As TTAC's Best and Brightest know, Smart's proud parents, the German geniuses who adopted, abused and then disowned Chrysler, long resisted the calls to bring the Smart stateside. And then, eventually, did. In the first six months, 11,400 Smart fortwo have found new closets homes. If you're an aspiring American smarty pants, you'll have to wait a year; some 30k prospective buyers are holding their [70] horses. And while used full-sized SUVs are worth less than a plate of cocoa and lefse, you can sell your Smart fortwo with a nice profit. Elizabeth Szewczyk tells the Washington Post she gave up her Jeep Wrangler for a Smart car and never (couldn't?) look back. Szewczky (pronounced “Schwwwing”) remembers “watching the fuel gauge drop as she drove down the highway and realizing it was time to trade in her childhood dream." [ED: Safe driving or what?] And anyway the Smart gets her a lot more attention than the Wrangler did. Is that point? We report, you deride.
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yup,I saw my 1st Smart on the MA pike in ‘06 a yellow ad mule with Ontario plates. Now I’see them quite often around greater Boston. From what I understand , the MPG isnt much better than what a Fit delivers.
Good idea, poor execution.
I think there’s a market for cute, fashionable, inexpensive two-seaters that fit in half a parking spot. It’s the fashionable aspect that they could milk the most… being able to buy style like that for the price of an econobox is attractive to many. But c’mon, how was Mercedes Benz of all companies ever going to be the right company to do it?
Imagine if Swatch had taken their idea to Fiat or any of the kei-car makers. They have the right small engines, the right transmissions for small engines, a parts bin to raid (judiciously) and experience making decent cheap and small cars. In other words, the Japanese companies in the US market should develop kei-cars that fit our sense of aesthetics, and try their luck with them!
Saw one here in RI. Looked… small. I asked the driver if he’d considered a Prius or something a bit more practical. He looked at me as if I had pin lice in my eyebrows.
Oh, come on…
It’s not the best thing since sliced bread, but it’s a good city car/commuter/third car in the household.
Aren’t you glad that some people are trading in their suvs for something more fuel efficient?
Been seeing one frequently around my town in MA with a vanity plate like EINSTEN. It’s very small; I would figure it would be far more efficient. Given that it’s not, I think I’d prefer a Fit.
As a Nissan Versa owner (my wife’s car) I’m highly disappointed in the Smart’s efficiency angle. C/D got 32 MPG on their test run, which was certainly not ‘hypermiling’ by any stretch of the imagination, but still.
I understand that in Europe the diesel version gets somewhere north of 50 MPG in town – and it provides a great city car for crowded, small streets.
In US form, however, low-to-mid 30 MPG from this car just isn’t acceptable. The Fit offers 27 in town (EPA rating) and is a veritable limo compared to the Fortwo. The Versa is even larger (has 50 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats folded, no less!) offers more rear seat leg room than most full size sedans, AND has a 122 hp engine to boot.
It’s no performance car by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s 0-60 is nearly 5 seconds faster than the Fortwo. My wife averages 30 MPG in town without hypermiling in her Versa, aided at least in part to the low-rev CVT.
I respect the idea behind the Fortwo – I’d just like to see a car that weighs in 1100 lbs less than a Versa get more than a couple MPG better. It’s not like it has a powerful mill under the
hoodtrunk..
. .”Smart”.
Macca is right. The USA version of this car is a joke.
I live within a slapshot of the Canadian border in “the other Washington” and both business and pleasure bring be up to BC (eh) quite often. As such I’ve been seeing these things for quite some time both there and here (the later being 99% Canucks over here to buy “cheap” Diesel.) I’ve had several conversations with the owners of these little cars while standing at the Tesoro-Alaska Diesel #2 pump off Exit 208 of Interstate 5.
