Thumbs down on the Smart. It’s a niche vehicle, perhaps OK for local commuting, but not one to have as your only car.
My top recommendation would be a Honda Civic coupe. Overall, it’s a much better car than the Smart.
Next choice would be the Honda Fit. It’s one meaningful advantage over the Civic is a more flexible cargo area.
Personally, since I value performance and handling, I would buy a Civic Si coupe. It costs more and doesn’t get as good gas mileage, but it’s the best drive.
If you want a small, economical, reasonably priced, two seat convertible, there is nothing better than the Mazda Miata.
They are great for use on most public golf courses. Much better than the old style Cushman golf carts as they are fully enclosed thus enabling you to play all winter. The low gear selection is particulalrly useful for getting out of sandtraps.
The point in asking that question was to point out that I don’t think they are very customer oriented in their approach to the design of this car. I drive small cars and the idea of the Smart Car appeals to me. However, that lagging problem with the shifting really bothered me on the test drive. I consider myself one of their target customers and in my opinion, they didn’t do a good enough job of making it a car I would buy. This car is aimed at environmentally conscious and conservation conscious individuals whose needs would be fit by such a small relatively fuel efficient vehicle. That is me. Yes, I expect an automatic transmission to shift smoothly. In manual mode, I expect a manual clutch. The company is clearly going after my demographic. So I don’t expect a sport car and I don’t expect something that it is not in terms of its overall design. As someone who is focused on business management and customer service, it isn’t such an “odd” question. The Smart Car misses the target for me and many others simply because of the design of the transmission. Perhaps the fact that you consider the question “odd” says something about your customer service philosophy. It isn’t necessarily wrong, but I don’t share it.
…I take it back. Your approach is wrong. A focus on customer needs is an important issue with any company that deals with customers. If I, or someone like me, as a member of their target demographic don’t enter the conversation, that is a mistake. The most effective companies in the world listen to their customers’ needs and the needs of their target customers. To not seek and listen to customer feedback is a mistake, especially in the development stage.
52 mpg highway??? Why isn’t this publicized (40 mpg is what I’ve heard)… that approaches the 60 they get in Europe, but that’s without US emissions standards…
52 is pretty impressive, if that’s accurate (cruise control; standard shift only)?
But still not sure it’s worth the risk driving the interstate with the big boys…
I have to admit to Smart Car envy, however much I love my new Yaris. The li’l things are just so darn CUTE, and I really don’t need all that room in the hatch very often (although it’ll be nice to have on the rare occasions when I do)…
But the most recent article I read on them boasts only 41 mpg highway? Heck, my Yaris is supposed to get that much (38-40)??? Just seems Smart could be Smarter.
“Also, everyone says that the advantage of the thing is that it can fit in small parking spaces, but can anyone think of a US city where parking works like that?”
Um, the residential areas of any Eastern US city?
No meters, no lines detrmining “legal” spaces, you can park it if you can shoehorn it in-between the car ahead+behind. There’s going to be places you can fit a Smart you can’t fit an Accord.
There’s going to be even more places you can fit a MC, though (and the two cities I’ve most recently lived in give free parking for 2 wheels
I’ve had my “smart for 2 passion” for a bit over a week. It is an '09, which has some improvements from the '08. A much smoother experience with transmission is one of them. The crash tests and safety info is very good for this car. That’s one of the reasons I bought it. My insurance was shocked at teh very high rating it got (and lower insurance rates).
It looks like my mileage for the first tank of mostly around town driving will be close to 40 MPG. In the forums, people report the MPG seems to range from horrible (low 30s or worse) to in the 50s.
I see the car as an important catalyst towards a paradigm shift about how we think about cars and transportation. I don’t expect that to be a popular view with a bunch of car enthusiasts. That’s OK.
We need to consider all options, all possible ideas in getting out of this crazy gas dependency and climate crisis. Here is one small idea.
And the smart isn’t only about the car. The environmental features used in the factory, the use of recycled plastic to make the car, the ease of recycling it when the car is done, should all be considerations as well.
It isn’t a car for everyone. Just some of us. And oh my goodness it is FUN to drive.
And for the big tasks? 6 families share the use of my 13 year old Ford Ranger. Another wild idea about how to think differently about transportation needs.
