Yes, to buy. Doesn't someone here own one? How much did that run? This one is a Passion Coupe, $15.6. Seems the dealer adds silly options to the "orphaned" cars so they can "legitimately" charge more. Anyway, I'll test drive it and probably not buy it, but I'm looking to buy one in a few months.
I like small cars, but those look like a golf cart to me. And my friend saw one of these on a Chicago area interstate. That is scary in itself.
don't buy. I will pay you not to buy it...if i had money to spare.
1) Not safe
2) Careless idiots drive around you
3) Miata ftw
4)or an MR2 would be a better alternative
You will pay me not to buy it? Wow.
Safer than what I currently drive
see above
New Miatae >20k FTL
MR2 no longer made.
Wife wants a brand new car - it has come down to between the Honda Fit and the Fortwo. I'm not worried about the safety aspect, and at this point I'm not fishing for opinions on whether to buy one or not. I know it's not the right car for everyone, but I think it may be the right car for me.
see em on the freeways all the time here in So Cal. They seem to work fine. On the issue of safe it has to be many times safer than any motorcycle. I dont recommend getting tee boned by a suburban while driving one though.
To each his own bro...........if you want it, cool. They are fine and perfectly capable. I just recently bought a Miata (new) as my DD and I tell I am about eye level with some of these SUvs bumpers. It gives a whole new meaning to driving defensively. I say good luck to you and follow your automotive dream. Let us know how it goes. Oh by the way..............in the old GRM board there was an entire thread on a Smart that a member had purchased, I don't recall his name though.
Yeah that's why I ask here, I wanted to find out how he ordered it and what he paid, all that jazz.
they've been running around Canada for years now. Exactly what north america needs, although maybe not what north america wants. If they weren't such a "novelty" car and didn't command such novelty prices on the used market, I'd be very tempted to look for one.
I drove one last week, and was much more impressed than I thought I'd be. Tomorrow I'll post more about it, as today I just got back from BABE rally, and have been up for waaaaaay too long to string together a coherent sentence
honestly, in an accident, I would take a brand new smart over a brand new Miata.
And probably a brand new anything over everything from ten years ago.
I really don't doubt the Smart's safety, especially compared to some of the POS's that are driven on this board. (and I do mean that with a lot of affection)...
but.
Pay attention to the drive and ride. With my job and travel, I've driven my share- and if it were for short distances, in town, etc.. Owing one isn't like renting one. I wish I could agree with Sonic, lets put it that way. BTW, my glasses are not thinking that this is a tiny car that should get good gas milage, but a car that I need to live with every day. Vs a golf cart- it's light years better. Just not for me (especially when you factor in the mileage).
If they are for you, awesome.
E-
Some reviews...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/automobiles/autosreviews/11-smart-fortwo-ny.html
http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/highway1/la-hy-neil16may16,0,2556231.story?coll=la-class-autos-highway1
http://www.edmunds.com/smart/fortwo/2008/review.html
http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/smart-fortwo-review/
http://www.cars.com/go/crp/research.jsp?section=reviews&crpPage=reviews.jsp&makeid=563&modelid=8791&year=2008
Also you could always slap a Hayabusa engine in one too. Crazy videos of that on youtube.
I see them on the Autobahns all the time. They usually cruise at close to 100 MPH & they don't look scary or nervous at all at that speed. Granted I've never driven one but from what I've seen they are as highway-capable and "safe" as any other German small car. There are loads of crash tests on Youtube, look one up and see they actually fare pretty well.
J
First, the one that Sonic drove was mine Second Im the one who posted on the other board....jeeez ya hang around a board for 5 or 6 years and you thing people would remember your name ;)
I paid MSRP for mine, fully loaded, $15.6 sounds about right if its optioned well. The dealer add on crap is bogus but most dealers do it because they arent allowed to mark the car up so if they get an "orpan" to sell they try to get their money that way. If you want to pay MSRP order one but last I looked the wait is about 12-18 months.
I loooove the car, and I drive it on the highway every day 70 miles (140 round trip) Its an accquired taste and it wouldnt make a great only car but for commuter duty its excellent
As for the naysayer post the OP covered it but here it is again
1) Not safe - really you're gonna throw this argument out after the NHTS gave it 4 stars the the IIHS begrudgingly (they really wanted to hate the smart) gave it their best rating.
2) Careless idiots drive around you - and that doesnt change no matter what you drive
3) Miata ftw - I love miata's but as another poster said it is a bit intimidating to look at other peoples hubcaps on a highway commute. I doubt you would fare as well in a miata as you would in a Smart in an accident. Miata's cant get 40+mpg if that is your goal....etc etc etc. I sold a miata to buy my smart so I know of what I speak.
4)or an MR2 would be a better alternative - call me when you can buy a new MR2 again
BTW I am 6'3" and close to 300lbs. i fit in a SMART very well, I did not get to drive the car but I did get to see and sit in it.
