OK, back home after a morning of test drives and shopping.
I test drove the Smart Car this morning. Actually, it was the first time I was in one.
It was also snowing and icy out.
I also found out on the drive up there, that Sukie was going simply to humor me and thought that I was completely nuts, and that my eccentricity had now moved on to new and disturbing dimensions.
The dealer was up in Lincolnwood (for those of you familiar with Chicago) so the main road (Touhy for those of you who know Chicago) was cleared and salted. The side streets were snowy with and very icy.
In other words it was perfect conditions to do the test drive, since my major concern was winter streets.
So, here are my impressions:
The Dealership
It was an incredibly laid back experience, completely different than all of my other experiences buying cars.
Our salesman Josh was helpful. It was more like shopping in the Apple Store than a car dealer.
I suppose that given there is a 1 year wait for a car, they can afford to be laid back.
Overall Look
I think it's a really cute car. Even funnier next to my Subaru Forester, which is not a particularly big car. The Smart was about 1/3 the length of the Forester.
There is something very appealing about the Smart, but also something a bit disturbing at the same time. What came to mind (and this is truly bizarre), is a pair of orthopedic shoes designed by Prada, if Prada did decide to start designing orthopedic shoes.
Interior
Quite, quite roomy. We were wearing very bulky parkas and we felt rather comfortable. A little narrower than the Forester. I had to pull the seat forward to sit a bit more comfortably.
Once inside the Smart, you forget that the car has no nose and no butt.
I liked the interior.
Cargo Space
This had been the chief area of concern and a real deal breaker. Just how much shopping could we fit in.
I had brought with me a reusable Jewel shopping bag to test out the Smart's cargo space.
I was quite surprised by it. It was much roomier than we had thought it would be. I figured (shopping bag in hand) that we could fit 8 bags of groceries in the cargo space (one row on top of the other).
In terms of gardening supplies, we figured we could fit 3 to 4 bags of mulch stacked. Meaning either having things delivered or making multiple trips.
But, for the shopping we do 99.9% of the time, the cargo space was fine.
The Test Drive
The salesman, Josh, first took me out as a passenger to explain how to operate the "manumatic" transmission.
I had only owned manual cars prior to the Forester, so I'm very comfortable with manuals.
We turned up the icy side streets and he explained the traction control, etc.
We then came back, and he handed me the keys. Sukie got in and off we went.
The Smart has a tiny 3 cylinder engine. It had pretty nice pick-up. I turned down a side street to do some serious driving on the ice and snow.
Driving the Smart did really not feel any different from driving any other car. The roominess inside makes you forget how tiny it is.
The ride is rougher than my Forester and of course the Forester has all wheel drive and so handles really well on ice and snow.
The Smart slid around a bit, but I think any standard car would, again, I am spoiled by the Subaru.
It seemed to overall handle well, though not as polished in both the engine and handling as my Forester.
On the other hand, the mileage on the Smart beats my Forester hands down and means that I would probably only have to fill up the car about every 2.5 to 3 months, given the distance I drive per week.
Impressions
I really liked the Smart. What shocked me even more was Sukie liked the Smart and wanted to know when we would get one.
Conflict
I reserved the Smart Passion. Sukie thinks I should get the Cabriolet, which is a convertible. The convertible is fully automatic.
Aside from the added money for the Cabriolet, I really question how much sense a convertible makes for Chicago, where we could only drive with the top down from June to about the end of September.
I also feel uneasy about how well the top will age, plus the potential for mechanical things to go wrong.
In addition, because of the top, you lose about half of the access to the cargo space.
The space remains the same, but now only the lower half of the back folds down. In the hard top the window flips up (like a hatch) and the bottom folds down, providing full access to the cargo space.
A convertible would be fun, if this was a second car. But this would be the only car we have.
More Conflict
I sent in my Smart reservation a few weeks ago. Josh told me that the wait is about 1 year.
The dealer does have a waiting list for "orphans," cars ordered where the buyer changed their mind.
The downside is that choice is limited. You take the color as it is and the configuration as it is.
If we get a Cabriolet (the convertible) the wait could be as short a a month or so, longer for a Passion.
So, not sure whether to do this or not.
A Little Ambivilence
I find myself wondering whether I should look at other cars. Mileage is a big deal for me. That means I'd be looking at a hybrid, which would be a fair bit more expensive, although I'd also get considerable more car.
I could also look at some economy cars (Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, one of the Scions), they would probably be cheaper and more car, but far less mileage.
Still, I really liked the Smart.
Summary
As I said, I really liked the little Smart. Given where we live and the type of driving we do it would be an extremely sensible choice.
The Smart's interior and cargo space really surprised me, and the test drive in winter conditions surprised me in a positive way.
Sukie, who thought I was crazy is now really keen on the little Smart, and doesn't like the idea of waiting an entire year.
Do I shop some more or not? I have not made up my mind.
But, the Smart definitely gets four thumbs up from me!
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I must have missed that somewhere, but it sounds a great idea as the next day we will be all saying our goodbyes. W4ll apart from a few folk we will bump into in DL that is.
She's ok, but the vet had to scrape the outside of the eyeball to get all the loose skin off - and she kept saying "Oh my gosh, I've never seen something like this, is this supposed to come off like that?" 
