No matter how hard I try to like the Smart car, I just can't.

Don't be shy, 001, tell us how you really feel.

Agent001, it's because you're not European.

If you lived in London this would be a great car to get around in, but when driving from OC to SD on the 5 freeway you want a BMW 6-Series.

;-) But, I'm sure this car will sell OK around here with all the gas savers and green people.

A Miata probably does as well on gas...I'd drive that in London before I'd drive a smart.

001

Its a pricey golf cart. Honestly, in an urban area, say NYC where I live, walking or public transit is the better option.

The issue is not finding a parking space, its sitting in grid-locked traffic trying to get someplace.

Agent001, you're 6 foot 4, right?

Then there's no denying the Smart has enough headroom and wouldn't you look Smart driving a lime green Smart with a blue racing stripe around town ;)

A puny little death trap!

A puny little death trap!

The big issue for me is that the gas mileage is not as good as thought.The reason most likely is the added weight of the safety equipment over the euro cars. To make this car more viable they need to come out with a turbo diesel. I have an 06 Mini Cooper S that gets 33 MPG on the highway. Apparently Smart does not do that much better. In fact the 07 Mini Cooper I believe gets better MPG on the highway then Smart.A 3 cylinder turbo diesel I would guess would double the gas mileage and give it better torque.

I think someone at Smart was foolish enough to give the car different final drive ratios biased towards acceleration at the expense of fuel economy. Mercedes does this on their US-spec cars as far as I know, so the same thing might be the case with Smart.

I ordered a Smart. I am starting to regret it. I'm getting it obviously for the novelty.

it won't be my road trip car

and certinaly won't be my daily driver

I personally like the Smart Car. It would not be my only car but it would be fun to drive in town with this car.

I have to agree with the sentiment that the car should be getting WAY MORE MPG given what it is.

I know that the offer powertrain options in other markets that would blow us away, but they have chosen instead to debut this car in America with the engine that gets only a measly 35-40 mpg?

Don't get me wrong, I like the Smart. I love it for what it is. I think that sales will be great for the first year or two as people buy it because it is the new, chic, "latest thing" car. It will grace driveways and garages from Berkley to The Hamptons based on pure appeal.

But once the trend driven honeymoon is over, practical buyers will be considering what they give up in room, utility, and perhaps safety for pure measure of MPG.

After all it becomes a hard sell for buying the car for MPG performance only when you can get a new Toyota Yaris, Honda Civic, used VW diesel Jetta or Beetle that will meet or exceed the Smart's MPG and give you room, safety, and utility to spare for about the same price or less.

001 makes some good points; I've been living in Vancouver Canada for the past year so I see them all over the place.

Sitting next to a Smart at a stoplight I always try & catch a glimpse of who's actually rolling in these golf carts, & believe it or not, there's more than just your average hippie driving these things around.

I’d never be caught dead driving one of these. I’m what someone like David Suzuki would consider to be an environmental nightmare, this car is so foreign to me merely because it’s the size of my engine block.

Yes it's neat but it's also just as ugly, you won't get noticed in a Yaris but you will be in this and for both the right & wrong reasons I might add...Give me a Miata or even a Prius over this any day.

I agree, this is a VERY ugly car. And....your not really saving anything. The car doesn't get that good of gas mileage for it's size. They should supercharge the motor, widen the wheel base(by a foot), lower it, get rid of the roof. And then sell it at Cosco as a go-cart for big kids. Then maybe I'll like.

001, you forgot one very important thing, this vehicle is not safe. I have seen hundreds in Europe flying down the roads and I shudder to think of being on a California freeway in one of them. I also agree with everything else you said, they just have no redeeming qualities in my opinion.

Well-I here in fact that it is safe.It uses the same gauge steel as in a Mercedes S class. It's supposed to have a very strong crash structure along with a bunch of airbags.In fact this may be part of the reason it does not get the great gas mileage people were expecting.(the extra weight and the tranny gearing to offset the extra weight).Don't get me wrong 35 to 40 MPG is still good but in a car this small 50 to 60 MPG would have made more sence.This could be acheived by a 3 cylinder turbo diesel. Even if you had a $1500 premium the gas mileage would have been the tru selling point to offset the the tiny quarters. There is really no point to the Smart unless get the great gas mileage in my book.

I'd still like to see what a Suburban would do side-on at 60mph.

It can't be pretty.

A Suburban? I want to see a Ford Excursion.

Just lower it, add some 20 inch chrome wheels (likely need spacers), get an aftermarket exhaust to make it sound like it has a broken muffler, and voila!

It will still look like crap, but it will at least blend in with all the fast/furious morons out there.

Well at 12 grand it still has a few things going for it. First of all it appears to be well built. The interior plastics are better then a typical 12 grand car. Second it probably gets the best gas mileage of any other 12 grand car. The 16 grand car is a targa which is still unique in this price range. The other point is yes the car is a bit on the ugly side.However it's not ugly when you sit inside it.The other point is that getting a parking place in any city has a whole new meaning to it when driving a Smart.

