I rent them all the time when I am in the EU. They are great if you are staying in a city, but I really don't like the way it is on a motorway. The Merc A class is a pretty good car, but we don't get it in the US.

btw....I watched your video...... good music, but a dreary day. You should have stopped by Wide World of Cars. My favorite Ferrari store to buy from.

 

Fwiw try to be sure to rent one with power steering, apparently it is much better feeling on the freeway then the non-power steering cars. Also if the tire pressure is off (and they are often not correct front/rear for the staggered tires) it will effect the car's handling - correcting it helps stability. I think the Euro versions of the car still have a different transmission then the US car, as well as different engine compression, but that's prob unrelated to what you are referring to.

 

I think it's great that many automobile manufacturers are getting on more seriously to the lean and efficient market. I'm sure they will keep on improving. I think MINI and the SMART cars are build for different reason. MINI geared more toward fun to drive and at the same time it happens to offer very nice MPG. The SMART is mainly for economy, and maybe abit of fun (of course, as you all see that's highly subjective). So to get one or another really depends on what you wanted.

Just to throw one more into the mix, VW is coming up w/ a Deisel Hybrid car:

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/03/revealed-volksw.html

Certainly not as cute ... ar, I mean to say "good looking"... as MINI, but at nearly 70mpg, it also worth checking out:

 

peanut_man, the pups in your sig are sooo adorable It had to be said, OT or not :D

edit, here, this is back on topic

Snap from the meet this weekend

 

cute! im glad you made this thread! i love SMART cars and i want to get one with the black stripe going down the side. itll be fun forsure!

 

As a MINI and smart owner ( a little over a month) I must echo what eVal has already pointed out. Both great cars for different reasons. The smart tranny does take some getting used to but with 1000 miles on our smarty, I've pretty much gotten the hang of it. Don't run it in Drive, use the manual option or the paddles. As far as a long highway commute, I had to p/u the smart in SoCal as there is no dealer in LV. Varied the speed on the return trip to help the break-in process but the car had no problem keeping up with traffic at 70-75 on the freeway when I wanted to. Some minor aerodynamic effects as might be expected with the tall stance and short and narrow wheelbase, but not uncomfortable at all. After a month + and 1k miles, we're still glad we got it. BTW, the first tank that I filled both ends of I got 36.4 mpg in all city driving. Tomorrow when I fill up I expect it to be better as I've mastered the shift scheme better than that first tank.

tm

 

I looked into owning a Smart. I have liked them ever since I saw them over in Europe back in 2001. But I think I'll keep my Mini.
The models selling here in the states, as I understand it, need to run on High Octane gasoline. The tiny engine needs that to perform well. So you don't really save much at the pump.
And the gear box on the standard models has some really quirky problems between second and third gear. Everyone complains about that.
I also hear tell that the gas mileage sucks if you go over over 60 MPH, and trying to pass a truck at that speed is not recommended. The car just doesn't have the horse power to pass anything at over 60 MPH, unless you have miles to get around whatever you wish to pass.
The Smart is a good car for around town, but if you do a lot of highway driving like I do, drive the Mini. It gets better gas mileage and it's a lot more fun to drive.

 

All this talk about Smart Car's, and Toyota IQ's really gets my goat. All of sudden everyone is looking for a small, economical, fun to drive car. Let me tell you that type of vehicle has been here before. Before I bought "Nugget" I was the proud owner of a 98" Chevy Metro (Formerly Geo Metro). Brand new they sold for 10K, (I paid 7K for mine with 6,000 miles on it!) and they beat the Smart and IQ hands down. The 3 Cylinder, 5 speed transmission gave me 45 MPG around town, with a pretty good excelleration rate. I cruised at 75 MPH, no problem, and at that speed I consistantly got 50 MPG on the highway. The ride compared to my Dodge Stratus, and were as fun to drive and easy to park as my Mini. I had 127K on mine and it had never been in the shop for ANYTHING! I April 2007 I had to let her go when I was rear ended by a 92 POS pickup truck. The Metro took a direct hit at about 60 MPH and was totalled. I walked away. (The 16 year old that was driving was on her cell-phone and changing a CD!)

