New from GA
 

Hello, I'm used to driving mid-size to full-size trucks and I own a 2008 Toyota Tacoma with 16mpg. I've been planning to get a new vehicle that I can use daily for work. My wife suggests to get a Smart car that she could use as well but I'm not really sure if we could effectively use its potential. My initial choice is a Toyota Prius. Hopefully, I could acquire a new vehicle before April.

Welcome! Glad to have you here.

What kind of commute do you have? Would you be buying new or used? A prius would certainly cut down on gas usage.

Knowing what you want to do with it will inform your decision. I've only had a Prius for a few months now and can say that for its relatively modest size outside, it feels pretty big inside. And the trunk is pretty darned big, frankly.

Looking at the Garage page for smarts vs. Prii you see that the mileage results they whistle up aren't too dissimilar, unless you get a Plug-In Prius in which case all bets are off. But while the two cars don't get wildly different mileage results, the Prius has way more space inside than the smart.

To me, the smart really only makes sense if you commute into a city and have to find parking, and are 90% certain you won't have a passenger at any given moment.

Or if you don't mind dieing in a car wreck bbq, my $.02. :D

Welcome to the site.

Welcome to the ecomodders forum.

Welcome.

+1

Instead of looking at something really efficient and hoping it fits you, look at what you actually need and work backwards into a car. Most any of the smaller hatches will suit most needs.

I've avoided the Prius, most likely unfairly, because I don't want to rely on batteries that suffer through New Hampshire winters and I generally just trust simpler mechanicals. But many people up here love them, and they've got plenty of space.

Seems like you don't actually want (or see an actual benefit in owning) a Smart. Even though its small size may help finding a parking spot, it has some compromises regarding passenger and luggage capacity that maybe you wouldn't be so willing to trade off. What about a Prius C?

Thank you for all the replies and giving me suggestions and advice. I'm only 5'6 and I think I won't have any problem with space on both Prius and Smart. In 3 years or so, I feel Prius would stay longer in our possession than Smart considering that sooner or later we'll have a child as a passenger. The convenience of driving and looking for parking of Smart appeals to women so it might be a factor why my wife suggested it.

Yay! More Georgia people! Add yourself to the ecomodder user map, link in my signature. Me and Natalya met up a while back, since then a few more Georgia members have popped up. We should organize another meet up in a few months, hopefully more people will come this time.