Thoughts on the Smart Car

[Topless]

I have seen those in France for 10 years. A very useful car for tight downtown traffic like Paris or Chicago. Parking is a snap. You would not get me on the freeway in one though. Max's cost analysis is right on.

[blinkwatt]

hey nick,
i know this may not sound cool but geo metros,ford aspires and older civics all pull 40+ mpg and are $500-$1000 if you look around. just drive the box whenever you fell like it with all the gas you save.

[nola911]

I sold a 96 civic 4 years ago for 2k, while gas was around 2 dollars a gallon.... What a bad mistake.

[Bob Z.]

I've read a couple reviews lately and now I call it the "Stupid" car: gas mileage sucks for its size (not even close to 40 mpg), very little storage, terrible tranny, and the price is too high.

I recently bought a brand new 2007 Chevy Cobalt 5=speed 2-door for commuting and it was $10,700 out the door albeit it is a base car (manual windows, must use key to unlock the doors, etc.) but it has A/C, decent radio with CD/IPOD, and am getting 34+ mpg on my 20 mile stop & go commute. Lots of room, peppy, comfy seats, etc., and a better warranty than the "Stupid" car.

And there are many other comparable cars on the market, domestic & foreign, that would be a "smarter" buy.

[Brucelee]

The Smart car is WAY too small for my taste.

I saw many in France and for our roads and vehicles, it seems like a great way to die fast.

IMHO

[RandallNeighbour]

Max's cost analysis is very accurate at current fuel prices, but what happens if fuel goes to $6 a gallon in the next 3 years?

Would that change anything?

[lucky_topher]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Max's cost analysis is very accurate at current fuel prices, but what happens if fuel goes to $6 a gallon in the next 3 years?

Would that change anything?

probably not too much... the smart car gets a realistic 33mpg, not 40mpg

15,000 mi / 20mpg = 750 gal @ $6.00/gal = $4,500/yr gas
15,000 mi / 33mpg = 454 gal @ $6.00/gal = $2,727/yr gas

savings of $1773/yr

and if you were to just say 40mpg
15,000 mi / 40mpg = 375 gal @ $6.00/gal = $2,250/yr = $2250/yr savings

take into account the cost of the car, the inflated cost now because of lack of availability and heightened demand, the cost for additional insurance, and the fact that the money you are spending on the car up front is money you can't have "working for you" elsewhere (stocks, investments, CDs, 401k)

fact is, if you want a smart, get a smart... but if you want something to help you get ahead on $ with rising gas prices, the answer is a $2000 250cc motorcycle or an $2-3k civic/geometro/etc

[LoveBunny]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

The Smart car is WAY too small for my taste.

I saw many in France and for our roads and vehicles, it seems like a great way to die fast.

IMHO

I agree. Sometimes I get scared in my Boxster with the amount of stupid people driving very large vehicles like maniacs.

[Dr. Kill]

My understanding here is that real world gas mileage figures for this car are much lower than expected with actual highway driving because the small engine just has to work so hard to keep up.

If you are mostly concerned with fuel economy and want another car to keep the miles off of your Porsche, have you considered a diesel? There are many new ones coming out over the next couple of years. I personally am a big fan – you can get all of the fuel economy of a hybrid with the robustness of a diesel engine and none of the unknowns of purchasing a car powered by a transitional technology.