How Small Would You Go?

[Nigal]

The Smart Car is coming to America!

http://www.cs.unm.edu/~aaron/images/europeweb/SmartCar-10.jpg

http://www.smartcarofamerica.com/images/stories/smart_fortwo_cabrio_tailor_.jpg

They are supposed to be very safe, get 40+ MPG, top speed 90 MPH and start out at about $12,000 US. So how small would you go? I think it's just too small for me. If gas was like $7 a gallon, maybe.

[eTiMaGo]

gimme a classic mini any day over that :wink:

[churp]

I'd drive one in a minute! But with a price and efficiency so similar to the Yaris....cute doesn't win out over space/practicality.

[Edd]

I've looked into the smart cars. They are too plasticy/cheap looking inside, considering they are $23K AU (Yaris is $16K). The do seem underpowered, but are so light it doesn't matter. I'd love one for parking and manouvering, but as I said, the interior (last I looked) was way too cheap looking for the price (not that a $23K car should have chrome and leather or anything).

EDIT: Turns out they have gone down to $20K now and are more powerful, very worthy of consideration. :)

[Nigal]

Good for parking? Hell, you could pick it up and just chain it to the rack with the bikes. Haha!

[Violin]

I just might consider the convertible version. I'd have to stay off the truck lanes of the NJ Turnpike though. I already feel like a mouse in an elephant herd.

[brickhardmeat]

Those Aygos are farkin radical. I'd drive the hell out of one of those.

[nsmitchell]

The Citroen looks a lot like the Yaris.
http://www.channel4.com/4car/media/C/citroen/c1/03-large/05-red-f3q-f.jpg

Those gull wing doors and molding make it look mighty bad ass though!

[steved]

I've seen quite a few smarts in the Montreal area, they are way to small for my taste. the yaris is about as small as I'll go.

I saw a smart the other day in traffic in between two semi-trucks and I felt scared for the smart driver. :eyebulge:

[redyaris]

Where do I sign up? Whats the mileage on the Smart?

Wait, it has no rear passenger space correct? I cant use it. Scratch that.

[Astroman]

http://www.peugeotboard.de/uploads/newbb/3907_442102c7b4d7b.jpg
I'd sport that! So who's going to design a gull-wing for the yaris :laugh:

[blacksan]

All things considered it would do what the yaris is doing for me now which is mostly work commuting.

[BailOut]

I looked hard at the Smart Fortwo before deciding on the Yaris. Despite its small size and 3-cylinder engine it only gets the same MPG the Yaris, it has the same emissions the Yaris, it costs about the same a Yaris, but it has less than half the seating room and cargo space.

Where I come from that's not a good deal.

[RodimusPrime]

Not pactical in most terms. Unless you're a college student living off campus I couldn't see any other use for it. The Yaris still holds it's thrown.

[stuffy]

I looked hard at the Smart Fortwo before deciding on the Yaris. Despite its small size and 3-cylinder engine it only gets the same MPG the Yaris, it has the same emissions the Yaris, it costs about the same a Yaris, but it has less than half the seating room and cargo space.

Where I come from that's not a good deal.


i know that for the u.s., they have put in a more powerful gasoline engine, but i know the diesel engine in the current model here in canada achieves 65+ mpg.
some people have milked them for more than that, i imagine you could probably do wonderful things with a smart, bailtout!

[flint_mica_manual]

I already get better than 40 mpg. If the thing got closer to 80. . I'd drive one in a heartbeat. 'Course that depends on who made it -- a daewoo, peugeot, or renault, or some junk. . .I'd pass.

[stuffy]

i bet you could get 80 if you are getting better than 40 with the yaris,

it is made by mercedes

[PetersRedYaris]

[QUOTE=Nigal;98003]The Smart Car is coming to America! QUOTE]

Coming??? Theres been one down the street from me for a couple months now. They are TINY! I like them but need 4 seats.

[Yaris Revenge]

Coming??? Theres been one down the street from me for a couple months now. They are TINY! I like them but need 4 seats.

That would HAVE to be a ZAP retrofit model... ZAP out of California buys used Smarts, imports them, and retrofits them to meet US crash requirements. They've been doing that for awhile, but they charge $25k and up, so only the totally cracked out eco-nuts have bought them. :biggrin: Otherwise, you can't get a Smart into the States (well, you can, but you can't drive it!).

I'm in full agreement with BailOut. I like them A LOT (seriously!), but they're simply not competitively priced. It's a niche car, designed for someone who can afford to be trendy. Now, if that diesel was available in the US, that might be another story. But the gas-powered one doesn't cut it when compared to other vehicles in the same price range. :thumbdown:

BTW, that new Aygo is incredible! I'd snatch that up in a heartbeat! :drool:

~YR

[ThunderStik]

Here are some vids with the smart.

Second vid down.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=121201

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=121201

[ceres]

Depending where the car and myself are at a few years down the line, I might get one. However, there's a good chance by then I'll be needing a car seat in the back and a stroller in the trunk so I may never go smaller than the Yaris.

[brickhardmeat]

ew babies are gross, yuck

[mikeukrainetz]

theres a ton of them around here, they sell 20 or so a month. my wife met a few people who own them and they thought they were awful. Horrible on the highway and expensive. If you ever listen to one drive by they sound like motorbikes not the engine noise but sounds like its chain driven.
From what I gather you can buy different colour body panels meaning you could change your car in a weekend.
Mercedes will soon be offering a sedan version of the smart.

[ThunderStik]

I dont know if it is logical to buy one when the sub market is starting to get crowded (even moreso in the next few years) with good small cars that get as good or better mpg's and more room.

[weaponrcamry]

Not that small, especially with these crazie a$$ people. That is a hazard...


http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/il/lp/2007/0611/captain.video.jpg

U probably can't see the picture to well but here is the official link..

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/FeaturesLanding

[stuffy]

Mercedes will soon be offering a sedan version of the smart.


really? they just stopped producing the 4 seater and roadster model (both europe only) because the company has not made money since it's inception.
where did you hear that mikeukrainetz?

[petesimac]

The prices I've seen for the Smart car are higher than Yaris.