The CDI engine in the Canadian version sees well north of 50 MPG, more like ~70 MPG in mixed city/highway travel. They are very lightweight as well as small, so it is like a double boost. How the hell Daimler dumbed down the USA-spec Smart to a mere 30 MPG is beyond me! Could it be that Americans themselves add too much weight to the car? Or is the gasoline engine in this thing THAT bad?
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
I’ve seen two and i feel scared for the poor souls inside them. The first time i came up behind one it looked like the wheels were really off camber. I’d feel safer on my 250cc bike in an ice storm (and get more than twice the miliage)
Despite being a sports car lover, I think small economical cars are wonderful. Many of my friends have picked up Honda fits and Toyota yari(?). Not only do my friends love their cars, but their wallets are fatter thanks to the improved gas mileage. However, when I see a Smart I quickly develop this strong urge to knock it onto its side and stand on the door, trapping the driver while I laugh at his misfortune. I didn’t have this thought when I first saw them, in fact I considered buying one, but the more I see them, the strong this feeling gets.
I’m glad I have self control…
They’re filling the streets where I live – seriously, more and more appearing. We have a rule where you can park your supercompact perpendicular to the sidewalk, and they find room everywhere.
From what I have seen in Europe, the Smart is nothing more than a fashion statement, albeit a practical one from a size standpoint. In Paris a few years ago, almost all of them I saw (and there were lots of them) were driven by obviously wealthy middle-aged women who live and lunch in the center of the city. I never really saw one anywhere in Europe that was not used in the congested centers of various cities by people who could afford to live in the centers of those cities. Perhaps others have different observations.
Fashion and trends being ephemeral, there could be some new Parisian voiture du jour by now. In the 90s, the same role was filled by the original Rover Mini which was still being manufactured at that time.
I just don’t see much demand for the Smart Fortwo in the U.S. once the initial demand for novelty has been satisfied. As others have said above, there are better choices.
My xA gets at least 29 and at most 33 mpg in city, with a (ScanGauge reported) 29MPH average per tank. That’s pretty damn good for an automatic (non-diesel), Texas car (A/C always on full blast) with a driver like me; how I avoid the tickets is beyond me…
The Yaris gets better gas mileage than the xA – better aerodynamics and less weight, yet same space (and a more comfortable ride). It would take a lot to sway us to a car as small and as (reportedly) uncomfortable and sloppy as the Smart, especially when we already average 30+mpg in city.
When you can get 50+mpg, let me know – it would make a great pure-city car. As far as highway, the insanely-tall stance (for such a small car) is very deterring, especially considering how poorly my xA performs @ 75 with crosswinds.
p.s. With the rear-engine, extremely lightweight, auto-manual layout, I imagined a lot of potential for fun. Maybe not acceleration, but at least handling. Is there any room for modification?
We have a guy at work who has one. We can’t help but wait for the clowns to start coming out of it.He was bragging that it got 32 mpg.I deflated him a bit when I said “Wow,that’s only 13 mpg less than my 96 Passat TDT. Of course, I can fit 5 people in my car.”
Bring on the electric models.
I’ve seen many of them on the roads here in the San Francisco Bay Area, but I suppose that is to be expected. I just don’t get the appeal of this vehicle. A Fit only burns about 15% more fuel, is a real car and sells for about the same amount of money. Or, move up to a Prius or Civic hybrid and you gets a much more useful vehicle with far better fuel economy. Would you really want to drive from San Francisco to LA in a not-so-smart?
The business of “fitting two into a single parking space” is useless in the U. S., at least if it’s a metered space, since you’re not allowed to park two vehicles in the space of one meter, even if it’s two motorcycles.
Amd if it isn’t metered space, you need to find another Smart with which to share the space.
As for parking a Smart perpendicularly, many Americans still unpark by backing until they tap the bumper behind, then moving out of the space forward. On a Smart, that would be the door.
One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen was a car hauler full of Smarts zipping along the freeway. Eight on top, eight on the bottom — SIXTEEN of those little buggers all in a row!
I think they’re being bought by people who would never buy anything as cheap as a Honda Fit. Like the Prius, it appeals to people in much higher price ranges.
