“Smart Car == Coffin on Wheels”
Hey now....
The wife has one, and she absolutely LOVES it.
38-40 miles per gallon in the city, for her long commute, much more “Eco” than a Prius (at far less cost, both in acquisition and ownership), simple to fix, and she loves that she can park anywhere in the crowded downtown, (and I do mean anywhere!).
Safer in a crash than almost any other compact car.
Oh...
Did I mention the Mercedes-Benz service and warranties?
Granted, it isn’t for everyone, especially as your only car, but as a second car it is perfect.
I take my Smart Car to the Mercedes-Benz service too and roll in past all the snooty Beamers. :o)
I'm in a big city and the M-B dealer is HUGE. It's good business buying a car like that for the city...and it IS German.
They DO make good cars. Always have and probably always will.
When I was in Mexico City with my 68 VW (1970-72) there was a HUGE VW dealer there run by ALL Germans. Lol. It was WEIRD hearing all those Krauts speaking Spanish.
Twilight zone time.
I have a F-250 4wd. I prefer the intimidation route.
As far as “safer in a crash”, only if it is the only one involved in the crash. Get hit by a 4,000 lbs vehicle going the other way at any significant speed and you’re simply dead.
38 to 40 MPG is good by American standards but a friend and I averaged 40 MPG in his 4-door Renault diesel on a 1995 trip from Siena to Venice. The two extra doors and the added room certainly made the car more practical although getting used to a manual transmission after not driving one for 20 years took a while.
Unfortunately, this isn't true at all. While Mercedes advertises the Smart Car's 5-star crash rating, what they fail to mention is that this just means the passenger cabin stays intact in a frontal impact. In a car where there is no space for a crumple zone, however, a rigid body is a bad thing. When the Smart Car hits something, rather than absorb the energy like a normal car it's extremely rigid frame instead transfers the impact to the driver's body and most seriously, to his brain as it impacts the front of his skull while his body is held in place.
Top Gear crash tested a Smart Car and determined that while the car stayed remarkably intact, this just meant that the driver took the brunt of the crash forces and would have died. There's no magic here: A car so small that your feet are essentially right behind the front bumper has no ability to protect driver and passenger from the tremendous G-forces involved in a collision. For your sake, I would seriously rethink the whole Smart Car thing.