State Rep. Thomas Winfield isn’t against big SUVs. In fact, he has a gargantuan four-door Suburban in his garage behind the Anderson-Winfield Funeral Home. And while he does live in Greenville, he’s not about to join the Green Party.

But Winfield, D-Smithfield, is riding the cutting edge of fuel-efficient transportation, zipping around his district in a two-seat Smart car that looks like it could fit in the Suburban’s glove compartment. While many politicians feel the snap of power only in rotunda-sized SUVs, Winfield often heads to the State House in a 2007 Smart car that can navigate up a sidewalk ramp.

Winfield noted that some legislators have begun buying Toyota Prius hybrids in recent years, but he believes he is the only Smart lawmaker. “I guarantee I have the smallest car on the Hill,” he said of his ride, which is 8.8 feet long, 5.1 feet wide and 5.1 feet tall.

While pleased with his purchase, Winfield does not expect his little car to become the next big thing on Smith Hill. “Even the guys that have fuel-efficient vehicles just shake their heads and say, ‘Nah,’ ” he said.

So what drove Winfield to buy a Smart car? Part of his motivation was decreasing the country’s dependence on foreign oil and shrinking the size of his carbon footprint. “If I’m running errands around town, there is no reason I have to get in one of those big cars,” he said, pointing to the Suburban he uses in his car-service business and the hearse he uses in his funeral business.

But Winfield acknowledges other motivations, as well. “I bought the car looking for something economical to drive back and forth to the State House but also something that had style and something that not everybody else had,” he said.

Winfield said his wife doesn’t like the car because she doesn’t feel safe in it and she doesn’t like being the center of attention. By contrast, he doesn’t seem to mind the attention. “I’m a politician. A big ego is a prerequisite,” he said with a laugh. “You get more attention in this than if you were driving a Maserati.”

Smart emerged from a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and the makers of Swatch watches. Four years ago, Winfield paid $99 for an option to buy one of the first Smart cars sold in this country, and he received his car two years later. He paid about $18,000 for a Smart convertible, which he said averages 37 or 38 miles per gallon.

As a 5-foot-8, 195-pound hockey player, Winfield is no peanut, but he doesn’t feel cramped in the car, especially with the top down. He said the biggest downside is that it’s too small for his two golden retrievers. Also, he cringed when he said the car is made in France. “America has to step up and build a fuel-efficient, economical, safe vehicle,” he said.

During a drive around his district, Winfield acknowledged being one of the few General Assembly members not thinking of running for higher office in 2010. After 17 years in the House, he plans to seek reelection. He said he enjoys fixing problems for constituents.

Of course, some problems are easier to address than others. That morning, Winfield had received an e-mail from a Smithfield man who wanted to legalize marijuana altogether (and tax it). And he said he sometimes receives letters regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But Winfield said he was able to help an older woman from Smithfield who was finding it difficult to register her car. He said he drove to the DMV and registered the vehicle for her, and “You would have thought I gave her $1 million.”

I had to ask: Was she registering a Smart car? No, Winfield said. It was a four-door Chevy.

efitzpat@projo.com