Looking for SMART car information

gotsmart wrote:

ScottG wrote:
For highway driving they dont get as good of fuel efficiency as some other slightly larger cars - much because of their poor aerodynamics. But that's not what they're designed for. They're designed to be used mostly in the city where they do fairly well.
I suggest you compare them to other light offerings from Honda and Toyota. I think you'll find that for a few hundred pounds you get a lot more car for the money and perhaps as good or better mileage.

Speak for yourself. My 2009 smart fortwo Passion is rated 33/city, 41/hwy. Going from Olympia to Portland on I-5 I got 51 mpg out of it, and that was before I had the cruise control installed.

A smart car is basically a "city car". It is narrow in width, is short in length, and there is not a lot of travel in the suspension. No, the car is not a touring car.

It is perfect for an RVer who does not need (or want) a 4 passenger car. It weighs 1,800 lbs (US), has a computer-controlled 5-speed manual transmission, no clutch pedal, and has no speed/distance restrictions when flat towing. With some vehicles you're not supposed to exceed a certain speed limit and others must stop every 300-500 miles to run the engine for 5 minutes.

For a fulltime RVer like me it is a grocery-getter. It keeps the rain off of my head. I can't feel the car behind my Class C motorhome - not even after (actually) standing on the motorhome's brake pedal at 50 MPH. There was no supplemental braking on the car when I did that.

Other than a standard hitch-based towbar with all the options needed for safe towing, a smart car needs a $20 battery disconnect switch added - as recommended by the owners manual for flat towing. See the link in my signature for pictures.

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I'm sure John & Angela will show up here soon enough to trumpet the trailer that they use for their mini smog monster.... er, smart CDI :B

Yeah, John and Angela will most likely chime in here soon. The wife and I recently test drove a '14 model/year Smart and, while it was a short test drive, it was kind of informative as to the peppiness of the car, how it handled around corners, acceleration, and more. Yep, it's a bit harsh but, you know all this going into a vehicle like this. Not to mention, when was the last time anyone was in a small car that rode nice?

As for mileage, the '14 we tested was recently purchased by a neighbor and, he's done many, many tank fulls that hovered in the 42-47 mpg range. I'm 6' 2 1/2" and, hover around 240 lbs. The wife is not a small woman and we both fit in that thing with room left over. John and Angelas CDI units hover in the 70 mpg range.
Scott