It’s a toy; a third car.
once again I say, “No clutch, no sale”
The CDI smart that Canada gets (well, got) does get good mileage, but it’s not appreciably better than the Yaris (~4.3L/100km versis ~5.5), which, given the loss of functionality, is hard to justify.
Oh, and the CDI smart is really, really slow. Like 0-60 in 15-18 seconds. The Yaris is manages the same in under 10.
It would have to get twice the mileage and be 50% of the current price for it to even begin to make sense
It’s not about gas consumption with these Smarts, its about being trendy. For only a few thousand more you can get a vastly superior Toyota Yaris with more interior volume and better fuel economy. But then, with a Toyota, you don’t stand out.
And a Yaris has a stickshift
I have seen more & more of these popping up, and I also don’t get it. Doesn’t it have less room & get worse(same?) mpg as a yaris? Isn’t it more expensive as well? Um, then……..??
The fuel economy is really disappointing on these. Too bad they didn’t get the 3-cylinder from the Honda Insight to power it. I doubt it would be much slower and probably get 50mpg.
If someone ventures outside of city street traffic, the fuel economy would take a serious hit just to keep this thing moving. I wonder how a traditional manual transmission would help with fuel economy and acceleration?
People obviously buy these for style and to look different. It also seems that many of them will pay whatever the asking price is, whether buying from the dealer or an individual re-selling one. It reminds me a lot of Miata-mania way back when it hit dealers. Buyers were paying double the sticker or even more! Then, a year or so later, the initial demand subsided and any premium paid immediately turned into “negative equity”.
The people who are blindly dumping their SUVs for $10-15k less than the loan payoff just to get something with better fuel economy are in much the same boat. Sure, you’ve traded a vehicle that gets 17mpg for one that gets 30mpg, but you also just burned $15k! Driving the SUV for another four years would only have cost you about $4700 (at $4/gallon).
Safety cage notwithstanding, I think I’d prefer a vehicle that might actually stay on the ground after a collision.
It’s a nice toy but I can’t see it as a daily serious commuter car.
Third car for people with extra cash.
Does the fortwo NOT have a manual option???
Re: Yaris/Manual:
I went to test one at a “big” Toyota dealership here and they looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked to test drive a stick. Took about 30 minutes to find a hatch/stick combo. They had Qty 3, all red, all with the same trim. Eck.
It did drive better than I thought it would (I did have pretty low expectations though), however I would have preferred something other than red.
Exactly. And like all fashion statements, this one will quickly fade once the ‘fashion’ becomes commonplace.
Mercedes really lucked out on their timing. The only things holding Smart sales together right now are the uniqueness and high cost of gas. For a vehicle as small as it is, it should get much better gas mileage. Remove either of those two factors and Smart sales will plummet.
Hi
yes they are small, but with the right modifications they are great fun.
A family friend has just done the European Cannonball Run 2008 in one and WON. !!!!
http://cannonballruneurope.co.uk/blog/
Up against your slightly more powerful Mustang and quite a few Ferrari and other exotics. Spent about £600 on fuel as opposed to the £2500 one of the Ferrari’s spent.
He drove the Brabus version see below
http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2008-Brabus-smart-fortwo.htm
As a brit it does make me laugh reading all you guys going on about V8’s and cup holders and electric seat button memory….. I think you have been conned and brain washed into believing to have fun in a car you need a lot of toys and a big engine. Face it, how often do you get the chance to exploit your v6 or v8 potential in every day driving…….
Hopefully the rising cost of fuel will allow your Big 2.8 to put european engines in the likes of the mustang camero and charger. you can then export them to Europe and actually sell american cars. Which idiot thought we would buy Cadillac’s in europe!!!
Have to agree with the “no stick/no sale” comment.
