Smart Car for the gf...?

[Francis]

Hey guys,
Another off topic post, but, hey it's slow here in the winter.

My girlfriend has been saving for two years and is going to pull the trigger soon on a new or almost new car.

Background: We were originally looking at the Subaro Impreza Wagon, Honda Fit, maybe even the new Volvo hatchabsk, that sort of stuff. She lives in Bethesda with me and commutes to Silver Spring. Some days she goes down the beltway, some days she goes down East West. Not a major commute. I have my F-250, 2500 Suburban, and Honda CR-V.

Well, we went to the auto show this weekend and she fell in love with the Smart Car. I did not hate it. I like the fact that it's simple (3 cyl gas motor in the back directly over the rear tires) it's cheap (base is like 14k, tops out at around 20)

I can't get over the small size of it. I think it would have adequate power because it is so small and light, and it's so simple I can't imagine it having too many defects but I am mostly concerned with the safety of it.

Anyone have one as a 2'nd 3'rd of 4'th car or know anyone that does? And, if so, what do you think of them. Again, this was not even an option until she fell in love with them and the price of them at the auto show this weekend so I have not done very much reserach on them.

Thanks guys!

[Hockleyneck]

A friend's wife has a Smart car and likes it. No major issues, but she has a short commute. I do not know the crash ratings in the smart cars, but they are small. Highway speeds maybe a concern as well. I would not want a loved one driving such a small car everyday, there are too many careless people on the road.

[drewzim]

I'm sure they have benefits but......

[mrobertson]

Not a smart car but my g/f just bout a 2011 nissan versa hatchback. She commutes about 30 miles one way to work. So far she loves it and me being a bigger guy, it has plenty of room.

We looked at and test drove every hatchback and she thought the nissan rode/drove the best.

I could not get past the look of the smart car........man that thing looks strange!!!

[ictalurus]

I looked at them briefly when we were looking for a new car, which was a few years ago, so everything I saw is probably out of date. At the time, their gas mileage wasn't that great given how small they are (~35mpg). That might have changed. What turned me off was a video showing a crash test. There was a lot of engine intrusion into the driver's area. That's probably given seeing how small the car is. At the time, I didn't see much advantage to the Smart Car to warrant buying it over any other regular compact that would have more room. We ended up with a VW Golf TDI that routinely gets 43mpg, but diesel has since gone up in price quite a bit. Last time I checked, which has been a while, the break even point between a diesel and gas car in terms of fuel costs was around 38mph.

Just my $0.02, and your mileage may vary.

[Salmo trutta]

So you were looking at wagons and now going to a smart car? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. They are expensive for what you get. Nothing more than a motorcycle with a roof. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
VW jetta diesel wagon, 5 cylinder, 50 mpg. Done deal. Plenty of torque for a 15' whaler, did I say 50 mpg?! No kidding. That thing beat the all time gas mileage record with something in the 60s. The new ones are almost as quiet as a 4 stroke. VW has had diesel engines in this country for a long time and have the technology right. However, my wife and I just got rid of her 2004 GLI 6 cylinder VW jetta as that thing was a piece of crap. Fast as a mustang and handled like a BMW but just junk. Get an extended warranty just in case. Getting to simple things like a battery, oil filter, alternator, are not easy. <o:p></o:p>
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If you don’t like the VW jetta wagon, get the golf, in diesel or the GTI. You’ll be blown away how well they can handle. <o:p></o:p>
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The Volvo Xcountry is sweet too. My cousin has the turbo diesel in England and loves it. He's a cop too and knows how to drive. You can't get the diesel here but can the 4 stroke and they can get up and go. Plenty of room, off-road or snow moving machines and very competitive gas mileage. <o:p></o:p>

[reeltor]

VW jetta diesel wagon, 5 cylinder, 50 mpg. Done deal. Plenty of torque for a 15' whaler, did I say 50 mpg?! No kidding. That thing beat the all time gas mileage record with something in the 60s. The new ones are almost as quiet as a 4 stroke. VW has had diesel engines in this country for a long time and have the technology right.

I have a friend with the Sportwagon TDI and she LOVES it. 4 cyl turbo with great gas mileage and so far its held up nicely. Only caveat is she had to wait 6 months to get hers, but if you are going new its nice to have one built to your specs.

I also have a very "green" friend with a Smart car and he couldn't be happier. I drove it and enjoyed the ride. Funky shifting with a slight hesitation but no big deal. Very roomy inside for its size. Personally, I wouldn't put my wife in one. Too risky for my taste.

[one fish]

would scare me. just looks like a serious injury waiting to happen.

[Barefoot]

Francis, surely you are familiar with the law of gross tonnage...

[Peltz]

Check out the new Mazda 2. It has been in Japan and Europe for awhile. On the small side and inexpensive. On another note, I have two friends with diesel Volkswagen Jettas and both had a lot of problems with them once they got above 50k miles or so.

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsMain&vehicleCode=MZ2#/exterior

[HJS]

I briefly looked at the Smart Car, not because I'd buy one, but just out of curiousity. I too was disappointed at the mpg, mid-upper 30s. Couple of months ago I talked to a lady at the supermarket who just stepped out from a Smart Car. She commented about the surprisingly low mpg considering its size. She also said that the European version of the Smart Car got about 60+ mpg. Guess the stricter USA pollution standards put a serious crimp in the efficiency of the Smart Car.

