The most fuel efficient production car in the world
“The most fuel efficient production car in the world” - in today’s increasingly eco-aware marketplace, this is a rather enviable claim to be able to make, so the marketing people at DaimlerChrysler must be rubbing their hands with glee, thanks to smart’s next-generation ForTwo diesel. Environmentalists must be pretty happy, too, about this quirky little fuel-sipper. Here’s a ten point list about why the smart ForTwo diesel is the most exciting green car to be released this year:
- First and foremost is its fuel consumption. The ForTwo diesel’s 799cc turbodiesel uses only 3.3l/100km! How does a 1000km range from a 33l tank sound to you?
- CO2 emissions of only 88g/km. That figure pretty much destroys the Prius’ 104g/km.
- Power and torque are up 10% on the current smart ForTwo diesel, but fuel consumption’s down by 13%. Figures are a less-than-formula-1-rivalling 33kw and 110Nm between 2000 and 2500 rpm.
- The motor features a number of hi-tech developments that are usually the preserve of bigger, much more expensive cars. One of these features is its 2-stage ignition system: a few milliseconds before main injection, a small quantity of diesel is injected into the combustion chambers where it ignites and preheats the cylinders. This results in a noticeably quieter combustion noise level than an engine without this pilot injection.
- NOx emissions will be substantially lower than on conventional diesels thanks to an exhaust gas recirculation feature, as well as an oxidation catalytic converter.
- Particulate emissions are down too - the cars are equipped with an open diesel particle filter.
- Passive safety is pretty respectable. smart is expecting to get a 4-star EuroNCAP rating later this year.
- Active safety’s pretty good too. The car features ABS,EBD and brake assist, as well as ESP (electronic stability programme). A wider track and improved suspension don’t hurt handling either.
- You won’t get any speeding fines driving one of these. Top speed is 135km/h and it takes 19.8 seconds to reach 100km/h from standstill. (Point number 9, dear readers, is called “looking at the glass half full”).
- Current smarts have proven themselves over the last decade to be reliable and possess good resale value, so the next smart should be a less risky purchase than some other newly-emerging green car brands and technologies.
So there you go - 10 reasons why you should get one of these. Nevertheless, there’s one very good reason why likely none of us will own one - South Africa’s diesel quality is probably not good enough for the advanced engine. I wait with baited breath for more news from smart in South Africa.
Source: Autoblog Green
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