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Smart Fortwo

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  • dmathews3dmathews3 Member Posts: 1,739
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQIizRp9ck
  • phartneyphartney Member Posts: 4
    Saw and read up on the Smart DIESEL. When will this be coming from the other side of the pond? It is rating it to get 80 MPG !!!!?
  • ruebezahlruebezahl Member Posts: 3
    I resent the car being called a death trap! I realize that it is one, if not the smallest vehicle currently on the road. I also owned beetles in the past where the only safety features were government imposed seat belts and a design change preventing the steering wheel column from becoming imbedded in a driver's body on frontal impact.
    There will always be larger cars on the road no matter what you own. Unless you drive a garbage truck or a commercial truck.
    Driving a smart makes one realize that one must be more on the defensive and alert than driving an older Impala for example, yet that is not the issue here. Times are a changing! Future vehicles will be more attractive just because of over crowding and the unreasonable gas cost issue. Squeezing the obese into these cars is another matter...
    I own my smart now since February and am satisfied with it, as a matter of fact I am delighted with it.
    It sat at the dealership for two weeks until I broke down and finally took it home.
    I too feared the strange transmission and the two year warranty really stinks, yet I embraced the smart and it's little foibles and have not regretted yet buying it.
    When I drive 90 mph on I-75 the mileage certainly drops and I don't do it often because the gendarmes don't appreciate it. In addition the A/C lowers the mileage too. So I then only see about 33mph all around, otherwise I get about 38 on the average with minimal A/C use. Never hit 40 mpg yet, but so what...and the transmission... it is now a non issue.
  • mmm1mmm1 Member Posts: 54
    I may want to paint the body panels on my Smart car. I have read somewhere that the panels are made of a plastic call "MIC" which I believe is a plastic with the color molded into the plastic. I was told recently that this type of plastic cannot be painted and that if they are painted the paint will not adhere well at all. I've seen pictures of Smart cars that have obviously been painted with custom designs so I am rather confused about this issue. Anyone have any information on this subject? Thanks.
  • mrc59mrc59 Member Posts: 1
    Anyone have any idea when reservations will be honored? I'm in the mid-Atlantic region.
  • mmm1mmm1 Member Posts: 54
    Don't know about reservations but I just picked up my Smart from Checkered Flag in Virginia Beach yesterday and only had to wait about 2 1/2 months on the Orphan List. I was # 160 when I got on the list in early May so that was very quick. Also, got the exact car that I had requested when I sent in my $99 and got on the reservation list.
  • terryharristerryharris Member Posts: 40
    Just came back from Canada. They have a new model, the Limited One. Really sharp. Most extras! Tan leather overall, matte brightwork, light blue exterior.
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,148
    A reporter would like to speak with Smart Car owners in the U.S., including those who are disappointed with their purchase. Please respond to jwahl@edmunds.com with your daytime contact information no later than Friday, August 8th

    MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
    Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
    Share your vehicle reviews

  • fabfabefabfabe Member Posts: 1
    My Smart Car is scheduled to arrive in November. As I've equipped it, the list price is just over $16k, including destination fee but not tax. Knowing this car is in high demand, I expect I'll have to pay the sticker price. Perhaps. Is anyone out there haggling with their dealers for a better price?
  • dmathews3dmathews3 Member Posts: 1,739
    If they aren't haggling then they should after the article I read this past weekend. It sure did rack it over the coals. I sure wouldn't buy one after that article.
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    A current review of informedforlife.org's SCORE (Statistical Combination Of Risk Elements) gives the 2009 Smart Fortwo 2-Dr. a score of 162. This is the poorest score of ANY vehicle tested and comes in DEAD LAST! Which is what you'll be if you get in a serious accident inside this death trap.

    It ranks in the "worst 10% for 2003-2009."

    http://www.informedforlife.org/demos/FCKeditor/UserFiles/File/1MasterSCOREr.pdf
  • swtnlovablswtnlovabl Member Posts: 4
    I Have A EUROPEAN 2005 Smart Fortwo made by Mercedes, and I get about 54mpg, Mine does NOT have a Mitsubishi engine !! :shades:
  • swtnlovablswtnlovabl Member Posts: 4
    A Safe Smart Car

    The smart car designers must have known that the size of the smart would raise questions of safety. In the event of an accident, how are occupants better protected beyond door beams, seat belts and airbags?

    Design a safety shell, like a walnut, and make it very strong. This high-strength "Tridion" frame has the ability to absorb tremendous impact, and although no automaker can guarantee against injury, to date this is the single-most important element of the smart.

    three-star (out of four) European safety rating for Mercedes-Engine fortwo

    Completed in April 2008, U.S. safety ratings on the 2008 smart models provided an overall four-star rating out of five. European ratings range from one star to four stars. U.S. ratings range from one star to five stars.

