A Smart time to head North - VIDEO Update! The great white adventure
Well, it has to be said that some of the most picturesque settings in the world are in BC...Canada. To make sure that all was well, we are on our first day of the Smart Winter Expedition…I know I keep saying Exhibition on the video…don’t email me.
Anyhow, earlier today we left Kelowna, got held up by the Olympic torch a little, then got out into the wilderness.
I have to say it only took about 10 minutes to completely forget I was driving a Smart. It is big inside; It has “Winnipeg Willy’s” (from the Winnipeg Free Press) and my luggage in it and we are not mashed up into the dash to accommodate our rather large bags.
The seat heaters work brilliantly, and to be totally honest, you just cruise along. Actually we heard in the presser last night that the inside of the Smart is the same dimensions as most
small cars, its just missing a hood and a trunk sticking out.
I’d agree with that.
Well, Willy did a bit of driving while I took shots. We are traveling in a convoy, and Jim Robinson from Mississauga News got a good run on us up the inside. Undaunted, Willy poured the coals to the little Smart that was screaming at 6,200 rpm….then he upshifted…we were done…..PASSED BY ROBINSON!!!
It was all in good fun, and that really is the great part about the Smart…its fun. Good, clean, high mileage fun. We drove some 500kms today and we stopped once for fuel, but ours wasn’t even at half, we could have made the distance easy on one tank, but up here in the middle of nowhere, the more gas the better, so we stopped.
Tomorrow the Smarts will get a real workout as we continue to head north to Whitehorse. It really will be a test for the Smart as we get closer to the Artic circle. These are tough, tough conditions
up here, but I for one, am confident the Smart will deliver us to Whitehorse with no problem.
Smart Winter Expedition – Day 2
Well, we were in for a bit of a surprise when we leaving Quesnel this morning…cold temps. It wasn’t an issue as we simply turned on the Smart’s seat heaters and off we went. Today we had some tricky conditions in some solid ice on part of the road. On one or two corners, with two wheels on the ice, the stability program of the Smart kept it on the road with no problem.
Just
before lunch we saw a huge black wolf on the hill side, but as we were first in line – and Willy was in mid nap – we didn’t get a photo. Check the Smart Winter Expedition page on Facebook, if anyone got a snap of the wolf, it will be there.
Willy and I are both now of the opinion that the only thing different about a Smart is its looks. We happily drove along with no problems. Its comfortable – by the time we finish our leg we will have covered just over 2400kms in four days. The manual mode for the gearbox helps on the hills, and it has great visibility with the glass roof.
A lot of my friends thought that taking a Smart to the Artic wasn’t the best idea they had ever heard, but after spending two days on the road with one, I am impressed with the car overall, it will get the job done.
That being said,
we are now about to enter the toughest two days of the trip with no internet, no cell coverage and miles away from anything. Yes we have a support vehicle, but I doubt it will be called into service.
Currently the Smarts are all outside the hotel here in Fort St-John, its minus 22C, and not one of them is even plugged in….
See you tomorrow after day 3.
(Sorry for the delay, the internet went out last night in Muncho Lake...we are now in Whitehorse...
