Thanks for all your comments, it was very helpful. I just bought a Honda Fit which has high ratings from Consumer Reports, a comfortable seat, and is very cute. Once again thank you for your time and wisdom. EllenT
And higher gas mileage.
Ellen
You made an excellent choice.
J.D. Power just named the Honda Fit as one of the top choices in terms of excellent quality of assembly/low number of defects. Consumer Reports liked the Fit much more than the Toyota Yaris (actually, they don’t recommend the Yaris at all, due to its poor performance in several areas) and as was stated, when they last tested a Smart car, they called it the worst vehicle that they had driven in at least a decade.
Yes, the US version of the Smart will be somewhat different than the Canadian version that CR tested, but a car as small as the Smart should get MUCH better gas mileage than it actually does. And, as I said in an earlier post, every columnist who has test driven the US Smart has commented on the extreme lurching of the transmission when it shifts.
Actually, I’m having fun by threatening to buy one for my 17 year old daughter, she actually want’s a new bug or something similar (as long as it’s a convertible). If I lived and commuted in an urban area, I might actually consider buying one.