This car doesn't make sense in America, where most of the parking spaces are that big, but in congested, cities ie London, Rome, Barcelona it makes a lot of sense.

Oh I hate that car too. I saw two just the other day. My first encounter with them was in Victoria, BC and the Smart drivers think they're so awesome zipping in and out of traffic and parking horizontally to the curb instead of along side it. They're a waste of space and they give drivers (for some reason unknown) too much confidence.

I saw one a couple years ago in Canada on my way to Toronto. This thing was 1/4 the size of my Yukon. I was afraid to get too close to it. Deathtrap if you ask me. I don't think it will suit North America well. The roads are flooded with big trucks and SUVs, and consider the distance the average American covers a year; what is it like 12-15k miles/yr. Everything is so spread out in America. This would be a great car for someone who drives 10 miles max a day. Not for me, considering I drive at least 60 miles a day. I don't think the Smart seems to fit in our atmosphere. If I'm going to get something efficient it is going to be a midsize hybrid or diesel, and by the looks of it sooner or later I'm gonna have to get one.

Take the doors off and it would probably be the fastest(albeit expensive) golf cart you've ever driven.

Much agree. The car first of all is way to expensive for what it delivers which isn't much like you said. A person can buy a much safer and larger car with almost as good gas milage.
A revolution car this is not, it should be a lot more fuel efficient, a little bigger and a lot cheaper, for the most part the car is just trying to take advantage of very high gas prices in America you can buy a much better car and still accomplish the same thing, this car will flop big time?

Um, yeah, so I'm gonna go ahead and agree with Agent001 on this. Instead of the 'fortwo' smart, they should have the 'notso' smart. Here's a recent writeup I did on the Smart reflecting Agent001's sentiments about the smart car.

http://reviews.carreview.com/blog/smart-fortwo-seriously-i-dont-get-it/

Look-All those people who like and own big trucks and suv's will naturally say that a Smart is not safe.Do you think a Hyundai Accent is any safer.What about a Mazda Miata. In reality if there is a collision with any small car who is going to come out with the least amount of damage. It is obvious that the big suv wins all the time. However a Ford Expedition or Chevy Tahoe don't get 38 mpg. When gas goes up to $4.00 a gallon(I think this is a far gone conclusion)and it costs $100 bucks or more to fill up the gas tank people will start to have a different tune about small cars.The way to reduce or eleminate accidents with big trucks and big suv's is to not allow them on our roads.While our country is about choice single people don't need to own a monster truck. 40 yrs ago or more a truck was used for hauling the basic necessaties of life. They were not luxurious like they are now.If you wanted comfort you got a regular car.An Suv was used primarily to go off road. If you had a large family you bought a station wagon.Perhaps we need to go back to these concepts. In todays economy small cars are becoming a way of life. People have to face up to this reality. At $100 a barrel for oil we are now approaching the same ratio of inflation on gasoline that we suffered in the 1970's. Because of China's economy this is only bound to get worse. So you can critize Smart all you want. The very near reality is that the Smart car will make a lot more sense then a GMC Yukon.

"Do you think a Hyundai Accent is any safer.What about a Mazda Miata."


Bigger cars are always safer. Bigger cars means more room for the impact energy to disperse. The smaller the car, the less room there is for the energy to go.

Different strokes for different folks. The Smart Car is not meant for individuals who lust for horsepower or love big tires nor for those who want to be intimidating to other drivers on the road. It is for people like me who live is small homes with small garages and very little storage space. It is a bad choice for a family of 3 or more, but it is perfect for me to drive to work in because I don't need to carry anything more than me and my lunch bag.

As far as safety is concerned, I have no doubt that the car is safe because MB knows what a lawsuit happy nation this is so they are going to make darn sure that the Smart Car is not the next Pinto or Corvair. Regardless of this vehicle's safety record, every vehicle is a potential death trap. However the truth is that the vast majority of us are not part of the traffic accident statistics that are calculated every day. Most of you reading this are more likely to die in a slip and fall in the shower than you are in a car. We all have our own level of acceptable risk for ourselves and others. My grandmother was once asked by a DMV employee how she would feel if she hit a school bus filled with Nuns and children if she had another stroke while behind the wheel. Grandma's answer was, "Let them get the Hell out of my way!" The truth is that we are all going to die sooner or later and living in fear of isn't going to stop you from dying, but it will stop you from living. Hate the Smart Car all you want; it is your right to do so. But don't talk about safety to me you bunch of cell phone using, cigarette smoking, Starbuck's sucking, lipstick dabbing, iPod manipulating, fast food chomping, hair combing, drunk driving, non-signaling lane changing, stereo blasting, DVD watching, GPS tweaking, child slapping, news paper reading, SMS texting, hypocrites. Cars don't kill people; lack of attention kills people.