The Artic bites back Well, I must say that from Kelowna on north hasn’t been much of an issue, but as we left Fort St-John this morning, we knew the days would be getting tougher, but we didn’t realize then just how easy the Artic can bite back. As we made our way North the weather got worse, the roads got worse and the visibility was getting near nil. We were high up – normally between 600-1000m – so we were actually driving in the clouds in the early part of the day. As far as the scenery goes, it is pointless
for me to try to describe it – its magnificent. As the weather started to turn, with blowing snow, and then we hit another stretch of treacherous Rocky Mountain driving, the Smart’s were really going to be put to the test. The roads are ice, and I know in normal car reviews that the writer will talk about the traction control, but really the writer is trying it in rain or light snow. When you are looking out the window at a 3000ft drop and on an ice road with a 6 degree slope, you are thankful that there is Mercedes Benz legendary technology in the Smart. The traction light would flicker on and off, and yes you could feel the car slide around a bit, but it was always in control. The traction system is second to none here – it saved us all at least once today. My partner
for the trip, Willy Williamson from the Winnipeg Free Press put it correctly this morning when he said the Smart definitely grows on you. But he meant it grows on you in the sense that it seems to get bigger the more you drive it. Sure it is a two seater, but there is a lot of room, and you can just reach into the back – while being a passenger – and get anything you need. As we traveled along, the group as a whole got comfortable with the weather, even though we all knew it could bite us at any minute. ….and bite it did… One Smart, which was behind us in the worst conditions, was caught out in a turn and went off the side of the road, bounced off the snow bank and came back on the road – shaken, but okay. As we got close to Muncho
Lake, the end of our day 3 trip, we looked to be ending off the day on a good note, a little late, but still a good note. Ten kms out, we met a semi-truck coming the other way. This is a common occurrence – one about every 20 kms or so – and I was in the lead Smart behind the escort GL320 Bluetec and I watched as the GL move to the right to give the truck room. As quick as I typed that, the GL fell off the side of the road and went straight into the ditch. I was careful not to get too close as I thought when it started to get sucked into the ditch, it might hook and come back across in front of me, but it didn’t. Once I was along side of the GL – but on the road – I noticed one of the Smart’s behind me follow the GL into the ditch…this wasn’t going to end well. If nothing else it proved that a Smart is just as strong as a GL as they both went in the ditch, and both – cars and drivers – emerged without a scratch. Like everything else Mercedes seems to do, they planned this trip well which included a G-wagon utility truck. The G simply backed up to the ditched cars, used its winch and hauled them back onto the road. I find myself having more and more faith in the Smart car with everyday. I understand that many of you will never push one to these limits, but its nice to know that if you do get the chance to travel the Alaskan highway, the Smart is clearly capable.
Tomorrow it only gets worse…as in colder, ice roads and brutal cold temps. The Smart has passed all the tests so far, and I have faith in it for the rest of the trip.
And so it ends…. By Russ Bond
I made it to Whitehorse…..we made it to Whitehorse….my new buddy Winnipeg Willy and I made it to Whitehorse…..yeah!!!.
I’ll get the thanks out of the way first. To Mercedes Benz- you crafty dudes – you built a car that far surpasses anyone’s belief, and that says a lot. The Smart is indeed smart…in any terrain. You’ll have to trust me on this you loyal painkillerz.ca readers, but the Smart will easily take anything you throw at it. We were in the middle of nowhere, no cell service, no internet, no help, with –20 temps, 40kph plus winds, solid ice on the roads, and it delivered us safely to Whitehorse. I strongly urge you all follow the rest of the trip – some 7800 km – as the Smart’s prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they can take on the worst the planet can throw at them. Now, I realize that you may well think that I might be exaggerating a bit, but look at the pics, see the vids, there is no joke here, no illusion, we were in the real ARTIC – land of the moose and f’in cold temps – and we survived easily in what is called or believed to be a city car – there ain’t no cities here. We put our faith and our lives in the Smart, and it came through for us. Do you need any more proof that the Smart can more and do your mundane trips to the store, or to pick up the youngster. Well, we were sailing along and sort of already missing our Passion equipped Smart that will have new handlers tomorrow, and we called up Edwin – formerly of I mother Earth and Edwin and the Pressure – to belt out a few tunes Winnipeg Willy and I sung along to a few favourites before saying our good-bye’s on the vid and ending with, “ain’t it good to be alive”. I’d argue that it is fantastic to be here, and I have a whole new respect for the Smart, and so does Willy, if fact he is negotiating to buy the very car we used on this trip….how Smart is that?
(I want to give some thanks to Mercedes Benz Canada for this opportunity, to the whole support team – Danny, Mel and the others – who made this trip a safe one. To my teammate and new friend Willy, who just made the trip more fun than possible…say hello to the peps for me, and….wait for it…..LET’S GO!!…..lol…..To JoAnne and Rob who always give me some new lasting memories, and to all the support staff who made this a trip of a lifetime. Also to all the Smart factory workers who put these cars out, well done….)
Only one thing left to do….HON, I’M HEADING HOME….PUT THE PASTA ON, AND CHILL THE SAMBUCA!!!!
