I was on my way back home after washing my prius and what do I see? A Smart fortwo. The thing was tiny but looked pretty cool. Too bad I can't go check it out at a dealership, the closest one is about 300 miles away.
The EPA combined mileage for the Smart is 36 mpg. I'm not surprised that C&D only managed 32 mpg. C&D only managed 42 mpg in the 2004 Prius they tested. Neither the Prius nor the Smart are a vehicle for C&D's demographic or editors. A quote from C&D's Mike Dushane about the Prius: "I had to look at the car sign-out board to remind myself I'd driven this car. It's that forgettable. If you want an appliance that gets good mileage and tells the world you're hip and green, this is the de facto choice. Since those aren't my priorities, I don't feel the need to drive this car again anytime soon. A few of our young male interns were transporting this car on the highway and scored a phone number from some attractive young ladies in another vehicle. That this vehicle can help score a date should strike fear into the hearts of car enthusiasts everywhere."
Heck, the Yaris gets similar mileage than that for similar price. Honestly, I was just surprised to see one in Hobbs.
Yeah, I don't get it. Seems like a great concept, but the mileage seems way off the mark. If the market is small and cheap, there are much cheaper cars out there. If the market is small and green, there are much better mileage cars out there. I suppose somewhere in the overlap there is a niche for small, cheapish and greenish. I was really excited about the SMARTs, but was very disappointed when the real numbers were posted. Not to defend C&D, but they did manage to get 50/52 (54mpg on a suburban loop) out of the Prius in this test: The Frugalympics - Comparison Test/Sedans/Comparison Test/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver Incidently, in the same test the Jetta TDI did 33/41 Rob
I think the market is: 'small and easy to park in the city'. The Smart is the best at 'small' for the time being. At $14K, I do not know how many cars are cheaper, either. Certainly the mileage is disappointing in the gasoline version. C&D can be relied upon for judging which automobiles are fast and maneuverable. They flog the crap out of every car to get the best performance numbers they can (plus free car + free fuel = fun), so I think the mileage numbers should be viewed with that in mind.
They're easy to find here in Winnipeg, Lone Star Mercedes sells a ton of them. I agree that parking is the biggest advantage The Smart gasoline is Transport Canada rated 5.9 l/100km city and 4.8 l/100km highway. Converted to Imperial Gallons, 48 city and 59 highway The turbodiesel was rated a bit higher The Prius in Canada is rated 4.0 l/100km city (71 mpg) and 4.2 l/100km (67 mpg) highway I sat in one a couple of years ago at the Lone Star dealership. At the time, is was priced around $8,000 cheaper than a Prius. The Prius was hands-down better
i just saw one of them in traffic here for the first time this morning. neat little car, but i don't think i'd want one.
I think the smart is designed for people who could walk so mileage isn't a priority. Very clever in that the panels clip on so can be changed easily. You can have a set of different colour panels and change them in an evening for a whole new look the next day. Yaris is cheaper, more economical, roomier and better built. Smart cars are a fashion accessory, they were designed by the designers at swatch watches, you know, the watch with the changable surrounds.
I saw one last week. Wayne over at cleanmpg felt that those who try for economy could get 60mpg in the Smart. Those trying in a manual Yaris could probably get close to 60mpg also. That's the manual though. You don't need the ability to operate a clutch with a Smart. The Smart, and many modern cars that call for premium, can run fine on regular. It is definitely a niche car. It's safer and more versatile than a motorcycle or scooter. Which are its closest competitors in the niche(small, easy parking). I'm hoping its success will lead to the introduction of more mini cars.
True but none can combine the coolness, features, price and fuel economy of the smart. Yes there are those that get better fuel economy or are cheaper or are cooler but that's only one aspect. The smart combines all 4 into a package that's half the size of a car. That doesn't mean much. Well, I don't know the price of premium fuel over the price of regular 87 in the US but up here in Canada, it's about 12¢/litre extra for 91 octane. I did a quick calculation back when regular was $1.049/litre (now it's $1.254/litre) and therefore $1.04 plus 12 is $1.169/litre for 91 octane. I compared the smart to the Yaris and using their Transport Canada city rating and travelling 550km, the smart was cheaper to refuel despite the fact it had to use premium fuel. Yeah but does it have the same features? Here in Canada, a fortwo Passion is Cdn$18,250. The Yaris 5-dr LE Pkg "B" automatic is $17k, $19k for the RS automatic. The smart has over both Yaris models: - panoramic roof - heated mirrors - heated seats - power windows with Auto-Down for both driver & passenger - 5-spd automated manual (as opposed to the 4-spd auto for the Yaris) - A/C with automatic temperature control - side head/thorax airbags - Brake Assist - Traction Control - Electronic Stability Programme - Corner Brake Control - aerodynamic wipers (in the US, it gets auto headlights and rain-sensing wipers) - lockable glovebox - paddle shifters - auxiliary input jack - leather-wrapped shift knob - speed-sensitive front wipers Compared to the Yaris LE, it has - 6-disc changer with MP3/WMA capability (standard on RS) - 15" alloys (standard on RS) - leather-wrapped steering wheel (standard on RS) The Yaris RS has over the smart: - bodykit - rear spoiler - foglights - LED 3rd brake light - sliding/reclining rear seats
Heh. Having grown up in the big city of Las Cruces, I'm (pleasantly!) surprised to see a Prius in Hobbs! (Maybe that smart4two was really aliens visiting from Roswell?)
If I did my calculations right, the extra cost for premium is a little less per unit than in Canada. Per http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/, the avg. cost of regular in the US is currently $3.324 and premium is $3.657. Those are bargains compared to what it is in San Jose per http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/CAmetro.asp ($3.724 for regular and $4.03 for premium).
Man, I see prius' everywhere here in hobbs. The only dealership in town gets 1 prius at a time and they eventually sell 'em in 1 or 2 weeks.
Yeah apparently the difference between 87 and 91 is larger in the US but despite that, your premium fuel cost is still cheaper (ours is > $5/gal while your expensive one in San Jose is still $4.03)
I wonder if the US (or maybe California) will catch up to Canadian gas prices w/the weak dollar and all. The amazing part was in December 2001, my parents and I were in the Los Angeles area and we saw regular unleaded for <$1/gallon. We didn't even bother shopping around for gas when we saw it that cheap. When I lived in WA state (no Prius yet; moved away in ~Sept 04), I was griping when premium was nearing $2/gal.
oh you guys will catch up soon. Yours prices are increasing a lot faster than ours. On the west coast, when it was $1.19, it was $1.08 in Ontario. That was in March. Now it's $1.25/litre for 87 . Who knows what it is in Ontario. Probably barely above $1.10/litre.
But what the Yaris doesn't have but the Smart does, the "Cute" factor. The Smart is very fun as well.
According to the wiki at least, the diesel has been dropped in NA and the gas engine has been upped from 700cc to 1L. Thats probably largely to blame for the disappointing numbers relative to what SMARTs elsewhere seem to manage. I'm all for smaller cars, but for me at least smaller but not particularly efficient doesn't make much sense. In my mind the Insight was a much better small car, and that got scrapped. Maybe these are cheap enough that people will buy them anyway, but its not very compelling in my book. People seem to be lining up to buy one, so obviously they see something in it I don't. And I'm not a hater, I actually went out to one of the local SMART events when the tour came to town to see them. I love the idea. Just really disappointed by the numbers. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the Prius. Rob