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 The Corolla is an excellent vehicle all around, despite a boring and outdated interior.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…