Spin off- Pics of the Smart ForTwo

[Judi]

Judi, is that the "Dog Food" book in your siggy?

Yes! When I got those in I had to buy them! I have dog food and baby food!

 

[JessicaS]

I will have to look for Baby Food now! I've never heard of that one!

 

[Melizerd]

ooh good pics (I know this is a little old) but my local dealers just got them in. DH and I are considering one for our commuter car. So I was searching through the forums for info.

I also saw that they received good crash test ratings. I want one of these things! Now if I could con DH into one of these and a mini for our family car I'd be so excited.

 

[Jeanum]

The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) announced their crash test results for the Smart ForTwo today at http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr051408.html You can click on the video link on the upper right hand side of the news release page to view the crash tests, and there also is a clickable .pdf version of the news release there with a ratings chart.

Excerpt from the news release:

News Release | May 14, 2008

First Institute crash tests of Smart car: diminutive two-seater earns top ratings for protecting people in front & side crashes

ARLINGTON, VA — The Smart car is getting a lot of attention for its small size and style, and now it's earning impressive crash test ratings. In recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests, the 2008 Smart Fortwo, the smallest car for sale in the US market, earned the top rating of good for front and side crash protection. Its seat/head restraints earned the second highest rating of acceptable for protection against whiplash in rear impacts.

Smart Fortwo is classified a microcar, meaning it's smaller even than minicars. Weighing about 1,800 pounds, the Smart is more than 3 feet shorter and almost 700 pounds lighter than a Mini Cooper. It weighs about a third as much as one of the heaviest vehicles the Institute has tested, the BMW X5, a midsize SUV. As the price of fuel climbs and tougher federal fuel economy requirements kick in, auto companies are expected to introduce more small vehicles to the market. The Smart is the smallest car the Institute ever has tested.

"The big question from consumers is, ‘How safe is it?'", says Institute president Adrian Lund. "All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better. But among the smallest cars, the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package.

 

[Heather98012]

The Smart was available a few years ago in the US & then stopped sales; there was some red tape that caused it, but I can't remember exactly. They just came back to the states a few months ago.

I sat in one a few months back & I gotta say....I was impressed how much space there was. My dh is 6'3" & he had enough room & I'm 5'10" but seriously overweight...& even for me, there was room enough. I was shocked!

My dh is considering it to commute in, but I'm concerned then we would only have one car for the entire family to ride in (mine). But, if he gets it, it will crack me up, since he is currently driving a Toyota Sequoia!!! What a change in size that would be, eh?

 

[Melizerd]

We currently only have one car and in the 6 years we've been married we've NEVER owned two cars so getting something like this to commute and using our other car only for family outtings makes it very appealing. DH goes 12.5 miles one way to work and I go 8 miles. He works 3rd shift so I leave for work when he gets home.

Not only is it practical for gas, but it would give us extra room in the garage which would be nice

 

[southpawboston]

neighbors around the corner from us just got one. they have to street park, but in front of their house is a street spot between a driveway and a hydrant that's too short for any other car to park in, so it's practically their own personal street spot now!

 

[Morganthe]

neighbors around the corner from us just got one. they have to street park, but in front of their house is a street spot between a driveway and a hydrant that's too short for any other car to park in, so it's practically their own personal street spot now!

That's cute. If they owned their place and sold it with the car, they might be able to qualify the sale as a 'private parking spot' (kidding )

DH's talked about owning a Smart or a Mini Cooper on & off through the years. He found he has more head and leg room in these little cars than he does in big monster SUV's. All of his life, he's always prefered little zippy cars.

His goal, if he finally talks me into this, is to hook up a small trailor so he can haul his SCA gear around. Hey, he has 9foot spear poles to worry about Most vehicles can't handle them anyway. :shrug-shoulders:

 

[southpawboston]

DH's talked about owning a Smart or a Mini Cooper on & off through the years. He found he has more head and leg room in these little cars than he does in big monster SUV's. All of his life, he's always prefered little zippy cars.

my sister has two cars: a subaru forester and a mini cooper. on long trips, she piles the family (she, DH, and 10 + 7 yo kiddos) into the mini. they seem to do just fine between the tiny trunk space and the yakima space cadet roof carrier, and they save at the pump for it (it gets 40mpg, IIRC, compared with about 24 for the forester). she has the first model year sold in the US (2002) which she bought new and has never had a problem with it. even back then, the car came with ESC + six airbags. not too shabby at all :thumbsup:.

the other car i'd give a serious look at is the honda fit :thumbsup:. probably about as fun to drive as the mini, and a tad more practical.

 

[Judi]

I was looking at a mini cooper, but it only got 27 MPG. It depends on the model/engine size of course.

 

[etoilech]

Tons of people have them here. Of course they are not new here either (we're in Switzerland). I would definitely have one if my hubby had to commute long distance to work. I also like the Smart ForFour.

The Smart ForTwo has to pass the infamous (well at least here) elk test. Meaning it has to be able to swerve around an elk at 100km/h without tipping. The test parameters my be different than I am remembering them though...

 

[Melizerd]

oooh smartforfour! Sign me up for that! I'm off to google for pics/info, hopefully I can find it in English.

 

[Morganthe]

I was looking at a mini cooper, but it only got 27 MPG. It depends on the model/engine size of course.

Is that with Automatic or manual transmission?

IIRC, manual got around 35mpg city, but that could have been with the old style ratings method. :shrug-shoulders:

 

[etoilech]

oooh smartforfour! Sign me up for that! I'm off to google for pics/info, hopefully I can find it in English.

here is a site with pictures:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/?id=145

I just realized they may not be making the Smart ForFour anymore. Bummer.

 

[Judi]

They are talking about bringing it back.
The mini was a 6 cylinder sporty model, it would have a lot to do with that.

 

[Jeanum]

Just bumping up the Smart ForTwo thread to link to an article in today's Detroit Free Press, which points out the manufacturer recommends using premium fuel in the ForTwo. This offsets some of the potential fuel savings at the gas pump. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080528/BUSINESS01/805280397/1014

 

[Judi]

Sorry, I should have mentioned that when I did the test drive. I drove one again last week. U turns are a breeze!

 

[southpawboston]

They are talking about bringing it back.
The mini was a 6 cylinder sporty model, it would have a lot to do with that.

the MINI isn't sold with a 6-cyl. the only options are a regular 4-cyl or the turbocharged 4-cyl in the sport model.

 

[Judi]

Weird, I thought my friend said his was a 6. So sorry.

 

[safeinthecar]

OT- You can see one of these cars get smushed by a bus in the Paris Chase scene in the new National Treasure movie.