    The smart has ranked competitively with similar-size and much larger cars. The following video is a graphic example of how this car performs in a designed crash at 70 MPH into a concrete barrier. You may be amazed by the result.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    Just can't help yourself, can you? :P
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    You are clearly in denial.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    And you are clearly stuck in repeat mode, strangely so in a thread about a car in which you have no interest in buying or driving.
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    People have a right to know the truth about the "Smart." Wouldn't you love to suppress every negative article about it, such as the one reported by dmathews3 in post #315?
  • dmathews3dmathews3 Member Posts: 1,739
    Why me, because I spoke the truth. I dug out the aricle in my Lansing State Journal Business Weekly section on Labor Day. This article was written by Mark Phelan of the Detroit Free Press. Headline is "Smart Fortwo fashionable but flawed. He compares it to the Aveo, Fit, Versa, Scion XB or the Mini Cooper. He states they are all superior to vastly superior. They have more room, power better rides and higher quality. Interior cheap materials like nubby fabric on doors, poor fitted carpet & floor mats plus cupholders to small to hold a large capuccino securely. Latch on rear window broke and couldn't be closed. Poor shift quality, engine vibration annoying and on an on. I suggest you find the article and read it yourself as it sure didn't do them any good. Reminds me of the Yugo roadtests of old. And we all know how long those things lasted.
    Here is the article http://tinyurl.com/6dcjyb
    :lemon: :sick: :P
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    dmathews3, thanks for your input and link to the illuminating and profoundly negative article.

    There is one factor that the article did not mention: the Smart is a more dangerous vehicle than any of the far better quality competitors to which it was compared. ALL of them score better on the informedforlife.org safety analyses.

    As the article says, and I quote, "If you want good value and quality in a small, fuel-efficient car, buy a Chevrolet Aveo, Honda Fit, Mini Cooper, Nissan Versa or Scion xB. If you want cute, adopt a puppy."
  • dmathews3dmathews3 Member Posts: 1,739
    My wife just spent 25K on a new kitchen so maybe I would take the Smart over the puppy in this case. :shades:
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    You might want to re-think that. The puppy can be housebroken, the Smart cannot!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    People have a right to know the truth about the "Smart." Wouldn't you love to suppress every negative article about it, such as the one reported by dmathews3 in post #315? Of course people have a right to know, and every bias and slant can be heard for all I care. But you come back and come back to a forum where you are hostile to anyone that finds a reason to like the car or want to buy it.

    There is reason to wonder when someone becomes a fanatical naysayer in a forum where others are coming to share their experiences, ask questions, or explain why a model might satisfy their particular needs. Sounding your warning once or twice or three times even I can see. But you have nothing new to say that you haven't said before, and you aren't persuaded by any of the reasons that people who own the car chose it, Why should you be surprised when people aren't persuaded by your postings? You have almost no experience with the car, but you have sure have taken it on as a crusade regardless.

    Everyone measures different things. For every negative article (and I have read several) there is another that approves the little beast. I considered the smart and rejected it, but friends bought smarts and couldn't be happier with their purchases. It still has higher safety ratings than the littlest Kia or Hyndai or Aveo, and I'd much rather be in an accident in a smart than on a scooter or motorcycle. But that's just me.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    You might want to re-think that. The puppy can be housebroken, the Smart cannot! Ok, your stature has grown with me...you have a sense of humor. :)
  • swtnlovablswtnlovabl Member Posts: 4
    Ok U guys are talking about the smart cars being manufactured for the USA, So maybe ur right on the safety , all Im saying is that mine is NOT made for the USA it is the european model and was imported has a mercedes engine and it gets VERY GOOD SAFETY RATINGS !!! :blush:
  • dakota29803dakota29803 Member Posts: 56
    For safety evaluations from a group that has credentials that count, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, see this link:

    http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr051408.html
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    It's been made about as safe as a car that small and inexpensive can be with current technology. Today, going to work, I passed someone driving an old Beetle (pre-1998). Now there was a popular small car that is indisputably a greater "death trap" than any smart. Got to thinking about all the cars on the road yet which have no airbags (or only one) and no safety cage engineering per se. They are more common than motorcycles and scooters.
  • swtnlovablswtnlovabl Member Posts: 4
    once again I have a european 2005 shipped here from europe, its is NOT the same car that is coming to the US with a mitsubishi engine, the ratings on 2005 are AWESOME !!

    http://en.autos.sympatico.msn.ca/reviews/marc_lachapelle/article.aspx?cp-documen- tid=635923
  • plektoplekto Member Posts: 3,738
    Not surprising, since highway MPG is directly related to the engine's displacement(you only need ~35hp to overcome air resistance, IIRC - the rest is there for hills and so on), since the engines are mostly idling/using as little fuel as possible.
  • dakota29803dakota29803 Member Posts: 56
    I can state for a fact that some of the information in this list is inaccurate. I have one of the first 300 Kia Rondos sold in the US and it has side airbags. the list says w/oSAB and is therefore wrong.
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    Did all of the Kia Rondos sold in the US have SAB?

