smart car

[princess jackson]

Hi,
Has anyone had the chance to a drive a smart car, just wondering what it is like.

I like the funky look they have.

I have a micra now, it is only for me and DD that we use it for, taking her to school and myself to work. We have a family car as well.

 

[Goofyish]

I've read that although they are fun to drive, nippy, and very economical they have a few reliability issues. To be honest I wouldn't feel safe in one. You have almost no accident protection, even with the strengthened passenger cell, in any collision you will get the full force of the impact, due to the limited energy absorbing crumple zones.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

I had a legthy test drive of the little Coupe lst year, but eventually decided not to buy one. Although it was a fun little thing I thought that after the novelty wore off I would be frustrated with the things that I didn't like (awful gearbox which I found impossible to drive smoothly, poor visibility, very poor storage, you feel very small when driving alongside other traffic, etc). I also thought it very expensive for what you get. Although the basic price seems quite reasonable, once you add things like air.con, alloy wheels, nicer paint, etc it adds up to a much larger price than you anticipate.

If you're after a fun little car there are lots of things to choose from in addition to the Smart.

 

[DisneyDes]

I love our little Smart, though I don't think I'd enjoy too many long journeys in it as the ride is a bit hard. We've had ours now over 18 months and (touch wood) have had no problems with it at all. Storage space is remarkably good, but you do have to use the space properly, in fact DW prefers to take the Smart for the weekly shopping trip due to its manouverability (where's the spell checker when you need it?)

I have heard that the in accidents it has come off better than many of the other small cars as the "roll cage" is on the outside (the silver or black Tridion). Gear box has become smoother, though still not a smooth change in automatic mode, though a fairly smooth change can be had in "flappy paddle mode" .

What has suprised most people that have had a ride in it is the amount of room you have inside, its actually quite good for tall people.

As you can tell I really do love our little Smart

 

[gilld]

My DH threatened to buy one just for work so he could park easily when doing home visits...I soon put a stop to it! Sorry, I don't like them at all, and according to the local chemist who has one for his scripts to be delivered, they're less than safe, uncomfortable and I think unattractive.