And I think the dealers for these things should offer defensive driving courses to the people that buy them. I’ve now had two of these things come up from behind in the next lane over and then “park” directly in my blind spot….and stay there for at least a 1/2 mile. Being a “car guy” I saw them in my rear view coming up so I knew they were there, but I can just imagine what will happen to them when they do this next to grandma in her LaSabre. Guess what Fortwo driver……your not driving a Yukon anymore.
Be cool if Honda can pull off the CRZ concept two seater and blow this thing outta the water on MPG. But knowing Honda lately they’ll have to “super-size” it and screw it all up.
I thought you folks wanted people to drive smaller cars. What gives?
On a side note…
Face it, how often do you get the chance to exploit your v6 or v8 potential in every day driving…….
For me, at least once a day. Granted, I’m not testing the power of my V8 engine all the time, but it’s nice to know I have that extra oomph when I need it. I’ve noticed something rather disturbing. They put a stop sign at the on ramp for the highway where I live. I think that’s the most absurd thing I’ve ever seen, forcing me to come to a complete stop before I enter the highway. What makes it worse is that the merging area is about 30 yards long, so I have only 30 yards to go from a dead stop to around 60 mph and enter rush hour traffic without causing an accident. Absurd, I tell you!
On another note, who has time to have ‘fun’ when they’re stuck in traffic? These sporty suspensions are absolutely unnecessary for our straight roads and traffic jams.
Critics of the smart overwhelmingly have no experience with the car, and so miss the point of why owners tend to like them so much.
They are FUN. Fun to drive, fun to park. It’s a rare smart that sits in the driveway.
I test drove one and I recognized right away a big part of the motorcycle experience, that ordinary driving is suddenly transformed into something special, because you are piloting a vehicle that is so small.
i had great hopes for this car.
my wife and i stood in line for about 2.5 hours last summer in the hot sun, on hot asphalt, just to drive one around the mercedes-benz parking lot, here in san diego. and we put our deposit down the same day.
i was suppose to close the deal and take possession way back in may, but was very dismayed to learn the actual gas mileage this car is capable of achieving.
however the real deal-breaker for me was when the benz dealership only offered me $9500 for my original-owner, dealer-maintained, obsessively-pampered ‘97 boxster, which had only 60k miles on the clock at the time and was/still is in immaculate condition.
I’ve seen quite a few of ‘em here in South Florida. They’re as dinky as I thought they would be. I’ve also seen a few on the highway and thought that the driver inside is rather suicidal.
For the money, I’d rather take a Mini Cooper, non-S. It gets about the same mileage, and it isn’t a death trap. Am I the only one here?
i LOVE the cabrio- i’ve seen a few around here, they are the definition of cool.
I wish we’d get more tiny little cars here, europe is full of them.
it’s the hummers that draw laughs and the shaking of unbeleiving heads.
fashion is so fickle
quasimondo:
“I thought you folks wanted people to drive smaller cars. What gives?”
I’m all for people driving vehicles with space they need versus the space they want – but the Fortwo is sadly the case of style over substance.
A Yaris, Fit, or Versa are all smarter choices based on size, efficiency, and safety. These cars can all achieve around 30 MPG in town and fit more than 2 people inside and get from 0-60 MPH in less than 10 seconds. These are all real cars that are safe at highway speeds and don’t need a quarter of a minute to get up to speed on an onramp.
Carlisimo:
“I think they’re being bought by people who would never buy anything as cheap as a Honda Fit. Like the Prius, it appeals to people in much higher price ranges.”
Funny thing is, the Fit is far more refined and polished than the Fortwo for the money. Plus it doesn’t suffer from the Fortwo’s shift shock. But I get what you’re saying – the Fit doesn’t scream ‘toy car’ on your driveway like a Fortwo.
philipwitak – I’ll give you 11k ;)
We have a ton of these in downtown Portland, where the official cars are either old Volvo wagons or the Prius.
I think carlisimo has it exactly right, they are for people with a lot of discretionary income who probably aren’t too concerned with the (relatively) poor mileage. If your SUV got 12mpg and the smart gets 30, that’s still a pretty big leap, even if you could be getting 45 or so in a Prius or an old TDI VW.
