Behind the wheel of a Smart car

Mercury News ^ | 6/23/08 | Bruce Newman

[NormsRevenge]

As a regular combatant in the daily grand prix on our local roadways, I have received many one-fingered salutes from my fellow motorists, all well-deserved.

But from my first joyride in the new Smart car I brought home a month ago, the only salutes being flipped in my direction are a steady stream of thumbs-ups.

It's possible that some people are waving goodbye.

Enthusiasm for the new microcar from Mercedes appears to be exceeded only by the expectation that anybody crazy enough to drive one will soon be pulverized by a passing Peterbilt.

The question about the car I get most often, in fact, is whether it's even allowed on the highway. People seem to think it might be better suited to puttering around a golf course.

Like a lot of early adopters - there are about 10,000 Smart cars on the road nationwide, and San Jose and San Francisco are among the top 10 markets - I hated the car at first.

There had been some whiny reviews in automotive magazines suggesting the car accelerates like a wind-up toy, and like so many others who have grown accustomed to driving preposterously over-powered, high-performance cars, I wanted my mojo back.

But that's sort of the point, isn't it? Who needs a car that can go from 0 to 60 in six seconds?

Power and fuel efficiency are a zero-sum equation: You can't have more of one without less of the other.

Yet nobody, including me, is eager to concede our God-given right to treat every city street like a drag strip.

I liked the idea of owning a fuel-efficient Smart car, but did it really have to take 13 seconds to get up to freeway speed?

[NormsRevenge]

San Jose Mercury News columnist Bruce Newman cruises on Highway 101 in San Mateo recently in his new convertible Smart car. (Maria J. Avila / Mercury News)

[CharlesWayneCT]

I really don’t get the Smart Car, but if people like it, they should feel free to buy it.

I guess it’s a pretty cheap car, but not as cheap as it looks like it should be.

My Prius acts like a normal car, average in acceleration and handling, and gets much better gas mileage than the Smart Car. But my Prius did cost more than a Smart car.

[MrEdd]

Behind the wheel of a Smart car golf cart.

Fixed it.

[goldstategop]

Its a chick magnet and well - you can park it almost anywhere downtown. Its no speed demon but its no slouch either. Its just a tad smaller than my VW New Beetle.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[Peter W. Kessler]

I saw one on the road the other day.

It looked ridiculous.

...and I drive a Honda Element.

I’d be scared to death to take on of those roller skates out on an interstate.

...and I drive a Honda Element.

[ConservaTexan]

If it truly was a ‘smart’ car it would come from the factory with handles for the pall bearers to grab.

[556x45]

My insurance agent calls them ‘coffins on wheels’. :) I think Ill just stick w/ my non-politically correct PU.

[Philly Nomad]

A golden retriever is a chick magnet as well, and can probably get to 60 faster than a smart car, and carry more stuff. :)

/Live in NYC
//Subways FTW.

[Slings and Arrows]

I wonder how it would look with NRA bumper stickers?

[ozaukeemom]

Saw one at the Post Office the other day. There are 2 in our little community!

[Tijeras_Slim]

EPA lists this thing at 36 mpg.

We got 40 in a Subaru Outback Sport and it carries a lot more stuff and has AWD.

[facedown]

[AntiKev]

I’m waiting until they import the roadster that I saw all over Germany. That is one sexy SMART. Otherwise, ho-hum.

[irishjuggler]

I guess it’s a pretty cheap car, but not as cheap as it looks like it should be.

Right. Not as cheap as it ought to be. The Smart is basically an overpriced toy. Any number of "real" cars (e.g., Toyota Yaris, Ford Focus, Chevy Aveo) are actually much more practical and less expensive to own.

[martin_fierro]

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[thackney]

you can park it almost anywhere downtown

That depends on which option package you buy.

[amadeus]

I pick cars like that out of the grill of my Titan.

[elmer fudd]

I’m another one that doesn’t get the Smart car. It’s not particularly cheap or fuel efficient or sporty. You could buy a Yaris for less money and get nearly the same fuel efficiency, plus you’d have room for passengers or groceries.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

[RepoGirl]

So you drive an Element, you say? My hubby wants one. Pros? Cons?

This from a proud driver of the Honda Mommobile, the Odyssey. I attempted to retain some of my former cool by placing one of my Misfits stickers on the back window, but peeled it off when I realized I'd reached the point of no return.

As far as smart cars go -- what's a woman to do when she needs to haul her five year old to the pediatrician and her 70 lb rottweiler to the vet? I don't see the three of us peacefully co-existing in one of those clowncars.