What happened to the Metro's?

My theory about why they went away revolves around the Hybrids. Why would someone pay 22-25K for a hybrid that gets 40 MPG, when you could have bought a Metro for 10-11K and got better gas mileage! When the hybrids first came out, the claim was 70 MPG, boy that sure dropped fast. Must have been a performance issue! I think Chevy/Geo was forced to quit making them to make room for Hybrid buyers. What a loss!

Anyway, I love Nugget, even if he does have a CVT. I'll pass on the Smart For Two, and wait for the Metro to come back!

Any former Metro owners here?

 

^ Not an owner, but did drive one several times.

It was a good mode of transportation for the money . . . but it is a bit of a stretch to say it was as fun to drive as a Mini.

 

The Honda Insight can get 70 MPG or more if driven right. There is a huge reason why many would rather have a Prius, (45 MPG average in real world city/hi-way driving), than a Geo Metro. The Prius is as big on the inside as a Camry, it's comfortable, available with all kinds of neat options, it's quiet, (even extremely quiet in town on electric only). Up until recently a big tax credit was available to buyers. The batteries are protected by a long warranty. The little dashboard display is neat and encourages trying to maximize mpg. It's a car that should not shock someone used to the luxury and comfort of a modern mid-priced vehicle.

The Geo was basic transportation.

My guess is they quit making the Geo because there was a lot more profit in SUVs, and they were selling SUVs as fast as they could make them.

 

If you paid 22K for a Pirus vs 12K for a Metro (Brand new) you would NEVER recoup the cost difference in gas over the life of the car (10-12 Years). Even if you drove the Pirus like a grandma, and drove the Metro like a mainiac, (70 MPG vs 35 MPG) you would never make up the cost difference. Do the math.

Pirus:
100,000/70Mpg=1428 gals X $3.00 per gal = $4, 285

Metro:
100,000/35MPG=2857 Gals X $3.00 per Gal = $8,571

Operational cost difference: Metro@ $8,571-Pirus@ $4285 = $4, 286

Cost to purchase difference = $10,000+

Give me basic transportation and 45 MPG.

 

^ I think resmini's point about the Prius is that you get a lot more (not just in fuel economy) than someone would with a Geo Metro -- a rebadged Suzuki Swift. . . this really is comparing apples and oranges.

Part of the reason the Metro went away is that Honda and Toyota could -- and were -- making economical cars which appealed more to consumers than the Suzuki products.

 

Same here, thnking about buying a Smart after mini gets paid off.
I love all Hatch-backs, specially Tiny/mini/micro ones

Edit:just for fun (nvm, I don't know how to use the "TUBE" function)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx6thtXf8-s

 

I was going to get a Smart Car before finding the Mini, but the availability here was small. I would have to buy it and wait for it to come. I did want to get it partly for the mileage, but also because it is diferent, which is what led me eventually to the Mini.

My problem with the Smart Car is cost. You can get a Toyota Yaris for less money (IIRC, or maybe you get more for just a bit more money), and the mileage is not much worse.

When I was in Toronto last December, Smart Cars were everywhere, of course the Canadians have had them for years now. I believe they get to perpendicular park like motorcycles, so two can occupy one street parking spot.

--Steimle

 

I had them both at the same time...3cyl, EU specs, 84mph max, 50+mpg, no real power, more front seat and headroom than the Mini, no back seat, little traction in the snow, special size 15" tires (expensive), radio was an option, AC optional...nuf said. Car only weighs 1570 lbs. Change body panels to change car colors quickly. This was just to change a headlight bulb,



If I needed a city car with minimal highway driving, I would get one, they are fun to drive in the city and are easy to park.

 

 

Geo Metro compared to a Prius? Sorry, but thats a terrible comparison. Sorry, but the Metro was an econo-***** box, and the Prius are suprisingly nice vehicles, with many features and options coming from its brother....Lexus. It's a bargin if you ask me, they are very nice cars for the money, and they get much better gas mileage than you had quoted...and although I have never driven one, I hear they are actually pretty fun to drive around.

