A smart car has received the vote of Marcus Wood, the Conservative Party’s parliamentary candidate for Torbay.

It certainly is a time for change in more ways than one for Marcus, who has abandoned the traditional ‘battle bus’ to go on the hustings in his new two-seater smart acquired from his local official smart retailer in Exeter.

The self-confessed petrolhead swapped his previous x-litre Saloon for the smart fortwo cdi – the world’s lowest CO2-emitting series production car with a combustion engine that also returns 85.6 miles per gallon (combined).

“I have gone from one extreme to another in car ownership terms so it has been a significant change but one that I felt I should make to reduce my own carbon footprint,” he explained.

Marcus has been instantly impressed by his car’s performance, economy and comfort on local roads and on several trips to London – a journey that he hopes to be making more often after the General Election on 6th May should he overturn the Liberal Democrat’s 4.3 per cent majority in Torbay.

“One of the things that has impressed me the most is just how brilliantly the smart is on long drives, cutting through traffic and parking around London, where its low emissions mean that it is exempt from the congestion charge,” added Marcus. “What’s more, I can fix my magnetised ‘Vote Marcus’ stickers to its tridion cell so it can be used for campaigning and its size means it is perfect for nipping up constituent’s driveways to deliver leaflets.”

Joe Hurrell, smart Sales Executive, added: “An increasing number of drivers are giving their vote to the smart car because of its winning combination of high levels of refinement and low running costs. As Mr Wood is discovering, it really is a car that delivers ‘General Elation’ in abundance to owners.”