Should I buy a Smart car?

[Pryderi]

I live in the city, and parking is near impossible. [on street

Do any DUers own or know someone that does?

What are the opinions?

[LynneSin]

1. I'm a big girl and I actually test drove a Smart Car

Much roomier than expected.

I also live in the city and when my Legacy dies I'm looking at that car or a Mini Cooper or a Fiat.

I don't use half of the car space that I own so why have such a big car.

[nolabear]

10. I adore my Mini. Great fun to drive, great mileage, and a parker's dream.

And it's cute as a button. Always important.

[LynneSin]

19. I am debating between a Mini or a Fiat for my next car

[kwassa]

2. Reading an auto columnist ....

His opinion:

There are better cars that get the same or better milage, and have more interior space, like the Honda Fit, which is a very popular vehicle.

The Smart car was radical when it was first introduced, but that was more than a decade ago in Europe. Now it has lots of competition.

and larger cars offer much more protection in an accident.

[NV Whino]

5. I own a FIT

And having totaled my first FIT, I can attest to their safety. Second FIT is even better, and they carry a ton of stuff. MPG is 33 around town and up and down my hill. Took it to Sonoma a few weeks ago and got 34.5. I expect I could get 35 on the highway.

[MrsBrady]

28. I drive a fit...love it

the fit is go!

[MuseRider]

3. I own one.

I bought it used, it is one of the originals that came over and were converted for use here. I love it. If I lived in the city and not out on the kinds of roads I have to drive it would be a better vehicle for me but still, I get 40 mpg routinely. Roomy enough that we have never had a problem, even with big grocery trips.

[LWolf]

31. How does it handle

snow, ice, dirt, and gravel?

[MuseRider]

39. I would check out the newer ones.

Mine was one of the first brought over and there is nowhere to get it worked on so we go around and hit and miss. Anyway, it handles well. It does blow around on the highway but you have a lot of room in a lane to blow around in Trucks don't bother it at all. It was not meant for gravel. Most of my problems, and there really are not many, are from gravel. The newer models might be better. It sits very low so I have not driven it on dirt, snow I got caught in and it is not too bad but because of where we live I opt for my super heavy 4 wheel drive truck in snow and ice. We really had no challenge with snow and ice last year so I can't say more than that.

I like that it is small like me, fast and zippy, easy to handle, can pack an amazing amount of groceries in it, feels safe and really is and I never get less than 40 mpg. Every time I leave the farm I have to use a stretch of highway and that helps I am sure. It takes me about 1 1/2 minutes to fill up the 8 gallon tank

If you only have short stretches of gravel I would look into it. I have about a mile of it to get in or out of here. I would leave it home on snow and ice but then I am chicken and do not trust all the 4 wheel drivers who drive like it is a dry race track when it is slick as can be.

IOW, I love it but it does have it's limits out here.

[LWolf]

40. I've got about 1.5 miles of gravel

and dirt (where the gravel has worn down and the road hasn't been maintained) every time I leave or come home. My Tacoma handles everything just fine, I'd just like better mpg, so I'm always looking for a car that can handle ice, snow, dirt, and gravel.

[HopeHoops]

4. If you're just using for city driving, sure. The fuckers scare the hell out of me on the highway.

They're so small that I have trouble spotting them in our mini van. I've also noticed a propensity for drivers of them to think they can just cut right in front of larger vehicles. Sure, you can probably stop one of those in five feet at 65 (slight exaggeration), but a 3200 lb vehicle will still be working on slowing down for a LONG time.

Now in the city they make sense. I liked how Steve Martin (in the "Pink Panther&quot pulled his straight in between two parallel parked cars. If they dedicated sections of the parking zones to straight-in parking only for cars below a certain length, I think the trend would catch on, and you can put twice as many of those little things in the same space as larger cars.

As for my opinion of them, they aren't as ugly as that "Cube" thing, but I wouldn't call them attractive. But that aside, it does make sense for city life.

[Pryderi]

7. I'd only use it in town. If I were to go on long trips on highways, I'd rent a car. n/t

[opiate69]

6. If you do, just make sure you don`t fart in it

[sharp_stick]

8. That's fantastic

I'll just lift that to send to my cousin with the Smart Car.

[MuseRider]

9. lol n/t

[Major Nikon]

23. It actually looks better

[opiate69]

36. Smells of elderberries, though!

[cliffordu]

11. If it's REALLY a smart car it should be able to advise you

just as well as anyone on this board....

[flvegan]

12. Depends on how much you hate yourself.

If I were looking to put a blight on my life for the next number of years, I'd get a Smart.

Here are 5 words never before spoken: I'd rather a Fiat 500.

If parking is the big obstacle, I'd offer these alternatives to the Smart, all much more comfortable, useful and more sound monetarily:
1. A pogo stick.
2. A Vespa.
3. A postage stamp on my forehead.
4. Used Yugo. No depreciation there, at least.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

14. agree

but then again I'm always wary of anything qualified by the prefix "smart". Reminds me of 'surgical strikes' etc.