 

I'm taking delivery of my smart next week. Metallic paint, tach/clock and fogs brought it to about $14.5k out the door. No sales tax in CT. since it posted 40+ mpg with the EPA.

I ordered about a year ago with a wait-and-see attitude. Last summer I drove it at the smart tour, and have driven a couple of US cars. I like it for what it is. Decent mileage and something different. I know that If I lose interest in it I'll be able to sell it for no less than I will pay-the wait around here is 10-12 months, and most dealers add about $3k worth of stuff on orphan cars.

I'll drive it around suburbs and into the city, and it will otherwise be a toy. I'll never sell my Cooper, so I'll use the smart to save some gas and reduce miles on the Cooper (it's just 2 years old and has 14.5k miles on it). I'll use the Mini when I want to really drive or need to get somewhere quick. I have a Passat turbo for long-distance, like taking my son to school, or when I need to carry more than one passenger. But it's nine years old and I intend to replace it with a C 63, which will drink gas. so the smart makes some sense for me to check out, and I'm not risking taking a bath on it if I want to bail.

 

Some people just don't "get-it" It's called "Cost comparison" it has nothing to do with ride, or sporty little gadets in the car. (How much do you use those sporty little gadets?). It also irks me that people who never owned a Metro, say its a POS. Read my original post...my Metro was NEVER in the shop for anything over an 8 year period. That's called reliability! How much is that worth to you?

So much of what we buy in todays world has to do with "what am I being seen in" and "Impressing the neighbors". One of the reasons we are having a gas crisis is because of the 90 lb soccer moms in their 12 MPG Yukons and Excursions! If we all drove econ boxes for basic transportation gas would still be $1.50 a gallon!

I drive my mini at 65-75 MPH pretty typically and kick it in once in awhile and I'm getting 32 MPG daily, but it makes my hair (what's left of it) stand on end when I'm doing 75 and get passed by a double tandem 4x4 truck doing 90 and just sucking down the gas! I guess some people have more money than common sense.

The funny thing is, there has to be 12-14 SUV gas suckers lined up on the road I commute on with 4-Sale signs on them! When gas hits $4.00 a gallon, you won't be able to afford to drive them. My buddy has a big honkin' truck and he's spend over $100 a week to fill up! I cringe when I fill up the Mini at $40!

 

The problem is that you're preaching on an auto forum -- and such forums tend to have readers who do not see autos as merely a mode of getting from point A to point B. Yes, it's hard to justify a 5-series over a Corolla based on cost analysis . . . so what?

Even the Smart (or the MINI for that matter) is hard to justify over a Yaris. . . but here we all are.

Edit - by the way, I think the Prius is a step in the right direction. As an engineer I love the idea of recapturing braking energy and maximizing a system's efficiency (without forfeiting modern gadgetry). And although I don't own one, I applaud the fact that this has directed at least some focus from manufacturers towards the idea that such R&D can lead to commercially viable options. I look forward to seeing where we are in ten years. Let's face it, this may be one of the biggest steps in the development of combustion engine-based transportation in many decades (afterall, with some exceptions as to fuel injection and computer management, we're using the same basic technology that was around in the 60s with minor improvements)

 

Congrats! Check out Smart Car of America forums if you are looking for info and such.

By the way, seems like all of us are noticing distinct improvements after some miles are put on them - have fun

 

+1. This is a MINI forum. Of course the view will be bias. As price of gas goes up, I'm also looking into even more efficient cars also.

 

I've been seeing a lot of Smart cars lately around my neighborhood. I think they're great, I probably won't have my MINI payed off in two years, but I do want one. A Smart seems like it would come in handy especially in the city.

Although I think I would be too scared to take it on the highway... y'know like if a big gust of wind blows me away.

 

Here's what I'd do if I ever bought a Smart...




Here's another

 

Of course, you won't be getting 40MPG w/ that engine in there. In the bike, it's making < 30MPG already,IIRC.... Will probably be around 25MPG when transplanted on to a car.

But it does look like a lot of fun tho!

Talking about motorcycle... I get 50+ MPG on my Ducati Multistrada 1000DS, and it will do 0-60 in about 4 sec, and it's a whole load of fun.