The official Canadian smart website has now documented the much rumoured trip across Canada by Guy Desjardins, a driver for Le Guide de l’Auto out of Montreal. Some of you will recall hearing of this rumoured trip at one point.

Their 10 day journey one-way across 9 Canadian Provinces began in Victoria on August 25th, and ended in Halifax on September 3rd.

Guy and myself were merely days apart in some parts of the country - as I departed Victoria on August 28th. I can recall arriving into Montreal amidst rumour that I had been on TV, when in fact, it was Guy who had been on TV! (I made up for that in Newfoundland, BTW.) I also have a newspaper article from Edmundston NB dated Sept 7th showing Guy at a Days Inn with some details of his trip.

This trip by Le Guide de l’Auto was sponsored by Days Inn, Ultramar and Mercedes-Benz Canada, who supplied a car for the 10 days of travel. You can read their concise travelogue here.

The mileage obtained by the Mercedes-Benz car was not quite as good as what I achieved, but it is still impressive:

6,587 km from Victoria to Halifax on $268.70

Their fuel consumption was 4.02 L/100km, or 70 mpg (imperial)

The price of fuel ranged from $0.922 to $1.149, and averaged $1.004/litre.

No mention is made of the best mileage achieved on one tank.

This in comparison to my trip, which was:

16,344 kms total (33 days)
593 litres of fuel
$624.63 spent ($1.057 average per litre)
3.63 L/100km average, which is 78 mpg (imperial)

My top 5 tanks were all greater than 100 MPG.

You can view my tank by tank records at spritmonitor.

My car was repaired satisfactorily on October 27th, a full 15 days since it had broken down. A second part had to be replaced after the computer was successfully reprogrammed. The ‘electronic clutch actuator’ - a servo motor that assists in gear changes - was malfunctioning.

I’m glad to have the car back. Thanks to Nelson Mah at MB Richmond for getting me the C230K while I awaited return of NRG SVR. I will post a review of the C230K shortly.

Repairs of this nature are very uncommon among the over 4000 smarts already delivered in Canada. I still feel confident in the quality of the vehicle.

Many folks have remarked how the smart just isn’t large enough to be practical for their everyday needs. And that’s a good thing. Thankfully there are options to choose from - including a car as small and efficient as the smart for those who don’t require anything larger.

But what other choices are there? What other affordable vehicles offer excellent fuel efficiency?

I’ll be reviewing some of these cars over the coming weeks/months. I will not be covering any hybrids - only 100% internal combustion gasoline models.

At the top of the list will be the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic, followed by others… vehicles that are in the top 15% with regards to fuel efficiency. These vehicles all get a minimum of 46 mpg on the highway with their most efficient engine/transmission combination.

Wednesday Oct 14, my smart started acting up. Phantom computer issues. Had to have it towed to Mercedes-Benz in Richmond.

My first rental was a [cough]Ford Escape[/cough]. An XLT AWD version with the 6 cyl 3.0 litre engine. I had been wanting to try an Escape Hybrid for some time, but this would have to do. All things considered, I managed 9.7 L/100km overall, or 29 mpg. This was over 900 kms and various fills. Best tank was somewhere close to 35 mpg on the highway with cruise set at 83 kmh.

After 6 days, I stopped by MB to see what was happening. The computer was in, but the car wasn’t ready yet. MB rented me a Corolla. Okay - well that’s a good car. That’ll be neat to try again for a day. Or two. Or three?

Not able to tell you what my mileage was - but it was close to 6.5 L/100km. Auto tranny no doubt a factor - which is rated as 7.8 city and 5.6 hwy. The Corolla is an excellent vehicle all around, despite a boring and outdated interior. The funny thing was filling 24 litres into the tank despite it being at 7/8 full.

Okay, well that was fun. Now it’s Friday. Is my car ready? Uh… no. We have one of our cars ready for you, can you come in to exchange? Okay. Maybe a smart?! Not available. Hmm… how about a C230 coupe?

Nice car, interesting mileage calculator on the display. Had to call fasteddy to find out how to get into the gastank… duh! Best I could get it to show after a fill was 6.2 L/100km and 912 kms remaining on the tank. Is that good? The car is rated by Transport Canada as being able to get 6.8 L/100km (42 mpg) on the highway with the five-speed automatic transmission, making it the most fuel efficient model in the entire 2005 Mercedes-Benz Canada line-up after the smart and the E320 CDI.

