Review of the new smart fortwo limited three

Melon Green paintwork and a chocolate brown interior; it's not a colour combination that springs to many car buyers' minds when they're specifying their new model. On some vehicles, it would look faintly ridiculous, dealing a fatal blow to the resale value, but others are seemingly built to carry off this kind of gaudy pallet, the smart fortwo being a prime example. The fortwo limited three is a special edition smart that's offered exclusively in Melon Green so at the very least, it'll stand out from the crowd.

Standing out is what the smart does best and that's a credit to its designers because it remains one of the most diminutive four-wheeled vehicles on our roads. These days there are a number of rival city cars trying to muscle in on the fortwo's territory at the more fashion-conscious end of the market but being the original still counts for something and the smart is battling hard to maintain its market share.

The original smart wasn't the finest driver's car. Its jolting ride and what was arguably the most obstreperous gearbox on the market ensured that it was a chore as soon as you ventured beyond its native inner-city environment. Today's model is significantly better. It's 19.5cm longer from nose to tail but crucially, it's 5cm longer in the wheelbase with a wider track and wider tyres. It's comfortable on the open road, cornering with some composure and with less of the worrying body roll that can afflict narrow, high-sided vehicles. There are better handling city cars but the fortwo has definite benefits in terms of manoeuvrability, and ease of use around town. The optional power steering lacks feel and I'd settle for the unassisted helm if you can put up with the extra effort needed to execute low speed manoeuvres.

"The smart remains a small car icon despite the best efforts of rivals to replicate and improve upon its innovative formula"

With the roof up, the cabrio model is barely any noisier at cruising speeds than the hard-topped coupe with just an extra rustle of wind noise reminding you you're in the convertible. The 1.0-litre petrol engine smart offers with the limited three special edition is refined but can be found wanting at higher speeds. It's fine for pottering about town and has the benefit of the clever mhd (micro hybrid drive) system that cuts the engine at traffic lights or in the urban crawl to save fuel.

smart have done away with the sequential gearbox in the old car, swapping its jerky six-gear set-up for a faster shifting, five-speed unit. The standard manual shift option gives decent control, letting you prod the lever to select gears yourself or flip the optional steering wheel paddles. Lift off the gas as you do this and it manages quite nicely but the softouch fully-automatic mode on the up-spec models is preferable most of the time.

The smart fortwo is famous for its extrovert colour schemes and by those standards the limited three probably isn't too over the top, at least not for smart's target customers. The exterior is a mixture of Melon Green metallic paint on the body panels and silver on the safety cell. With six-spoke alloy wheels and 'limited three' logos, it should draw plenty of attention to itself. Inside, the instruments and door trims are in a dark brown leather-effect finish while the three-spoke steering wheel and gearshift are also in brown leather. The instruments are picked out in silver and the brown seat upholstery has a fetching tripped design.

It's hard to argue with the suitability of the fortwo concept for its urban transport role. With two seats, tiny dimensions, that self-shifting gearbox and fuel-sipping engines, it makes all kinds of sense for all kinds of reasons. The fortwo cabrio seems less sensible, exposing its occupants to the noise and smog of the city but it's more extrovert, more stylish and more fun and these attributes are just as important to the smart package. The fact that there is a boot to speak of hints at the way this fortwo cabrio has grown-up. Owners get a respectable 220-litre luggage capacity in the back, there's a glass rear window to improve visibility and on the inside, the fortwo now feels like part of the Mercedes-Benz family, rather than the scruffy stepchild that smart's prestigious parent company would rather forget.

The limited three model can be ordered in Cabriolet or Coupe guises and both models come well-equipped with specifications based on the Passion model from the standard range. There's an MP3 compatible CD stereo, air-conditioning and a rev-counter all included as standard. Only a limited number of limited three models will be made available to UK buyers so there's an element of exclusivity too - though there will need to be with a price premium over the standard model of nearly £1,500.

Given the dimensions of the car and its engine, you wouldn't expect the fortwo to achieve anything but the most miserly fuel economy. Sure enough, the extra urban cycle figure for the limited three cabrio is 70.6mpg, while the coupe manages 72.4mpg. The drop top models are 40kg heavier but that will only cost owners a couple of miles in the gallon and CO2 emissions are pegged at 105g/km, 2g/km up on the equivalent coupe. The insurance groups are similarly low, partly thanks to the smart's plastic bodyshell which is both surprisingly durable against minor knocks and inexpensive to replace after bigger ones.

The smart remains a small car icon despite the best efforts of rivals to replicate and improve upon its innovative formula. Despite its flaws, the little car remains one of the best ways to stand out in the urban traffic and the limited three special edition model plays up to this with its lurid Melon Green and chocolate brown colour scheme. It's a good way to get into a smart with a little extra individuality.

With just two seats, a small boot and a gearbox that still takes some getting used to, the fortwo will be an acquired taste for many but its funky design, strong build quality and dinky looks should be sufficient to keep sales ticking over. The option of an open-topped cabriolet model is another point in the smart's favour, as is the outstanding fuel economy the car achieves.

TOP 5 FORTWO COUPE DEALS

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Smart Fortwo Coupe Pulse mhd 2dr Softouch Auto [2010]
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