Considering a smart car?

Well if you're happy with it then go for it. I know fuel prices are a little on the high side (relatively) world wide so getting a more economical car is a good idea. But are you sure you could live with the Smart day to day? I know you will get great mileage but they are SMALL even for european roads! How you'd get on on the Motorway/Freeway I dread to think. If you just stick to urban/city usage then it might be ok.

What about the new Ford Fiesta, Honda Jazz/Fit or a VW diesel? or even a second hand Prius?

 

I have tested the Smartcar many times. The only thing that bothers me is the jerky transmission shifts that jolts the car every time it upshifts. If you get the paddle shifter and do it yourself its slightly better. Also the short wheel base makes it a choppy ride on pavement strips and bumps. Otherwise the quality of fit and finish and materials ar quite nice.

 

I say Smartabusa:

 

Good luck when you get hit in one. The prius is already to small, but one of those cars, yeah right. It gets to a point of enough about saving money, and reality kicks in and you have to put a value on your life. Not doing any good saving that fuel money and saving the planet when your rotting in a pine box 6 feet deep.

 

I don't think many cars would come off OK hitting a truck head on! I dread to think what a Prius would look like after a smash like that! Perhaps we should all drive 40ton trucks?

 

Read the article, the truck was not going that fast. I think we should drive 40 ton trucks that get 100mpg, but I can wish in one hand and ...................well, you know.

 

Actually ignore my post, I guess it is not a smart car, it is a VW of some sort.

Nothing to see here, move along people, move along.:focus::yield:

 

If my job involved parking frequently, (I worked my way through college visiting 20 grocery stores per day) I would certainly consider a Smart. My current job involves driving 110+ miles a day so I considered a Prius.

 

For the sake of argument (as a passenger of the yellow buses way back in the day i thought they were nothing but tin cans - nice to know my parents were not mindlessly endangering my life back then):







School bus = scratch
Hummer = beheading

 

Sandy,

From time to time, my partner and I have to not too seriously consider
what car we'd buy if our job locations changed, and we'd each have to
commute solo. We could't afford a new Prius, but a used one might
work. Then there's always a Yaris or Corolla.

But, in my mind's eye I keep seeing the SmartCar Brabus
that flew by us with a "bite me" aggressive growl and cloud of dust on
I-95 up by Boston last year.

Forget a second Prius. In "murdered out black" @ ~18K, I'd eat the
additional fuel costs.

Specs, etc here:

smart fortwo BRABUS coupe

Eat my smoke:

 

I still would not own a car with a shorter wheelbase than my motorcycle.

 

So a 'donor' cycle is fine, but a Smart Car isn't safe enough?

 

I have seen those pictures many times and any Smart car owner would know that the car smashed up in the picture is not one of theirs. The Smart car has 3 lug nuts and that car has 5 lug nuts. I think that the picture was done by someone who is trying to give the Smart car a bad name.

I was thinking of going with the smart car before buying the Prius and the only reason why I did not go with it was that my wife wants to be able to go on long trips with the car and we needed more interior room for the 2 of us, luggage and our dog (Aussie).

If you go to the Hayabusa powered Smart Car (SmartBusa) - Page 19 - Smart Car of America Forums you will see a very nice Hayabusa installation.

 

Oh that isn't a Smart car in the photos. It looks like a Renault Scenic RX4 or related Citroen or similar. And if it is a Scenic, then they have quite a good safety reputation.

 

Besides its terrible reviews, I wouldn't buy one.

Although I disagree w/the claim that the Prius is "too small", see my post #1 and 4 at IIHS offset crash tests between heavier, larger cars vs. minicars - MY350Z.COM Forums as to why and physics (kinetic energy = 1/2 * mass * velocity^2).

There are no other cars or trucks currently sold in the US that are in the same size and weight class as the Smart ForTwo. There are so many 5000+ lb. curb weight monstrosity class SUVs running around such as Navigators, Tahoes, Yukons, Escalades, Expeditions, etc. and 6400+ lb. battering rams of death like Hummer H2s. Currently sold medium sized family sedans such as Camrys, Accords and Altimas already weigh ~3000 - ~3600 lbs.

Better video of the compact (but ~3500 lb.) C300 vs. the ForTwo at

.

You can confirm the C300 curb weight at http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/#/exploreSpecs/?vc=C&vmf=C300WZ&yr=2010 and its compact designation at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm.

Here's a less fair test of an much larger S-Class vs. a ForTwo at

. Too bad I don't know German and don't know the curb weight and model of the S-Class in question but http://www.autobuyguide.com/2006/12-aut/mercedes-benz/s-class/specifications/index.html and http://www.edmunds.com/used/2006/mercedesbenz/sclass/100529121/specs.html claims 3980 lbs. for the cheapest US version. I thought I recall Edmunds commenting about the dangers of being spun around sending you into surrounding traffic.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/cert/mpg/fetrends/420s09001.pdf is the newer version of the EPA report.

Although fueleconomy.gov says the 2010s run on regular gas, http://smartusa.com/passion-coupe-specs.aspx?model=passion_coupe still says premium.

Although some feel that Consumer Reports' opinions/reviews are crap, I suggest you read thru all the entries at http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/smart/.

 

it looks the smart car is doing well against these big cars.