A smart preview
Reports of 40+ mpg are nice, but what appealed to me even more was the simplicity and ease of getting around in something so small, and the safety features engineered into the car eased some of my concerns about its vulnerability. It’s low price didn’t hurt either. Still, it’s not a car that I’d drive everywhere, but for local use as a second or third car, it looked ideal.
Right now there are three trailers of smart cars on a preview tour of the United States. After seeing the cars up close, I think they could skip Texas and the midwest (I’ve lived in both places) and focus on the east and west coasts where the streets are more crowded and people’s egos are less tied to the size of their vehicle.
A walk around the car
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My first surprise came when I looked under the hood, which was actually a flexible pop-out plastic panel. On the car they were showing, it was attached by a canvas strap so that it wouldn’t blow away. Later, we discovered that replacements will be available in alternate colors so that you can dress your car to match your daily moods. But with that out of the way, there was way too little room for an engine in that little compartment, so in its place was a row of bottles for coolants and other important fluids. |
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The engine compartment itself was another surprise. The engine is in the rear of the car, under a panel at the bottom of the storage compartment in the back. I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be putting anything valuable back there, and if you take your fortwo to the store to pick up ice cream, I’d suggest you bring it home in the front seat. If you’re wondering how an engine could fit in a space so small, it’s a tiny 3 cylinder engine that’s better reviewed by experts. Is it enough? We’ll get to our test drive soon. |
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Our next stop around our demo car was the fuel door, which hopefully one wouldn’t have to see very often in a car this tiny. But with an 8.5 gallon tank and 40 mpg, it would still need more refills than I would like. Our guides told us that their demo cars were getting slightly better mileage than this, but I have to say that I’m still a little disappointed, because this a truly tiny car. I think that anyone willing to accept its size would also be willing to deal with a diesel engine, which in European versions, seems to yield 50+ mpg. And here in the land of Tesla Motors, a car like this begs to be electrified. |
Here my son Michael is checking out a cutaway version of the car that shows off its “tridion safety cell”, which has been brashly touted in smart tv commercials and which will hopefully hold up in real-life accidents.
He’s the first of my future drivers, and like all of them, I want him and his passengers to be safe.
The drive
Now on to the test drive. All of our drives were “chaperoned”, so first Michael, who’s 14, went for a ride with a driver. Here they are on their way out. When they returned, I got my turn. I’m no expert, but liked the car’s visibility and handling. I was a bit disappointed by its lack of punch, since it’s obviously a really light car, and I think I was unfairly comparing it to Minis which use significantly more fuel. For what it is (an inexpensive fuel efficient two-seater), I think it’s got plenty of power. And if Steve Wozniak can hit 104 in a Prius, a kid (or a dad) can still get in trouble in a smart fortwo.
This is Brian and me in the passion cabrio, a $17,000 convertible at the high end of the fortwo line. Because he was under 14, Brian didn’t get to go for a ride, but I think he enjoyed the inside and up close views that we got of the cars.
By the way, Brian’s pediatrician told him that riding in a convertible is like riding a bicycle without a helmet. Fuel for thought.
Summary
So what’s the final verdict? Honestly, I don’t know. The smart fortwo is a nice little car with a nice low price, and it looks like it will be easy to drive off the lot. The smart USA reps said that they plan to be firm on price, which to them meant no dealer markups and no customer bargaining, so a smart car purchase might be as easy as a trip to Fry’s for a flat-screen TV (which of course you won’t bring home in your fortwo).
It looks like a nice work of engineering, but in many ways, it feels as cheap as it is. That might not go over well in more affluent markets; so while I think the smart’s low price is great, I expect that there will also be a demand for nicer upgraded models.
On the drive home, I was struck by how big all the other cars on the road seemed. I’m sure we passed hundreds of sedans and SUVs, most with only a single occupant, and most driving a little too fast and paying a bit too little attention to the road. A world of smart cars could be a better place, but we’ll need to work together to make it so. I think it would be worth it. I’ll drive one if you will.
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The Smart was released in Europe a few years ago, and is now very popular, especially in Paris, where you will find some special parking slots specifically made for this car :-)
But here it isn’t as cheap as in the US (as usual, everything is more expensive in Europe). You can find other small cars at a lower price, for example the Twingo (also very popular here): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_Twingo .