BTW, I think I've driven waaay over 1 million miles during my 45 years of driving (to include 15,000 miles in Vietnam) and have had only 2 minor fender bender accidents and a near miss by a 81MM mortar (blew out the radiator and both front tires). I've since always been a very defensive driver, so I just can't get too worked up over the safety rating of a car.

[ste6168]

I drove a smart car for about 2 hours once (with no intent to purchase, just to play). An old friend of mine is/was a financial manager at a benz/smart car dealer and let me take one out. Being my daily driver is an F150, when I got into the thing it felt tiny on the road. I did not like how the transmission shifting gears worked/felt, and overall was not happy with the speed of the car from a standstill, or merging onto a highway. Really not for me. I will stick with the gas guzzler for now!

[Popster]

Francis,

I know this may not be what she wants, but use it as a comparison. My wife just bought a Hyundai Elantra Touring Wagon (hatchback) for 17K. It gets 33 on the road and around 30 in Smibland. It has lots of room and the rear seats fold for big payloads. Did I mention the 10 year/100K warranty and airbags + a little mass for the gross tonnage rule.

My daughter's 05 Corolla gets even better mileage. Other daughter's Scion Xd's mileage beats them all.

[Seahunter]

[FONT=Tahoma]VW jetta diesel wagon, 5 cylinder, 50 mpg. Done deal. Plenty of torque for a 15' whaler, did I say 50 mpg?! No kidding. That thing beat the all time gas mileage record with something in the 60s. The new ones are almost as quiet as a 4 stroke. VW has had diesel engines in this country for a long time and have the technology right.

I'm a sales rep for a German manufacturing company in Nürnberg. My wife was looking at a TDI. I asked my German colleagues what they thought about VW. After the moan subsided, they all told me "I wouldn't own a VW if they gave it to me". That was good enough for me. I went out and bought another Honda instead.

[goose70]

As for safety, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the Smart Car its highest rating, although I suppose the real world safety can vary depending on with what you collide and how. For that matter, I would not want my loved ones in an SUV without stability control.

That said, I agree with the other posters that you can do better for about the same money -- both in terms of fuel economy and usefulness. Has she looked at a Corolla? The new Jetta? A Ford Focus? From what I can see, the primary advantage of the Smart Car is parking. So unless she drives primarily in DC, Manhatten Island or Köln, I don't see it as a great choice.

Edit: Oops, scratch the Jetta recommendation based on Seahunter's post. My sister likes hers, but she has less than 5k on it.

[kwk]

Hell, Francis. Surely you can let your GF drive one of your 3 vehicles ...

[Hippie Joe]

KWK, now that's a REAL commitment.

[kwk]

I just read Francis's other thread about feeling superior to his neighbors in the power outage. If he had a lick of sense he would buy a couple of inverters, hook 'em up to his trucks, and "barter" the resulting electricity for something he could really use, like gasoline ...

[Bottom Knocker]

I heard smart car needs high test fuel... Too small for me and mine..We like the subarus..

[hackeyfly]

Sad days when $14k is considered a "cheap" car ...I'll continue living off the scraps of the wealthy until I retire(or get one o' them $100k/year jobs)
Pat in Joppa

[Francis]

Hell, Francis. Surely you can let your GF drive one of your 3 vehicles ...

Hah, yeah right!

Naw sometimes she takes the truck to work when I am doing something but more times than not I drop her off int he morning and she takes the bus home. One thing about Bethesda is you can take the bus or metro to wherever you need to go.

[Graybeard]

Eminent Brothers,
2 people in lovely Cape St Claire have them, they are both female and they both love them....or so they say. All the kids make fun of them and call them FartCars. Not too much room for groceries or for your normal female mall shopping. I see them on Rt 50 during my morning commute and they can pretty much keep up with the rest of the traffic. But they look downright scary when near an 18 wheeler. Considering their puney size and all you have to give up, their milage isn't all that good compared to the other gas powered mini-cars.

[ste6168]

I'm a sales rep for a German manufacturing company in Nürnberg. My wife was looking at a TDI. I asked my German colleagues what they thought about VW. After the moan subsided, they all told me "I wouldn't own a VW if they gave it to me". That was good enough for me. I went out and bought another Honda instead.

Before my F150, I had a '98 VW Jetta that I absolutely LOVED, and actually regret getting rid of her to this day. I had some problems here and there, but nothing major. Mostly small electrical problems (switches going bad, lights burning out, gauges stopped working... once, etc), but never any major problems. When something stopped working, it was usually an inexpensive DIY repair.

[joe117]

I saw a road test where they compared Focus, VW TDi, Smart Car and one other I can't remember...... But Smart Car was the worst of all as far as MPG.

[J bones]

Smart Car is a gimmick death trap unless you are using exclusively for city driving and parking.

[fishinblues]

I have been involved with the repairs to a few smart cars that were involved in collisions. They are remarkably strong and faired well in the accidents. Most were moderate speed front and rear end dual vehicle accidents. They have appear to have good energy management. I think they are so light weight they bounce off other vehicles easily, and that is what keeps the damage down. I would not want to take one on the highway and wreck. Nothing beats gross weight in a collision. If you got sandwiched in a good collision I think you would be in trouble.
I would opt for a Mini instead.

[night nurse]

would not put anyone I loved in one of them. do the vw TDI and go 250k miles

[goose70]

One thing about Bethesda is you can take the bus or metro to wherever you need to go.

Problem solved! But if she gets a car anyway, I hope that she goes for the mini with the pink British Jack so that only she can use it.:))