A smart is pretty close to a Prius, fuel wise.
Comparing mileage using CR’s real world averages:
Prius 42
Fortwo 38
Navigator 13
Gallons used per year (12,000 miles)
Prius 286
-30
Fortwo 316
-607
Navigator 923
Disclaimer: I like the Fortwo. I rented one for a week, both in Europe (twice) and in Canada (back when I was childless and living in downtown Toronto). I like the car, conceptually, and nearly bought one, but I have two real problems with it:
* Dollar for dollar, in Canada, it exceeds the Yaris’ price. You gain 1L/100km, but lose a lot of power and a back seat. If the car was 60% of the Yaris’ price, this would be acceptable. At the same or more than the Yaris or Fit, it’s a hard sell.
* It’s a Mercedes. This means you have to put up with MB dealers, MB service and MB markup. Oh, and MB, ahem, “quality”.
It’s an image car, instead of a practical option. If kei cars ever make it to North America, the Smart is going to get slaughtered by cheaper, more reliable competition.
If Mercedes could tone down the ego and sell it for a reasonable price, they’d manage a real coup d’etat: beating the Asians at their own game (small cars) in a market that’s prime for it. Due to their operational excellence (or pigheaded persistence, your pick) Toyota is almost unstoppable after they get a foothold in a market. If you can beat them to it, though, you stand a chance at carving a slice of the market before they steamroll in.
Of course, the operative phrase is “tone down the ego”. Mercedes management is, by a long shot, the most insufferably arrogant group in the industry.
Golly gee! So many of you best-and-brightest commenters are deriding Smart buyers for wanting to be “trendy,” to “make a statement” or to “establish an image.” Thank god that isn’t true of stunningly intelligent Camaro, Challenger, Bullitt Mustang and Charger buyers.
I also love all the “yeah, I saw one the other day on the Interstate” and “some jerk down the street has one in his driveway” comments. So that makes you an instant expert?
We have a saying in the aviation world, “Yesterday I couldn’t spell pilot and now I are one.”
I’m all for people driving vehicles with space they need versus the space they want – but the Fortwo is sadly the case of style over substance.
I just find it baffling that people will go on and on about how SUV’s are too big, they never see more than one person driving them, and they’re better off getting a smaller car. So here comes a smaller car that might occasionally see a passenger and it’s derided for being too small. According to the argument I’ve seen against SUV’s if they’re not carrying kids or cargo, then this is the exact vehicle a person should be driving.
A Yaris, Fit, or Versa are all smarter choices based on size, efficiency, and safety. These cars can all achieve around 30 MPG in town and fit more than 2 people inside and get from 0-60 MPH in less than 10 seconds. These are all real cars that are safe at highway speeds and don’t need a quarter of a minute to get up to speed on an onramp.
I think you guys hate this vehicle for no reason. How many times have we heard people say they’re unconcerned with 0-60 times (especially in QOTD topics concerning horsepower and acceleration) and boast about some old claptrap jalopy that had painfully slow acceleration and they didn’t mind? Why harp about it now, especially when this is not a performance car? Put that GSX-R 1000 engine from the Smartuki in one of these, then we can discuss 0-60.
Safety won’t be an issue either. It’s recieved a five-star rating from the IIHS, and then there’s this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcuimw8ql_A
I’m not one to be a cheerleader for any vehicle, but let’s be honest. There’s gallons of Haterade for this vehicle sloshing around in this thread, and for no good reason.
@I’m not one to be a cheerleader for any vehicle, but let’s be honest. There’s gallons of Haterade for this vehicle sloshing around in this thread, and for no good reason.
It’s just the transition, is all. We’ve been driving around in silly vehicles, as if we would need to put industrial steam hammers in our kitchens to chop meat with. We’ll wise up.
And then people are worried – they’re seeing the second hand value of their SUVs and trucks plummeting, and would like that downward slide to go a little slower.