    The list overall presents the single best evaluation of the overall safety of vehicles. It takes into consideration the results of both NHTSA and IIHS data along with other variables.
  • dakota29803dakota29803 Member Posts: 56
    Yes!
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    Occasional variations or errors aside, the list overall still presents the single best evaluation of the overall safety of vehicles. As I said, it takes into consideration the results of both NHTSA and IIHS data along with other variables.
  • scwmcanscwmcan Member Posts: 399
    I think it is the other variables that may take this from a scientific conclusion to an opinion of one group (or individual) they have no tests of their own they just arbitrarily pick a percentage to weigh the data by, generally putting a lot of emphasis on weight and other variables besides the crash test data. For example there is no reason for the 2007 and 2008 smart for two to have different results, they are exactly the same car. In any case I understand that you put a lot of faith on this data and that is fine, you have stated your position and I think everyone gets that you and this organization think that the smart is the most unsafe car on the road, fine, now move on, others have differing criteria when purchasing their car, let them decide for themselves if this data is relevant to their decision or not, and please stop posting the same thing time and time again.
  • fireant7141fireant7141 Member Posts: 1
    I'am in IN. and I can't seem to find a Dealer. Can anyone help me?
  • snakeweaselsnakeweasel Member Posts: 19,324
    Where in IN? I know of two in the Chicago area but it will be a ride even if your are in NW IN.

    Go to the Smart website they have a dealer locator. Just remember that these cars are being sold only in larger metro areas so if your out in the country you may have a drive to find a dealer.

    2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D

  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    There is all of one (1) dealer in Indiana, in Indianapolis!

    http://www.smartusa.com/smart-usa-find-a-dealer.aspx

    OTOH, Chevy has 129 dealers in Indiana, more than "Smart" has in the entire country! Get yourself an Aveo which is safer, faster and better in every way. Besides, it's a REAL car!

    http://www.internetautoguide.com/car-dealers/19-int/chevrolet/indiana/index.html- -
  • dennismaudennismau Member Posts: 14
    An Aveo is the biggest piece of junk that was ever made! I have a Smart for Two and I get 43-45 mpg every week going back and forth to work and let me tell you it is a WONDERFUL car! Best car I ever had! Joy to drive and park and I have not had one problem with it. If you do not have a Smart for Two don't knock them you do not know what you are talking about.

    Dennis
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    Excuse me, but there you go again. Why you monitor this site is beyond me. You the caped crusader?? :P the Aveo is not safer than the smart. The Aveo is an old Daewoo design. It should have at least been offered with side airbags as optional. It does not have good crash ratings.
  • prigglypriggly Member Posts: 642
    The Aveo IS safer than the Smart according to the authority informedforlife.org. The Aveo has a lower score (lower is better) than the Smart although I see the Smart score has risen over time. However, I still doubt it will ever be anything but a death trap, in my opinion. Furthermore, when the novelty factor wears off it will likely go the way of the Yugo or Lada. Why anyone would prefer it to a, say, Chevy Aveo or Honda Fit or Nissan Versa or similar real car, is simply beyond me.
  • snakeweaselsnakeweasel Member Posts: 19,324
    The Aveo IS safer than the Smart according to the authority informedforlife.org.

    The big question is just who is informedforlife.org and what is the basis for their decision?

    The site uses IIHS (which puts the Smart safer than the Aveo) and NHTSA (which puts the Aveo safer in some aspects and the Smart safer in others) and uses what I would consider a questionable methodology to come to some conclusions. In short I wouldn't take what they say to seriously.

    Why anyone would prefer it to a, say, Chevy Aveo or Honda Fit or Nissan Versa or similar real car, is simply beyond me.

    Well first off the Smart is a real car, secondly as a second commuter type car it is better than the Aveo, Fit, Versa or any other car simply due to its low cost and much better gas mileage (Smart 33 city vs 33 highway for the other cars). Plus its rather fun to drive, have you driven one?

