Drove the smart car today

We've decided that the smart car is not for us. Today the "street smart" road show came to Tampa, so we finally had the chance to each take a very short test drive. But that was enough to make a decision.

Good stuff: The cars they had available are all the US model ...the slightly larger body, US engine and transmission ...the only changes that will be made prior to 2008 release will be slightly different wheels, a speedometer that displays speed as miles per hour, and an enhanced shifting system. I drove the car in 'manual' shift mode, which means I could either use paddle shifters at the steering wheel, or the stickshift to change gears on the clutchless system. The released model will have a changed gearshift. And I thought the acceleration was ok, the cars look very cool, and it was quite comfortable and roomy inside.

Bad stuff: The steering wheel position does not adjust. The horn is not easy to activate; I like to have my thumb resting on the horn button to deal with these crazy Tampa drivers, but I'd have to move my hand to get the horn on this car. And with a car this small I do want to be able to hit that horn very quickly. We've got an order in already for a Yaris and that will be primarily my car. The smart would have been primarily Shirley's car, and she wants an automatic transmission. The smart is pretty unresponsive in automatic mode. And Shirley felt that some portions of the interior and the inside door handles were a little "cheap". And she also did not like having to move the hand so much to hit the horn.

So we decided that for about the same money, we should be able to get a different car that has better performance, more storage, still be pretty small, and get about the same mileage. So far we've driven the smart, a Hyundai Accent, the Toyota Yaris, and a Honda Fit ...and have looked at a Nissan Versa.

It's a little bit of a bummer giving up on the smart, but we know we'll find something that will fit our requirements.

Comments

[Shirley]

Interesting that several others we talked to after driving the Smartcar were also unimpressed. I wonder how flat this idea will fall based on these reactions. The car gets a 10+++ for cuteness though. It was hard to admit that we should look elsewhere after being so excited about this one. But other than it's cuteness and predicted good mileage, it doesn't offer much else.

[Steve]

I was told not to use Regular gas for the Smart car, must use hi-octane, so with that additional cost for gas 40 MPG big deal.

[Cheryle]

Bummer. I fell in love with Smart cars about five years ago - I saw my very first one in Amsterdam. Even took pictures of it. I prefer to drive a stick, but the "cheapiness factor" would be a turn off for me, too. :(