[TheCruces]

17. Yep...

I rock a Vespa knock off. I love it. If I was going to buy an actual car again, it wouldn't be a smart car.

[mikeytherat]

32. A guy I worked with years ago was a former Yugo USA dealer, and he still had two Yugo...cabrios.

Yugo cabrio. Those words should not exist together in any context, no matter how absurd and/or comical. Oh, and both of them were painted a flat Kenmore white, with white alloy wheels. The "I wanted so hard to be a VW Cabrio yet failed" vibe was palpable (and anyway, why would one aspire to be an '80s VW Cabrio?). If you thought they were bad with a tinfoil roof, you should have experienced the open-top version. Especially on the roads of southwestern Virginia. In the winter.

mikey_the_rat

[Aristus]

13. My brother owns one. He loves it.

It's solidly built, incredible gas mileage, you can park it anywhere, it's a fun attention-getter, and it's big enough inside to seat comfortably my six-foot-six brother.

Go for it!...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. I drive a micro car that's 400 lbs. lighter than a Smart car

and gets about the same gas mileage. And it's a lot of fun to drive. My 1961 Renault (like the one pictured below) is only 1200 lbs. whereas the Smart comes in at over 1600. And it carries 4 adults.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

42. Is that a 4CV?

That was my dad's first car about which he still waxes fondly.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

43. Yup

[Flaxbee]

16. Consider a Honda Fit or a Mini...

I think the Fit is probably a better car for your money than a Mini, however.

A good friend of mine has a Fit and she looooves it. Very good gas mileage, compact yet roomy - she and her two Labrador-sized dogs and boyfriend and camping gear fit in it quite comfortably...

[Initech]

18. Well you could paint it like this:

[Pryderi]

20. I might go for a Scion iQ

[4_TN_TITANS]

21. I've looked at them too.. Surprised to find they are made by

Mercedes, and safer than you'd think. Still, doesn't get any better mileage than our Scion and more room in the Scion.

[RedCloud]

22. Just don't get one with a Smart Mouth like I did.

Every mile I have to hear it...

"What are you? Driving Miss Daisy?"

[pipi_k]

24. Probably OK

for city driving, but scary on the highway.

I personally wouldn't buy a car small enough to store in my purse when I'm done with it.

[mysuzuki2]

25. A Smart would be dumb

better, I think, to buy a Prius C, a Mini or a Fiat. Similar price and mileage plus you can drive them on the highway

[Pryderi]

26. Being a city dweller where parking is a premium and I don't have off-street

parking where I live, I thought the Smart car would be a good option.

[mysuzuki2]

27. I live in the city too (Milwaukee) and I understand

Although parking in Milwukee is not as bad as in many other citys. The Smart just doesn't see m to be a good all around car. A mini or fiat is not thjat much bigger and should not be much harder to park than a smart. Just my opinion. If you never leave the city, ok. But if you ever get on the highway I think there are better choices. But, isn't it great to have choices?

[Pryderi]

35. ahh...the Smart car would be our 2nd car. :) I should have clarified. My wife and I can't

drive anywhere on Friday or Saturday night or we won't be able to park when we get back.

We live near a party street in Pittsburgh on the South Side.

[MrsBrady]

29. Honda Fit

love mine.

would buy another.

[harmonicon]

30. No.

Remember Knight Rider? Kitt could be so condescending to Michael. I think you should always have a car that's dumber than you.

[mikeytherat]

33. The Mazda 2 is a nice subcompact:

mikey_the_rat

[We are Devo]

34. A used Miata is a good choice too n/t

[zipplewrath]

37. Sister belongs to some co-op

She doesn't own a car. Lives in Chicago and "rents" through some co-op. She rents what she needs when she needs it. Been more than a decade now. She's very happy.

[Pryderi]

38. Zipcar is here in Pittsburgh, but the nearest one is a mile away. Not really that convenient. :(

[Tommy_Carcetti]

41. Fact: It is impossible to look cool in a Smart Car, no matter what.

Nothing against small cars in general.

Mini Coopers are cool: They remind you of The Italian Job. You can paint a British Flag on the top of them. They're cute. Etc.

VW Bugs are cool. Groovy, even.

Smart Cars, on the other, look like a golf cart, except less practical. And their mileage is not at the level where the practicality outweighs the uncoolness. You'd have to be looking at 60-70 mph before I'd even think of buying a Smart Car.

[Shagbark Hickory]

44. Why do they just levitate in the air when you need to get out?

I mean... if "parking is impossible"... they still take up a parking space.
I don't think they'll fit in the elevator.

[Shagbark Hickory]

45. Someone had to post 'em...

graphic pictures of smart car wrecks

[We are Devo]

46. Those pics do not look real...photoshop? n/t

[Shagbark Hickory]

48. I don't know if they're real or not.

But they sure look real to me.

[Pryderi]

47. No they didn't. While you're at it, why not post some

motorcyclists in wrecks.

[progressoid]

49. Friend had one.

Engine started drinking oil and mileage dropped. The repairs would have cost nearly as much as the car itself! So they traded it for a Ford Focus.