    2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    I have seen quite clearly that it is beyond you. You are blind to why people buy the car, and why the Aveo would likely not be cross-shopped with a smart. For many reasons, I prefer the smart to a motorcycle or scooter as transport. Its appeal (or novelty factor as you put it) is only part of the equation. It is small which is very appealing (park anywhere, no need to be carrying a back seat that is never used), gets good mileage, and has equipment usually only seen on expensive cars and not available at all on the Aveo. The Aveo blends in, the smart stands out. It is another choice, one which some people gravitate toward. It is polarizing. A smart buyer would likely not be intereste in an Aveo. To try to argue a smart buyer out of the purchase seems silly, when the whole basis of anti-smart thinking doesn't hold much weight to the smart buyer. If everyone weighed the same factors in a car purchase, we would have very few options within the various vehicle classes.
  • dennismaudennismau Member Posts: 14
    Before I bought my Smart Car I drove all those cars you mentioned but the Smart car fulfilled my needs better than any of them. It gets better mileage(I'm getting 43-45mpg driving back and forth to work), it's more comfortable with more room, it's more fun to drive, and because of it's really small size it has many advantages in parking and maneuverability that are hard to describe. I ride a motorcycle and the Smart Car approaches the motorcycle in this respect. After having a small car like this I will never get a big car again for a commuter car or around town car.

    Dennis
  • plektoplekto Member Posts: 3,738
    The Aveo IS safer than the Smart according to the authority informedforlife.org.

    The problem that they have is that they unfairly bias their results not based upon actual testing but they give it a massive penalty because of weight. They obviously have an axe to grind, because no other site out there uses such a screwed up criteria - at least not that's weighted to the point of overpowering all other concerns.

    ***
    (a) frontal impact fatality risk points (average vehicle = 38, including vehicle weight influence) Net score: 94.3.

    So while it actually appears to have scored closer to the average for most cars - about a 35-40 rating, they inflate this by a whopping *50* points because in their minds, it's too light. No scientific data, mind you... just too light.

    They also hugely inflate the rollover risk as well, since the entire cabin was specifically designed to act as a roll cage. Mercedes assumed that it would likely roll over in a crash and factored that into the design. But what would the IIHS and ENCAP know about cars compared to informedforlife ?

    They give the 2009 MIni Cooper a 53.4 - worse than the Yaris, despite getting virtually identical scores on crash tests AND weighing more. The data isn't jiving with reality.

    Yaris - 2377lbs - 37.6
    Mini - 2491lbs - 53.5

    NHTSA front risk rating is exactly the same for both cars at 13%.

    So why the inflation? I smell B.S. here. Doubly so when you compare this:

    Yaris 3 door - 2317lbs - 54.5 NHTSA 10% 5/4 stars
    Yaris 4 door - 2377lbs - 37.6 NHTSA 13% 4/4 stars

    Que? Gets better scores and yet gets that many more points for front impact risk?

    :P :lemon: :P
  • rdryggrdrygg Member Posts: 3
    I neglected to order power steering which is an option.Has anyone driven a smart with no power steering, howdoes it handle?
  • plektoplekto Member Posts: 3,738
    IMO, it handles far better. The car is honestly go-kart light on the steering since it's RWD and weighs about as much as a 1950s Bug.
  • dennismaudennismau Member Posts: 14
    My Smart car does not have power steering. I feel you are better off without it because the car is so light in the front end being rear wheel drive that on the highway especially in a crosswind it is more stabile without power steering. Alot of Smart owners with power steering are even disengaging it for these reasons.

    Dennis
  • rdryggrdrygg Member Posts: 3
    wow, thanks everyone for the great info. I wouldn't have known any of that. I am supposed to pick it up this weekend, will take a long test drive if they'll let me!
  • ruebezahlruebezahl Member Posts: 3
    I don't believe it. Bumpers are flexible on regular cars and are painted too.
    An alternative is to have the smart wrapped. :blush:
  • highrisehighrise Member Posts: 4
    I reserved my smart in February, 2008 in Dallas, TX and was told that I could expect delivery in 9 to 10 months. That means I should have expected to have it by December 2008. However, the delivery date estimator shows a delvery date of October to December of 2009, a full year later that I was told. I've questioned smartusa and my salesperson about how a 10 month wait turned in to a 22 month wait and I'm basically told "that's the way it is." I'm very frustrated and on the verge of cancelling and buying a Yaris. Is anyone else experiencing an extreme delay in the delivery of their smart?

    I really wanted this as a daily driver, but a nearly two year wait is unreasonable. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    Supply and demand changes. They can only import so many. If you can't wait, you buy something else. You should be aware that Toyota will be marketing the iQ under the Scion brand next year. It provides another tiny, high mileage alternative.
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