GEN III VS SMART CAR Smackdown Just how good is the GEN III MPG

You might enjoy using www.fueleconomy.gov to see:

• 36 MPG - Smart (5 reports averaging 41.2 MPG)
• 50 MPG - 2010 Prius (many of us are getting higher*)

Bob Wilson

* The two, 2010 Prius at myHybridCar.com are showing 52.3 and 51.1 MPG. There may be other mileage databases but that is the one I use.

 

I saw a Smart car parked outside of a restaurant window last night. I kept expecting a bunch of circus clowns to climb out of it. The Smart only gets 36 MPG, wouldn't it be more practical to just get Toyota Yaris or Honda Fit that gets similar mileage but have a lower operating cost, and much more room for passengers and cargo?

Not sure how "smart" it is to buy a car that doesn't come with air conditioning or radio as standard options. The Smart does have a great advantage when used in a congested city where parking is tight.

 

This just shows people are people and there is a pecking order. We're at the top of the order when it comes to discussing FE but were at the bottom of the order when it comes to car jokes. The guy on the bottom is always looking for someone to replace him.

 

Look at my signature. I think that says enough.

 

a. The DUMB car will be stigmatized by the horrifying "whats left of that human" after nailing a truck head-on.

b. The PRIUSers are the guys and gals who stare at their mpg indicators while driving 10 times a week to the corner store for a pop and bag of peanuts.

 

The first time I saw a Smart in a trip to Paris in 2005, I took this picture and decided I HAD to have that car.

[imglink]http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1067/616687042_cc11bf3799.jpg[/imglink]

I ordered my Smart in spring of '07 and received it early summer of '08. It's black/black just as the one I saw in Paris.

I *love* my Smart. Smart never set out to make a car with the highest MPG, that was just a side-effect of its small size. They set out to make a car that was city-sized, designed to park almost anywhere. That is its true "smart". It also drives more like a go-kart, and really is fun for those with a sports-car past. It is also the greenest car ever made, from the factory that uses rainwater, to a lifetime offer to take back the entire car for recycling. It's a mindset, it's a statement. Practical? Hey, it's a tiny two-seater, what's practical about that?

The Prius has a different purpose/design. It may sit five and sip gas, but if I take it downtown Winter Park at 7pm on a Friday, I'll never find parking on the main strip. With the Smart, I've got 5-6 parking spots, easy.

That all set, I can't wait to receive my 2010 Prius and am quite looking forward to it. But if I need to zoom around town, park in impossible spaces, and chat with strangers, I know what I'm driving out of the garage.

BTW, for the record, my Scanguage measured gas mileage in my Smart is 36 city / 48 highway. Being a 1 cyl engine, how you drive it affects MPG drastically. I, and many Smart owners feel, that the Gov didn't really know how to drive it properly when they gave it its ratings. A clutch-less manual is just too novel a feature for most drivers (who incorrectly drive it like an automatic and then complain of harsh shifting)...

Rick

 

I understood the need for cars like this when I was in Paris. The parking is horrible. I did see a Fiat (I think that's what it was) that was even smaller than the Smart. I'll have to dig out the picture I have. It's funny.

 

Whats funny is the inevitable progression (due to the insanity of growth economics) of Prius-->"Smart Car"-->Moped-->Bicycle. Of course, the controllers (central bank dudes and associates) are the ones driving around in the 300hp Bimmers.