the cars tiny dimensions due to the large interior space of the car.

If needs be you can safely cruise at 70mph or even faster, but then the cars main trump card will be lost, its incredible fuel economy.

With Mercedes dropping the diesel from the Smart range for the first time since its origins way back in 1998, there are few cars out there on Uk roads that in real world driving terms can equal the Sart ForTwo Cdi for fuel economy.

I have no intention of selling my car, it has become a firm friend over those years of ownership, and with the possibility of sky high fuel economy I would be daft to replace it.

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