I do have to laugh at the “trendy toy” statements, though.Sure, of course — building brands and hitting waves in demand means being attuned to what people will be willing to pay a premium for — that way lies success.
I’m not one to be a cheerleader for any vehicle, but let’s be honest. There’s gallons of Haterade for this vehicle sloshing around in this thread, and for no good reason.…
Good point, but if you look past the hate comments of some, the overriding theme is that the fortwo misses the mark for purchase cost and mileage. A car of this size simply should be blowing away the MPG of a car like a Fit and it doesn’t. Similarly, slow is ok if you save the gas. The fortwo is slow and, for a tiny car, thirsty. In this category, that just does not cut it. If one is going to sacrifice as much space, power, and possibly safety that the Smart requires, it should be returning 60 MPG. Otherwise the benefit ratio simply is wrong. No hate here, as I prefer small, nimble cars. Just the facts as I see them.
Much of the “hate” BTW, seems to stem from the trendy aspect of the car. Fashion statements tend to polarize people. Vehicle purchases based primarily on intangibles like “trendy” don’t sit well here…
We have one on Order since Jan 08′ I had been debating about it for 6 months. Now I am waiting and waiting. But, rest assured I will have it before anyone on the Tesla list, receives their Tesla.
No, I too haven’t look at other small cars for transportation. This is all about the “cute” factor. There, I said it. I am ashamed. All 6′4″ 275lbs of me.
I have seen 3-4 of these in Lexington and Lincoln (Boston suburbs) and in Boston.
If these will get people out of their SUVs, more power to them.
Good point, but if you look past the hate comments of some, the overriding theme is that the fortwo misses the mark for purchase cost and mileage. A car of this size simply should be blowing away the MPG of a car like a Fit and it doesn’t. Similarly, slow is ok if you save the gas. The fortwo is slow and, for a tiny car, thirsty. In this category, that just does not cut it. If one is going to sacrifice as much space, power, and possibly safety that the Smart requires, it should be returning 60 MPG. Otherwise the benefit ratio simply is wrong. No hate here, as I prefer small, nimble cars. Just the facts as I see them.
If it misses the mark due to cost, then we’ve fallen into the argument that small cars must be priced as low as possible, and for what you’re paying, you could be in a larger car. It’s a fine argument, one that GM uses to justify not developing the Cobalt into a real competitor. It also goes along with Ford’s line of reasoning why the U.S. market doesn’t get the Euro Focus.
I will agree with you on the fuel economy. I can only guess that the reason it’s so poor (relatively speaking) is because of that transmission. Replace it with a real stick and you’re sure to see some improvements.
Having said all that, I think the success of this car may spur other manufacturers to step into the market with kei cars. If people can be convinced that the Smart is a safe car, it paves the way for better cars, like the Subaru R1. If the smart tanks, it gives ammunition to the idea that Americans don’t like small cars and when the Dollar regains its footing and the oil bubble pops, it’ll be revenge of the SUV.
It’s not that we collectively hate this car, it’s that it’s just not a good value, no matter how you slice it:
* The fuel economy isn’t that good. Were Toyota to offer a sub-1.5L and/or CDI Yaris, this car would lose it’s one advantage.
* The feature content isn’t there. I’ll pay the premium for a B200 or Mini (or a leather+nav+ESC+eighteen airbags Fit or Yaris) because, well, they’re worth it because they’re well-equipped small cars. The Smart is small, but isn’t well-equipped. It’s got no more kit than the Fit does, and costs more to boot.
* It is slow and small. Again, were the price and economy problems above not an issue, this would be palatable.
I almost bought one, but I just couldn’t get over these shortcomings. I have no issue paying for a nicely trimmed small car (I bought a Fit Sport and love it; I would have bought a B200 Turbo id it were made by someone other than Mercedes), but I won’t pay more money for less car unless there’s a really good reason.
In the case of the Smart, there isn’t.