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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday June 11, 2008 - 37 2006 Smart Car by Mercedez-Benz Continued from Page 36 to a new timing of just over 13 seconds. But, here again, you could have fooled me, hearing the gas engine's coarse diesel-like startup and the lowfrequency rumble grating anywhere below 3000 rpm. A premium octane rating seems a little incongruous for a subcompact too, although I hear that Mercedes in the US is trying to placate potential customers by suggesting that "hey, regular fuel is OK." Yeah, you might want to check with the service and warranty departments before trying that. The six-speed clutchless manual transmission and the optional automatic transmission have both been replaced with a new five-speed automatic with manual shift mode. Again, different but not that different, still exhibiting a lurching, lag between shifts that is discomfiting in the least. As with the previous transmission, this can be smoothed out somewhat by feathering the gas pedal or by aggressive acceleration, which seems to me to be common practice among most smart car drivers, sort of an automotive version of the aggressive, short man syndrome. But that kind of defeats the whole fuel economy thingy, doesn't it? And probably explains why my mileage was an unimpressive 7L/100km instead of the listed ratings of 4.8L/5.9L/100km (city/hwy). Now, if it seems I've done nothing but grouse about the car, you've got me wrong. I always enjoy the smart, its precocious style, its upright seating, the great, all-round visibility and relatively frugal fuel appetite. And it's kinda fun, when you get the timing right, to blow past the occasional Corvette or rice rocket at speed. It is more car than most will ever need, perfectly suited to solo commuting, the urban lifestyle and parking portability. And it just looks so danged youthful and cute accessorized with a rack and bikes on the back. Eccentricity breeds its own allegiances and there are plenty of customers who wouldn't trade their smarts for any other car. I just think of it as a car evolving. It's already smart. But with further development of engine and transmission, with the exploration of electrically-powered models and the new micro hybrid drive (mhd) that shuts off the gas engine at stoplights for even better fuel economy, well, the smart car can only get, umm . . smarter. OAKVILLE HONDA 500 Iroquois Shore Rd., Oakville 1-800-915-0430