I recently read they were about to become available in America, and I was happy to see a dark blue one still bearing paper dealer plates in city traffic this morning. Those little buggers are cute. What kind of mileage do they get?
I think all your questions are answered here, but I wanted to add that even though they aren’t on sale in official dealer networks just yet, there have been a few cases of Smart models being imported and sold here for upwards of $25,000; more than double the market value. Originally they were to be marketed through Chrysler, in much the same way Mini is sold through BMW networks. I’ve seen one or two pop up on the showroom floors of exotic/luxury dealerships in Chicago with preposterous price tags attached. Until the dealer networks are in place early next year, they are hot ticket status items just like anything else that isn’t easily obtainable, or even officially on sale.
I can see the attraction from a mileage point of view, but I would hate to be involved in a crash in one of those things.
Are they any less safe than regular cars?
Surprisingly enough, they are remarkably sturdy. This video is quite old, showing the last generation model, but it still comes as a surprise even to me just how strong that chassis is for its size. I can only imagine the newer models are even better. The car does seem to have a bit of a problem with the concept of turning, however, but that is just physics. It is very tall and has a very short wheelbase. There is simply not enough weight or turning radius present to get it to dig into a turn at speed.
Is “Smart” just the brand name? If not, what makes it “smart”, the fact that you can perpendicular park them?
Smart’s the brand name. Daimler was trying to create three brand names: Smart (economical, a little luxurious, and intelligent), Mercedes (luxurious and intelligent), and Maybach (ultra-luxurious).
There were several Smart models: a two-seater, a four-seater, a convertible sports car. Only the two-seater made it to Canada or the USA. I believe that Mexico got the four-seater, so I can’t even say “North America” in this context. I’m not certain whether any but the two-seater are still in production.
IMHO, Mercedes should put the Smart two-seater at the base of their product line, below the A-class and B-class. But Mercedes in North America is trying to keep itself exclusive as a luxury marque, and doesn’t want to sully itself with ‘affordable’ small cars. This didn’t seem to stop BMW with the Mini. And you can get a B-class for something like $375 a month in Toronto, which puts it well withing the range of the upper middle class, and well below many trucks, for instance.
Added thoughts… I’ve wanted one of these for years, and was pleased to see them come to Canada a few years ago.
They get decent gas mileage (arould 4 L/100 km), but not as much as you’d think; several four-seaters like the Yaris and Echo Hatch got almost as good mileage (4.5 to 5). And the Prius, which is considerably larger, gets almost as good mileage as those.
There is a dealership I drive by periodically that has had 3 to 5 Smart Cars on its lot for the past two or three years. Any idea why? This is in the US.
If everyone drove smaller, lighter cars, we wouldn’t need 10 foot crumple zones. The advantage that smaller cars have is that there is less kinetic energy to dissipate in the event of a crash.
There is little doubt that if you drove a bus and a Smart car into one another, that you would more likely be able to survive in the bus due to the larger crumple zones. But who wants to drive a bus around every day? It is just silly for people to want to drive larger and larger vehicles. It’s like a dick comparison contest until someone goes to the doctor and gets a 2 footer.
A friend and his wife are pretty much full time RVers. They recently bought a Smart car from a dealer in Cali who imports and brings them up to US standards. He says he has almost $25K in his.
He mostly bought it for the reason that it’s 8"2" in length. This will allow him to place it crosswise on his tow vehicle. He’s got a set of ramps and an electric winch mounted on the truck. He’ll winch the Smart Car up the ramps and lock it down, then hitch up the fifth wheel trailer. When he arrives at his destination, just reverse the process.
His license plate reads “58 MPG”, so take that for what it’s worth. 
I’ll stick with my Prius!
I’m not sure about safe, but Comsumer Reports rates the Smart Car (2006 model) as (paraphrase alert!) “the worst-driving car we’ve ever tested.”. I can’t get you a cite, as it’s a pay site.
-Cem
I’d like to know how they qualify “worst driving”.
I don’t understand the Smart Car, the 1989 Honda CRX got 55 mpg (for real, we had one) and was a nicer looking and better handling car. The Prius of course has better mileage and versatility. What is the attraction of a tiny, tippy 40mpg car?
Jim
It was designed as a European city car, for places where you can stand in the middle of the street and touch both walls with the tips of your outstretched fingers. Smallness and manoeuvrability were most important; highway performance less so. I saw them all over London in use as delivery vehicles (pizza, courier…).
One of the last great projects of my family. Enjoy. They’re pretty safe.
Thank you, that makes perfect sense.
Now, I still wonder, why would Americans and Canadians want them.
I think I would rather have a hybrid and try and wait for a Plug-in hybrid.
I know I would rather see the '89 CRX reintroduced.
Jim
I saw one probably at least two years ago in the States.
I had heard that you can actually park it perpendicular to the curb, which would make it an ideal car for San Francisco. Can any one tell me if this is true?
When I was in Greece a year ago I met some people who rented one, and they had a similar opinion of it. Which is too bad, because they’re cute and look easily parkable in cities.
By memory, I believe CR has both professional test-drivers and numerous CR employees take a car and rate it. If I remember correctly, they rate on:
[ol]
[li]Various speed points (0-60, horsepower, 40-60 times).[/li][li]Braking distance.[/li][li]Safety (airbags, ABS, other stuff I’m sure)[/li][li]Handling (slalom, some swerve-thing, etc.)[/li][li]Road feel/suspension.[/li][li]Rollover points[/li][/ol]
It’s pretty thorough, from what I read. I use CR for darn near every major purchase, and haven’t had cause to change my mind.
-Cem
I drove one in the UK a few years ago and I can tell you that they are underpowered shitboxes with spooky handling.