 smart winter expedition. Click image to enlarge |
|
Related articles on Autos
|
Join Autos’s Facebook group
Follow Autos on TwitterArticle and photos by Bob McHugh
Find this vehicle in Autos’s Classified Ads
Photo Gallery:
Day one
Photo Gallery:
Day two
Fort St. John, British Columbia – On Day Three on our return trip to Vancouver, we woke up in Fort St. John and thankfully my co-driver was feeling better (something he ate). We have just 75 kilometres of the Alaska Highway to complete and beyond that another 1,200 km on the road.
The Smart Winter Expedition was run in three (roughly 2,500 km) legs and with three groups of media. The first leg started in Kelowna and went to Whitehorse in the Yukon. The second leg continued the trip to Inuvik, in the North West Territories, and returned to Whitehorse. The homeward and longest one, which we were on, brought the cars back to Vancouver.
   smart winter expedition. Click image to enlarge |
As we loaded up our gear, a curious local RCMP cruiser stopped by and was shocked to learn that the Smarts were on their way back from Inuvik. We stopped at a Mile Zero marker for the Alaska Highway and discovered that the original marker is in downtown Dawson Creek. Parking was at a premium, but not a problem as you always can double up the Smarts (see photo).
We made a brief stop in Chetwynd, B.C., home of an annual chainsaw carving competition, and the Olympic flame. Continuing on, idle chatter on our inter-vehicle communication system seemed to focus on the amazing and varied powers of Chuck Norris. Each super-human feat also manages to include his uncanny ability to deliver his trademark around-the-house kick to the head. What can I say — it’s a long drive!
Milder temperatures but still below freezing and we passed some amazing multi-coloured roadside ice sculptures formed by flowing water. We also noticed that the cracks in our windshield had been growing steadily and finding a section clear of chip marks, to take a photo, was becoming increasingly difficult.
The Smarts felt more at home as we wove though traffic on our way in and then out of Prince George, after a brief stop for gas. The diminutive Smart Fortwo was designed to be the ultimate urban commuter car. It turns on dime, you can park (even double-park) it anywhere, it’s much safer and roomier than it looks and it’s a miserly fuel-user. My running tally on fuel consumed showed our car had averaged 5.6 L/100 km (50 mpg) since the previous fill. Its small one-litre, three-cylinder, 70-horsepower gasoline engine is positioned in the back and it sends power to the rear wheels. That’s not a lot of power, but it doesn’t need a lot of power because it’s a super-light vehicle and only seats two people (and some luggage).
Smart has been around since 1998 and the Fortwo came to Canada in 2004, originally with a diesel engine. There are now over 16,000 Smart cars in Canada and over a million worldwide.
   smart winter expedition. Click image to enlarge |
The light was fading by the time we passed through Quesnel, another stop to clean the headlights and on to our Williams Lake stopover.
Day 4 and another early start and we were back on Highway 97 heading south; the Sun was shining, the thermometer was showing plus-numbers for the first time and we were headed home. We linked up with the Trans Canada Highway in Cache Creek and turned off at Ashcroft onto the 97C to Logan Lake.
At a higher elevation, we came across a frozen lake with a number of recreational users and the Smarts decided to go for one last little run on the ice. Whoopee!
After a quick bit to eat in Merritt, it was on to the always-daunting Coquihalla Highway. Even though our Smart was loaded to its passenger and cargo capacity, we had no problem keeping up with other traffic on the steep uphill grades.
On the downside of the mountain highway heading into Hope we passed a large truck filled with snow, presumably headed for the Olympic venue at Cypress Bowl.
Our final destination was the Smart Centre in North Vancouver, where we were greeted by Rosie, a cute little “redhead” Smart.
