Thoughts on the Smart Car

[NickCats]

Alright guys ( and gals ), the Harley is up for sale and the ebay auction ends today and it looks like I have a buyer. I filled up the Boxster yesterday and for the first time I almost hit $60 ( 14.5 gallons x $4.05 = $58.90 ) !

So, I am actually considering buying a Smart Car for the daily commute to work :

http://www.smartusa.com

$11,590 for the base model. 40 mpg city. 8.7 gallon gas tank. 2 dealers in Chicago.

With the price of gas skyrocketing, I was considering keeping the bike, but it doesn’t do me a lot of good in the rain as a dependable daily driver.

I would still keep the Box and the Benz for the winter.

What do you guys think ?

Nick

[nola911]

It depends what your intentions are.... If you dont want the miles on your boxster orbenz, go for it..

But, if you are doing it to save money. If the boxster gets half the mileage of the smart (should be more), you would save 30 dollars a fill up. If you spend 13 on the car after TTL + options, you will have to fill up 433 times to break even. Assuming you fill up weekly, you will have to drive the smart car for +8 years to justify the cost difference.

For that minimal gain, I would much rather be in a fun, safe, sturdy, sporty car than a tin can with no protection.


NOW, if you want to talk fun...
Sell the boxster for ~20, and spend the 13 you were planning to spend anyway and buy a low mileage lotus elise that gets 30mpg. It is still not safe, but it beats driving a smart car for the same basic end result. Plus, its a toyota engine so parts are cheap and easy to come by.

[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.

[Kirk]

Car and Driver has a review in their latest issue. I wouldn't get too excited about getting one of these. I swear they said in the print version that there is a two year waiting list after you put down a deposit. I seem to think the price was more around $12K+ too with 33 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway. My '87 CRX weighs the same (1800 lbs) and with a 1.5L 4 cyl. gets 32 mpg city, 44 mpg highway. It's also at least twice as fast, I autocross it regularly, and I can cruise at 95 mph (Nevada desert driving, the Smart tops out at 91 mph). There are other options out there for saving gas that are more readily available and probably a better option for a sports car enthusiast - although not as "cute".

Here it is:

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/hot_lists/car_shopping/micro_machines/2008_smart_fortwo_passion_coupe_road_test/(page)/1