60mpg Smart Cdi
 

Hi folks, long time no speak.

Used to post on here around eight or nine years ago when I owned a first-gen Insight. Different job, sold the car, knocked around in various other things for a while. Updated the other cars I owned in the Garage but the stuff was always a little off-brand for Ecomodder so didn't post much!

Got made redundant in mid-2020 so had cause to look for another car. That old ecomodding favourite, the Toyota Paseo, fell into my lap.


Enjoyed that car for a year, but it was in a fairly rough state, and when it got vandalised on the street I lost interest and moved it on. But in the meantime it served me well - with a little bit of technique it ended up averaging 47.8mpg Imp / 39.8 US / 5.9L/100km over the course of almost exactly a year.

Part of me was frustrated that about 50mpg imperial felt like its limit though - knowing, after I owned the Insight, that I could do better in a car more suited to that kind of driving. After considering a few options (sadly not another Insight, as they were over budget this time), I ended up with a car I'd driven and quite liked a decade ago: a Smart Fortwo Cdi.


Economy first as that's the main thing. Lifetime average so far, after around 4300 miles, is 69.9mpg Imp / 58.2 US / 4L/100km.

What's immediately apparent is that it's more effort to get good numbers than the Insight was, and that I don't think it's ultimately capable of as high numbers in the first place.

I reckon it's plain, simple physics. It's an efficient engine, but with a much worse drag coefficient (0.35 to the Insight's 0.25) combined with a larger frontal area (around 22sq ft to the Honda's 20sq ft) it's fighting more against the elements at any speed where drag is a major factor.

Obviously it lacks the Honda's hybrid assistance too, and it's also purely at a power disadvantage (54bhp to 75bhp) if not a torque one (96lb ft to the Honda's 91lb ft) and definitely seems to need working harder - though again, it's at an aero disadvantage.

There are gains to be made, mainly from tyres - the big limitation at the moment is that I'm on winter rubber.

Overall though, I like it. I got used to the gearbox everyone hates pretty quickly and it's basically a non-issue now. It's surprisingly fun to drive, comfortable doing distances (400-mile round trip recently with no issues), and being turbocharged the performance isn't too bad when you really need it.

I'm just not sure I'll get close to the official 3L/100km target...

If that parking space is it's home, there is plenty of room for a boat tail. :thumbup:

Hah! Sadly not. It gets parked on a street where its short length really is beneficial.

That engine is a masterpiece of engineering, even though the Smart is not really my cup of tea.

Yes death trap at any speed might as well just do a motorcycle instead

Odd way of contributing to the discussion, but since you bring it up:

Smarts routinely score well in crash testing (both in Europe where I am, and in the US - the most recent two generations have scored 4/5* in EuroNCAP and got IIHS "Good" ratings). As small, light vehicles they're also less of a danger to everyone else, and being small, light and relatively nimble, it's easier to avoid hitting things in the first place.

I'd be more reticent driving one in the US, admittedly. Few too many people careering around not paying attention in things like, I dunno, Chevy Tahoes ;)

I was actually considering something similar to those Piaggio Ape Calessino tricycles. They're so featherweight they could pull like a 14 with a Playboy if they were fitted with the engine of a Smart CDI. And some of those tricycles are actually smaller than a Smart, yet slightly roomier...

I wish they had sold the CDI in the US. Back in 2009 when i was looking for a new to me car I briefly looked at the gas Smart. But it made no sense compared to the 2006 Jetta TDI that I ended buying. The Diesel Smart’s mileage would have been harder to dismiss…
Curious to see how you end up modding it.
Any thought on adding a Kammback or box section?

There are a few CDIs in the US but they cost a premium and the 2005/2006 models can be problematic in the frigid north with turbo repairs and black sludge of death

Good write up and thanks for also adding l/100km

What model year is the Smart CDI and is it the 41 hp, 45 hp or 54 hp CDI engine?