Mini to the max

[bubba]

smart-car.jpg (19.88 KiB) Viewed 5864 times

Meet the Smart car: An ultra-compact, Mercedes-designed, head-turning little vehicle that's been negotiating traffic and squeezing into impossibly tiny spaces in Europe for almost a decade. Now, it's about to go on sale in the United States.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/11/08/smar ... pstoryview

Now you're probably thinking "what if someone in an Escalade hits me?" well check out this crash vids, looks pretty sturdy to me.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... &plindex=2
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... &plindex=0
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... &plindex=7

11,600 and gets 40mpg, would make for a good commuter car. Not going to be hauling the family with it though LOL.

and with a little modding can out run a Ferrari 430, talk about pocket rocket
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtWeSa3naKk

[Amy]

I don't know...I'll stick with my Prius -- comfortably holds 4 adults or 2 adults and 3 kids...lots of trunk space (hatch back), and not to mention 50mpg! 2006 Prius Crash Test Ratings

[kenc51]

My new next door neighbour has one in silver & black!

[dgood]

I imagine if it gets hit, it just turns into a bouncy ball and just rolls down the street.

[bubba]

LOL bouncy ball

Amy, yeah the Prius is bigger, but it cost twice as much. I have a mini van to haul the kids in and for family outings. As a commuter this would be great, its basically a hod rod golf cart

Found this on you tube watching some other vids on the car... the Smart car is as long as the H1 is wide
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NkjZtfgqC2w

[slugbug]

I just wouldn't feel safe in such a small car. Definitely not a car you would take on a long trip.

[bubba]

Amy how does your Prius handle the snow? I keep looking at get a car like the Smart and the Prius then I start thinking about the snow (when we do get it) don't want something I can't drive through snow with.

[Amy]

Well, I think it handles just fine in the snow. But I'm also very experienced (and slow) in driving in bad weather (everytime it snowed or iced when I was 15/16, my dad took me out on the gravel roads and made me drive just so I'd learn). Last winter I was driving 80 miles total to and from work every day, and not all of that was on well-kept roads. I had no trouble breaking, and I don't recall sliding hardly at all, even on the icy parking lot. I'm also used to light weight cars. I've heard of people complaining that their prius gets blown all over the road in the wind, but I think I'm just used to that because all of my cars have been small, 4-cylindar engines with light weight bodies attached. Did that answer your question at all?

[bubba]

Think so, I'm mainly worried about drifts and unplowed roads. I don't live all to far from you guys, just south of troy, and have also have a ~40 mile one way commute. There are times last year that I was hearing the snow rub the bottom of my car and it sets few inches higher then your Prius.

[Alathald]

and with a little modding can out run a Ferrari 430, talk about pocket rocket

that'd be a bit embarrassing for the Ferrari

That's an awesome little car for a student tho, it's got room for your books, a case of beer, and a um "study buddy" if you know what I mean
It's the ultimate coupé!

EDIT: too bad they phased out the Roadster, basically the same as the Fortwo but longer. Plus it looks a lot better than the Fortwo. Check out this Top Gear clip modified one

Can't understand why they got rid of it.

[Dragon_Cooler]

I am almost tempted to get one of these. My drive is pretty long to and from work. Its mainly the traffic that kills me, not so much the drive though. I know its a "city" car but what about a all highway commuter car?

[Amy]

since I work on a farm, I also had to drive on unplowed roads to get there. I never missed a day of work if that helps. I've scraped the ice, but always made it through...

[vicaphit]

I bet if you hit someone else in that thing you wouldn't do a bit of damage to the other guy, but you would total your own!

[Amy]

but did you see the crash test videos? It holds up really well...

[Zelig]

since I work on a farm, I also had to drive on unplowed roads to get there. I never missed a day of work if that helps. I've scraped the ice, but always made it through...

Hah, if the roads don't get plowed here, nobody's getting through. I've seen plows get stuck in bad storms before.

The smart is a pretty good car if it fits your specific needs, especially considering the average number of passengers in consumer vehicles is 1.4, or something along those lines, there are a few people around here who own one.
If you get in one, they're surprisingly spacious, I drove one briefly, and moving the seat all the way back actually gives me more leg room than I have in my Chevy S10.

IIRC, the smart car is designed to use other vehicles' crumple zones, it doesn't fare quite as well getting plowed into by 60's Chrysler Imperials. Of course, no vehicles fare very well getting plowed into by Imperials.

[Alathald]

but did you see the crash test videos? It holds up really well...

Yeah, but unfortunately, the better the car holds up, the more likely you are to get hurt because you, rather than the car, take a lot of the impact. It's the large 'crumple zones' in newer cars that make them so safe, kinda like hitting an airbag instead of your dash, the airbag slows your face down by 'crumpling' rather than your face slowing your face down by 'crumpling' if you hit the dash.

[Zelig]

but did you see the crash test videos? It holds up really well...

Yeah, but unfortunately, the better the car holds up, the more likely you are to get hurt because you, rather than the car, take a lot of the impact. It's the large 'crumple zones' in newer cars that make them so safe, kinda like hitting an airbag instead of your dash, the airbag slows your face down by 'crumpling' rather than your face slowing your face down by 'crumpling' if you hit the dash.

The car still does reasonbly well. Better than the Jeep Grand Cherokee:

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/smart_for ... 7/303.aspx
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/jeep_gran ... 5/239.aspx