HAY RIVER - Wally Schumann Sr. has heard every kind of question about his Smart car - the only vehicle of its kind in Hay River.

People have asked if the two-seat micro-car gets blown off the road by passing trucks and whether he is worried about having a head-on collision with a sparrow.

Wally Schumann Sr. owns a Smart car, the only vehicle of its kind in Hay River. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

"It just never ends," Schumann said of the barrage of questions.

The 70-year-old, who has been driving the car for a couple of months, believes such micro-cars will become common in the NWT in years to come.

"You'll see lots more of them," he said, predicting people will not be able to afford to run larger vehicles. "If you're looking for cheap transportation, you can't beat it."

The Smart car, produced in Europe by a branch of Daimler-Chrysler, has a 799 cc, diesel engine which produces 40 horsepower and a top speed of 140 kp/h.

It uses an estimated average of only 4.2 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres for combined in-town and highway driving.

Schumann said the three-cylinder vehicle is solid on the highway. "They feel a lot bigger to drive than they look."

Such micro-cars have been popular for years in Europe, and are beginning to be seen more in North America.

David Malcolm, executive director of Arctic Energy Alliance, supports the use of such micro-cars, noting there are one or two Smart cars in Yellowknife.

"I think it's an excellent idea because a lot of our transportation in communities in the NWT is very short distance," he said.

Malcolm noted such micro-cars might not be appropriate for families driving south, but families often have more than one vehicle.

"It makes an awful lot of sense to have a Smart car," he said, adding that, along with saving money for the owner, it would cut energy use and the production of green house gases.

Malcolm noted the Smart car is relatively new to the NWT, having only been here for a year or so. "I haven't heard anything negative about them."

The Department of Transportation has purchased a Smart car and a Chevy hybrid gasoline/electric truck.

The vehicles - the car is currently in Yellowknife and the truck in Hay River - are being driven by department staff in a pilot project.

"We're evaluating the usefulness of these vehicles in the North," explained David Maguire, the department's communications co-ordinator.

The pilot project is ongoing and no conclusions have yet been reached.