Imagine a car with plenty of leg room, space for two suit cases in the trunk but so short it could comfortably be parked facing the kerb rather than alongside it.

Well imagine no more because the Smart Car is on the Island and is turning heads wherever it goes.

It?s easy to park and cheap to run, averaging 80 miles to the gallon.

Self-confessed car maniac Suzie Pewter is thrilled with her nippy two-seater.

?It?s the only car for Bermuda. It should be mandatory,? she enthused.

?I have to leave for work half an hour early because everyone wants to know about this car.

?It is the hottest topic in the 2L class at Saltus, my son?s class, if you get a ride in the two-seater car.

?I love it. But he gets embarrassed because so many people stop us.?

It certainly proved a draw when it turned up at offices. Passers-by fired so many questions this reporter struggled to get a word in.

?I have had tourists stop me and ask if they can have a picture in the car.?

A request Mrs. Pewter is happy to grant.

It is fully convertible and has six gears but with a flick of a button becomes automatic.

?I picked up my mother from the airport and got her and her two suitcases in without any problem.?

She has had a six-foot four man get into the tiny runabout without problems.

?There?s so much leg room.? Not surprising as there is no engine in the front, it?s under the hood in the back.

But although roomy inside it is tiny on the road.

?It literally takes two bike slots, I have tried it. And you can park the car perpendicular not parallel to the sidewalk.?

There is a four-door version available as well as a sporty version.

The vehicle, which costs about $24,000, is fast enough to operate on Europe?s motorways although it?s not to be recommended as there is no engine to protect you from impact. But minor bumps likely on Bermuda?s roads are no hassle. Panels can simply be lifted off and replaced.

Says Mrs. Pewter: ?In Bermuda this is all that you need.

?There is really no reason to have a car any bigger or any faster than this.?

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