I’ll have this C230 until probably Wednesday next week. Where’s the cd’s I haven’t yet unpacked from my cross-country trip?

Unfortunately, my car will not be available for an SE2 rally at UCFV on Monday, but I am hoping to have it back just in time to take part in the opening of a new highway exchange on the Trans-Canada in Abbotsford BC on the 28th.

Oh, one other thing. I was lucky enough to drive a brand new 2006 smart last Friday. Xandria’s car had arrived in the last few weeks - a passion coupe in bay grey/silver with heated seats and power steering. Not even 500 kms on it. Took it around Stanley Park and a few places in town. Nice ride. Xandria and her husband TFM (Dean) are the creators of Club smart car. They also own an interesting company called Speakeasy Solutions. Their specialty is keeping customers supplied with the latest in speech-recognition software…

I took my car into Eddy Lai for inspection and servicing on Monday morning. Eddy has been working on Mercedes-Benz products for 25 years. His company, Flying Tiger, provides smart owners with a vast array of OEM and after-market parts, covering all of the basics as well as performance and styling.

Eddy’s Richmond shop is well equipped to handle all vehicle servicing needs, including engine swaps and rebuilds.

Being that my car has 43,000 kms on it now, it was time for a fuel filter/water-separator change in addition to a full inspection. All the suspension and drive train components checked out fine. The only sign of wear was on the rear tires - they are wearing evenly, but will need to be replaced around 60,000 km. (The car is rear wheel drive as you may know.)

I want to thank Eddy for his continued interest in the ’smart car community’. He has helped in many ways to establish connections between owners, and has provided much help with events through his extensive list of contacts in the Mercedes-Benz world.

BTW - he has a pulse coupe demonstration vehicle for sale - which features many performance and styling upgrades. E-mail him if you are interested.

Vancouver
6:00 PM
Saturday, Oct 1

I have arrived in Vancouver for the official conclusion of the 100 MPG Challenge.

I joined 4 other smart cars briefly in Yarrow this afternoon, but 1 left our convoy prior to this picture:

We drove from Yarrow along Majuba Hill Rd, and then through Arnold and back to Vye Rd.

Passing the Abbotsford Airport, we then went along 0 Avenue to 176th… and then up to 8th before finally parting ways at the 99.

I crossed the imaginary finish line into Vancouver solo, save for the mad traffic jammers trying to get to a football game. Plans to end at Beach and Howe were shelved, as traffic was too heavy. 2 PM in Yarrow had turned into 4 PM, as the smart car crew was enjoying pie at the Chilliwack airport while I waited near Cultus Lake. Unfortunately, JoAnn from Tartine will have to freeze my cake now. :-(

My final fill-up was at the Chevron on Marine Drive at Main, which is also where I have connected to the internet to send off this post.

(My display in the car, in case you were wondering.)

16,344 kms total
593 litres of fuel
$624.63 spent
3.63 L/100km average, which is 78 mpg (imperial)

Top 5 tanks were:

113 mpg
Prince Albert to Yorkton

111 mpg
Brandon to Moosomin

106 mpg
Massey to Mitchell

104 mpg
Sydney to St Johns

101 mpg
Penticton to Hope

(Painting by Marie Harwood)

The 100 MPG Challenge will officially end today in Vancouver at roughly 4:00 to 4:30 pm at Beach and Howe.

I will be joining a convoy of vehicles in Yarrow at roughly 2 pm near Majuba Hill Road. This convoy includes a few smart cars that are currently making their way out to Harrison Hot Springs for lunch. We will travel through Abbotsford, Aldergrove, Langley and White Rock. I’m not 100% sure where they are going after White Rock, but I will find my way into Vancouver, likely making a stop at the smart centre on Broadway before going to Tartine on Beach Avenue.

BTW - I have checked out the operation of the car’s steering and braking, and nothing seems too terribly wrong. I am scheduled for a full inspection of all of the suspension and steering components, and the alignment on Monday.

Here’s a look at some upcoming articles:

1) Polar Sequences - scenes from the road less impacted in Labrador
2) What is ‘one-tonne’ anyway?
3) If not smart, what?
4) Is the smart car safe?
5) Advanced Vehicle Testing Program
6) smart forfour test drive and impressions
7) John Neufeld driving an Audi A2 from Toronto to Vancouver on $84
8) Climate change and your vehicle

The last days of the 100 MPG Challenge will be covered as well, including a full report on fuel economy.

I will also recap the events that took place during the 5 weeks, and the website statistics.