Smart car, who is planning to get one?

I think they are ideal for running around a busy downtown area, but not on the freeway and not for long journeys.

OK, so it gets 40mpg, tops out at 90, seats you and a duffle bag, and costs between 12 and 16K, plus whatever premium the dealer wants to slap on it?

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And how is that "Smart"?

This is America, the lanes are wider than 10' even in alleys- just go buy yourself a $1000 geo metro or ford fiesta or $2500 diesel Golf that will bring back 40+mpg all day long, can seat mroe than you and a duffle bag, and keep your extra $10,000 to put gas in it for the next 15 years.

A car that size, in the US, needs to get 60+ mpg before anyone would be smart to buy one.

80 mpg would be sweet.

Conrad is right, you can get an early 90s Civic for $1000 and get similar mileage.

Originally Posted by crazyquik

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A car that size, in the US, needs to get 60+ mpg before anyone would be smart to buy one.
80 mpg would be sweet.
Conrad is right, you can get an early 90s Civic for $1000 and get similar mileage.
Yeah... The smart cars gas mileage isn't that great at all... diesel is still the best way to go for maximum mpg. Top of the list for my is the Volvo c30 "efficiency", which pairs decent looks with some seriously good gas mileage. The Mini cooper diesel is also phenomenal for gas mileage. Both of those would also be much better suited to the U.S. roads.

article on the Volvo C30 "efficiency" model: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=122254

Volvo Readies 52-MPG C30 "Efficiency" Model -- But Not for U.S.

Originally Posted by jkennett

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Yeah... The smart cars gas mileage isn't that great at all... diesel is still the best way to go for maximum mpg. Top of the list for my is the Volvo c30 "efficiency", which pairs decent looks with some seriously good gas mileage. The Mini cooper diesel is also phenomenal for gas mileage. Both of those would also be much better suited to the U.S. roads.

article on the Volvo C30 "efficiency" model: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=122254

What LabelKing said.

I don't see the appeal of them...aside from looking goofy, I wonder how cute these will look when they get into a high speed crash.

Smart cars are good if you can pull it off. Middle aged fat balding men cannot, as I have seen first hand. The Smart has style, but it's a distinct, cute style and if you can't match that then you're going to look out of place.

Personally, I'd go for something with a bit more finesse and energy. But then again I don't consider anything without a manual transmission (with a few exceptions) and a direct, highly responsive feel to be a real car.

middle aged balding fat man in a smart car...i need to see a picture of this, so i can proceed to laugh ****** off for the next hour.

The smart cars actually do really well in high speed accidents, much to my surprise. There's a video where the run one staright into a New Jersey barrier at 70mph and it survives remarkably intact. Only thing is they carry so little forward momentum they just stop too fast upon hitting something. No way on earth you'd live through it.

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

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I understand the limited usefulness of smart cars in tiny european countries where gas is an arm and a leg and streets are tiny.

But I truly hate seeing smart cars on this side of the pond. They look incredibly goofy, and are a real pest on north american roads because they're slower on highways. If you want to be ecologically friendly, get a hybrid where you can actually fit a few passengers inside. I would never consider buying one, and I'd be pretty embarassed to be seen in one. It's not exactly the manliest look.

Originally Posted by LabelKing

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These cars appear ugly and unsafe. Perhaps, unsafe at any speed? if you get my drift.

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

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So whenever you see a guy in a car you start to imagine his dick? Maybe the smart car is for you.

j/k



Perhaps if you hit an errant shopping cart in a parking lot at 10mph it will be as safe as a E-class benz. But I'm pretty sure if I rear-end that thing with a truck on the highway you'll feel it slightly more than if you were in an E-Class Benz just by virtue of the benz providing a couple of extra thousands pounds of steel to absorb the impact. Because of it's short wheelbase and tall frame, I suspect if you hit the smart car hard enough from behind it might roll forward. Car salesmen have been known to tell people what they want to hear in the name of making a sale.

Whenever I see a smart car in front of me on a one-lane road, I secretly want to rear-end it from behind just to see what happens. Maybe it's because they look like bumper cars for people who want to look environmentally friendly without actually driving a hybrid. They just irk me on north american roads for some reason.

Have any of you actually looked into the reviews/tests/specs/etc. on the us spec smart cars?

If the info is wanted I can find tests proving they're just as safe as a LARGE chunk of the cars on the road in any sort of accident and they might not have the fastest acceleration but I'm willing to bet they can get up to highway speeds a LOT faster then my old 4cyl jeep wrangler.

I agree with the fact that they're not manly, at all, but when gas gets insane I'd rather be in this thing some sort of "hybrid" (aka: giant hunk of expensive **** that is marketed as better for the environment and millions of sheep in America have bought it because of that, marsupials). Just like a large chunk of the population I spend most of my time (in my car) alone or with one other person. Sure, it's not for the brady bunch type but do I really need 4 doors as a man with no kids? Do my friends not have cars that THEY can drive to the places we go?

It's not for everyone but it is in no way unsafe and incapable of reaching highway speeds in a reasonable amount of time.

Smart Cars have been on Canadian Roads for a while now. They are great for around town and commuting but taking them on road trips would be not a good idea. They are four wheeled schooter with a roof and reverse gear, nothing wrong with that just depends what you want the Smart Car for.

Considering the Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit come in around the same price, deliver great fuel economy and have room for four normal sized people. That might be the better way to go.

I've seen a few of these in England entering the motor way at a fair clip, they don't appear underpowered for the size.

The car is perfect for London, Paris, Tokyo or a retirement community in Florida. State side only New York seems accommodating to a vehicle this size, even then a NYC cabbie falling a sleep at the wheel of a Crown Victoria would smash the thing to pieces in a rear/front end collision.

I fear for the lives of the Smart car occupants here in Los Angeles, when you witness how crazy many people drive trucks and SUV's around town the car looks extremely vulnerable. The car may hold up well in a collision but there's such a minimal buffer zone between point of impact and occupant your head would probably fall off with the whiplash.

Originally Posted by Shraka

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Smart cars are good if you can pull it off.

Sounds like something mt. spiffy would say.

Originally Posted by Conrad

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here's a video where the run one staright into a New Jersey barrier at 70mph and it survives remarkably intact. Only thing is they carry so little forward momentum they just stop too fast upon hitting something. No way on earth you'd live through it.


From the video, it would appear the engine is pushed into the main compartment in a crash which could pin your legs in.

The main purpose of the "Smart" car was to be *small*, so you could fit two into a regular parking spot in cramped European cities. That's it. It wasn't designed to be particularly fuel efficient or inexpensive. The size was the main design goal, and to that end, it was a success.

However, in America, it is useless since there is no real advantage to its size, and there are other cars available with the same fuel economy and more practicality for a cheaper price (Fit, Yaris, etc).

In Japan it is pretty useless as well, since there are Japanese "kei" cars which cost less than 2/3 the price, get better fuel economy, and are probably more reliable to boot.

plz.