I would love one if I could afford one.
one more quick note. When you test drive it, if the car has under about 2000 miles you, like everyone else (myself included) will hate the transmission.
Somewhere after about 2k it really breaks in nicely and is not the jerky clumsy mess that it seems. Its actually pretty enjoyable after that.
Ive got about 6k on mine now. If you were closer you would be more than welcome to a test drive.
JThw8 wrote: 1) Not safe - really you're gonna throw this argument out after the NHTS gave it 4 stars the the IIHS begrudgingly (they really wanted to hate the smart) gave it their best rating.
I certainly would never want to discourage anyone from purchasing a Smart, and it is WAY safer than almost all older cars, but I do have to say that the safety rating are generally based on a solid object crash (as far as I know). Because of this, it really only rates the vehicle on solo accidents (in which case it is very safe). When other vehicles are involved, the safety shifts depending on mass, a larger mass getting safer, a small mass getting worse.
Crashing is an energy game, the more you have relative to the other guy (using the other guy as your crumple zone by transferring your energy to them) the safer (in general) you are. This of course is not meant to imply that going faster makes you safer, but if you are going a specific speed, having more mass than the other guy (more energy) you are generally better off.
Like I said, I don't want to discourage any small car buying behavior, but that is just how it is. BTW, there is are points all crash envelopes that are not survivable in almost any vehicle, I just don't know where those points are, and how much spread there is between vehicles.
Just drive it (or any car) like it is a motorcycle, and you will be fine.
Well said, I wasnt meaning to imply the smart is the safest thing on the block either, just for the previous poster to bring up safety and then suggest miata in the same statement is kinda funny to me since in equal accidents I think the smart would fare much better.
The smart does well for what it is, a small car. But certianly it gives up some things, just not as much as many people assume on the basis of its size alone.
JThw8 wrote: Somewhere after about 2k it really breaks in nicely and is not the jerky clumsy mess that it seems. Its actually pretty enjoyable after that. Ive got about 6k on mine now. If you were closer you would be more than welcome to a test drive.
Wow. 6k mile on a car. What's that like again??? :grin::grin::grin:
I'm sure your Smart is safer than my 13 y/0 EG Civic. It's cool to see them popping up all over the place now.
I'll be curious to hear Sonics thoughts on it, too.
gamby wrote: Wow. 6k mile on a car. What's that like again??? :grin::grin::grin: I'm sure your Smart is safer than my 13 y/0 EG Civic. It's cool to see them popping up all over the place now. I'll be curious to hear Sonics thoughts on it, too.
Been a loooooong time since ive seen something new in my driveway, its definitely a different experience.
I'm sure Sonic will be along as soon as he recovers from BABE. I wish we'd have had time to do a better test drive together but we were just on a parts (or was it food) run while working on the craptacular BABE car.
honestly, i wouldn't worry about my driving whether in a Smart or a motorcylce. I worry about the idiots around me. I'm afraid of 1 thing: getting rear ended.
Anyway, why such a small car? I don't think theres much cargo room in there
Keep in mind I'm comparing this to a 92 Civic VX. 2100 lbs, 92 hp, manual everything and all that jazz.
The Smart was poised on Pontiac's rutted streets, no bouncier than what I'm used to. Road noise was a lot reduced from my Civic, though engine noise was there, but not objectionable. All controls were logically placed and ergonomics were Honda-quality, which in my book is excellent. Seats were far superior to my Civic's.
The transmission shifts like a manual does, in that there is a pause in acceleration as it upshifts, which can be disconcerting if you don't know about it. Manual mode is far superior to auto. I found it got less noticeable as I drove and practiced. Turning radius is great (duh) and manual steering seems to be the way to go. It's more than fast enough to get ahead of traffic at a light, which is fast enough for me.
It looks like you could do all your own routine maintenance, oil changes look silly easy. Aside from that though, have fun. Everything is really wedged in there, reminds me of my old 87 CRX. Cargo capacity was enough for a commuter car, I could do my grocery shopping. Think EG civic hatch, ending at the rear seat.
The only thing that really irked me was the dealer's proclivity to add on extras to orphaned cars to jump the price. The one I looked at was a Passion coupe, priced at $15,6, which is $2k over the base Passion. The options looked to be a tach/clock combo, tinted windows, fabric protector, upgraded speakers, and pinstriping. How they get $2k out of that I don't know.
I enjoyed my test drive lots, and it will come down to whether they have a good (read <$15k) one available when I look to buy in a couple months. Gonna test drive a Fit and Yaris too.
And why such a small car? When has a GRM reader ever asked why?
oh, and JThw8 - my wife really wants a Subaru 360 bus to go with it now, thanks a bunch! Post that photo again, willya?
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