► We drive the all new Smart Fortwo Cabrio
► Roofless city car comes 10cm wider than the 2nd gen
► Turbocharged unit offers useful city power
To those of an historical bent, it’ll come as no surprise to learn that we have a horse’s arse to thank for the average width of the modern motor car. In fact, make that two horse’s arses; yoked together they dictated the spacing of cart wheels, the ruts formed by same in turn dictating the front and rear track of early machines such as the Model T to facilitate smoother progress through the slurry.
Car length is, of course, up for grabs. Except in the case of the Smart Fortwo’s 2.69 metres. It seems that the population of Rome is so enamoured with its vast shoal of Smarts’ sixpence turning circle and ability to park diagonally on to the pavement that Daimler hasn’t dared disturb this sacrosanct dimension.
Happily, however, this latest specimen is 10cm wider, allowing two large (and heavily disguised) gentlemen of Valencia to sit side-by- side without relentlessly clonking elbows in the manner of courting albatross beaks.
Unhappily, each successive generation of Smart has been uglier than its elder sister; this third generation offering sporting the inelegant gurn of a chubby Pokemon character. It can’t, surely, be long before such grinning radiator grilles appear chocked with the impossibly white lifestyle teeth of the target buyer…
Atop a trademark Tridion safety cell some 50% stiffer than its predecessor, the snug, triple-layered soft-top works well, opening in two stages, in just 12 seconds, at any speed up to and including terminal velocity; a whisker short of the ton.
Further jeopardising syrup security, the roof side bars may also be removed. Mercifully, this isn’t a Citroën Pluriel, so the process is relatively painless, and the bars store in a tailor-made pocket affixed to the bottom-hinged tailgate.
On board, stylistic efforts to make this well-equipped, Passion grade (ironic nomenclature given the absence of a back seat) cabin grow up may have succeeded, but I can’t help feeling that – though the driving position is first class – they have simultaneously somewhat defunked the funky.
Drivetrain news is, however, almost all good. Two three-cylinder petrol engines are available; a 999cc, 70bhp unit, and the turbocharged 898cc, 89bhp variant I sampled. Both first arrive in the UK mated to a double-clutch automatic transmission smoother than a freshly buttered banister.
That ghastly, nodding-dog progress may have gone forever, then, but this transmission can still be rather slow in responding to throttle-stabbed demands for a downshift. Manual override obviates this to an extent, but there are no wheel-mounted paddles and the lever’s irritating to use because, unhelpfully, it’s wired back to front.
The extra width helps deliver a surprisingly big car feel to open-road driving, and also elicits greater suspension travel for a gentle improvement in ride quality, but there’s still no getting over the occasional short-wheelbase-sponsored burst of Tigger on poor surfaces.
Though turbocharging does allow the Smart to hold its own with some alacrity in the urban environment, the extra power doesn’t accompany any extra mechanical grip out in the bundu. Best, then, to hang out at the £13,265 end of the range – the cheapest cabrio you can buy in the UK – and simply enjoy the new-found delights of roofless dual-clutch waft.
The specs: Smart Fortwo cabrio 90hp Passion auto
Price: £15,650
Engine: 898cc turbo 3-cyl, 89bhp @ 5500rpm, 99lb ft @ 2500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Performance: 11.7sec 0-62mph, 96mph, 67.3mpg, 97g/km CO2
Weight: 995kg
On Sale: Now
Love: Power roof, extra width, dual-clutch auto
Hate: Ugly hooter, manual override lever
Verdict: The cheapest cabrio in the UK, but pricey
Rating: ***
Read more from the March 2016 issue of CAR magazine