Would you Drive a Smart if ...

[MetroMPG]

Mercedes-Benz Canada offered me an '08 fortwo to test for a day or two in & around Toronto.

I asked for more time to do a review worthy of EcoModder on my home turf, but they were reluctant since the majority of visits to this site are from the US, and their mandate is to work with Canadian media only. (Roughly 12% of our traffic is from north of the 49th. Seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but there you go.)

I might still take them up on it, but I'm not as enthusiastic about a 2 day loan. It'd be hard to get a good sense of the car and generate some good information in that short a time.

[Frank Lee]

Ya just hafta drive the snot outta it in 2 days!

[cfg83]

MetroMPG -

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Ya just hafta drive the snot outta it in 2 days!

I agree with Frank. 2 days may not be enough per se, but your Eco-butt-dyno will be better than 90% of the rest.

CarloSW2

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

I would drive a Smart car if it had as many seats as the Scion iQ!

[andylaurence]

Originally Posted by Peter7307

Sorry but no way.
I test drove the Roadster when it was released here and it was about the worst car I have ever been in.
Horrible dynamics and the rest of the car was about the same.
The salesman kept telling me it was the "new Fiat X-19". Clearly he had never been in one of those.

I felt like it had been a design study from a third year art college class.

Lots of blurb about "elements" , style and little substance.

My wallet stayed firmly closed..

Pete.

Really? I drove one half a mile and found it to be so dynamically fantastic I was hooked and bought one. It's the best car I've ever had, simply because it's so much fun to drive and it gets good economy. Of course, it's noisy, there's no escaping that but I prefer it in every other way to the BMW 330d it replaced.

As for the JetCar. 48000 Euros? I could buy 8 low mileage Smart Roadsters for that!

[jimp]

I've driven a friends Smart car, it's an ok commuter DD, but the base mpg is not all that impressive IMO, handling is ok, noise level is kinda high, but fun to drive. I bought a mazda 3 HB 2.3 mtx, much more fun, can get out of the way of other traffic if needed, and i get mid to high 30's mpg consistently as my DD with mild hypermiling techiques. Have gotten 40 dfe before on some days.

[andylaurence]

I've got a lifetime ~37mpg (US) driving mine as fast as I can. That includes track days at the Nurburgring, Hungaroring and a test track in the UK, a road rally and an AutoSolo. I don't use hypermiling techniques, I use 6000rpm daily, I use full throttle much of the time, yet I still get these figures. Show me another car with these attributes and I'll buy one. I can get mid-40s (US) if I want to and most people seem to get that in normal use.

[alohaspirit]

If I were given one for free, Id rock a smart... hardcore

the main reason thats stopping me is the price

[Rokeby]

To my eye, the Pininfarina Studio CNR,

http://ecomodder.com/forum/attachmen...1&d=1231698784


looks a whole lot like a pregnant, four-wheel, four-passenger Aptera...

All the better for getting Federal EV/PHEV development funds.

[andylaurence]

Originally Posted by alohaspirit

If I were given one for free, Id rock a smart... hardcore

the main reason thats stopping me is the price

Are they expensive there? Over here, they're cheap. I bought a 4 year old Roadster for £5000 (~$9000). Show me another car of a similar age and the same class (two seat roadster) that can be bought for that little money! The ForTwo is pretty cheap for a base model too. I'd give you a price but the Smart website is too interested in looking cool to actually function or give me some information! I think they start at around £8000 (~$14400).