09 Jul 07
The Fortwo mhd is based on the 71bhp version of the 999cc three-cylinder Mitsubishi engine used in all petrol-drive MkII Fortwos. Its starter and generator have been replaced by a starter-generator unit, and the electrical control unit and battery are slightly different, but it's otherwise pretty much the standard car. It feels much the same, too, which is the idea - this is meant to be a Smart you drive like any other Fortwo.
When the car slows to 5mph with your foot on the brake pedal, the engine cuts out. It starts up again when you take your foot off the pedal. You barely notice the engine stopping, especially if you're chatting or listening to the radio, but you are aware of it restarting, as there's a slight jolt. Because the restart is triggered by your foot coming off the brake, rather than by you hitting the accelerator, there's no delay in power delivery. In any case, like all new Fortwos it comes as standard with a hill hold function to stop you rolling back after releasing the brake pedal.
Next to the automatic gear lever there's an Eco button, which you can press to turn the system off, which you may want to do if you're about to get involved in a fiddly parking manoeuvre. The system is automatically deactivated when you engage reverse gear, and stays deactivated for 10 seconds after you've re-engaged Drive, again to help with parking.
You can expect an 8% improvement in your average fuel consumption, putting you nearer to 70mpg than 60mpg, or a 13% improvement in heavy urban traffic, and your CO2 output will drop correspondingly. The only downside is that it encourages you to sit at the lights with your foot on the brake pedal, which can be annoying for the person sat behind you staring at your brake light and is also questionable from a safety and a wear-and-tear point of view. No prices have been announced yet, but expect it to cost a bit more than the standard 71bhp model.
