Well i was driving on the freeway late this afternoon in the third lane when all the sudden a little tiny black blur went by, i naturally did a double take and to my suprise it was a new Smart Fortwo! I was shocked, and excited so when its lane had to slow i got to catch up with it. Its a awesome little car, it looks way better in person then in pics! It was very eye cathing, and bold and of course very very small.

I was just shocked that thing could do the speed that it was doing. I was easily doing 70mph when it passed me, it had to be doing 80-85mph.
I wonder if this will be some Fit competetion. I dont know much about the car, but if it was priced right i wouldnt mind driving it!

 

I'm always surprised when an American is shocked by seeing a Smart... we've had them up here for years and they're very commonplace. And yes, those little suckers boot it. I don't like how noisy they are at slow speeds - very noisy diesel. You can hear them coming for blocks.

Great commuter car, not so great if you have more than one passenger or like to shop at Costco. A good second vehicle in my opinion. I considered a Smart before getting the Fit as the price was comparable, but without the size. As well, I'd prefer to hold out for the gas version as diesel stations are far and few between here.

I parked next to a Smart a few days ago - it was like cutting the Fit off at just before the back seats. Similar height, as I recall.

I'm impressed with people who make it work as a sole vehicle.

 

I just did a bit of research and they seem pretty cool for 12K!

Are they limited in quanity up there or do dealerships have plenty to choose from?

 

that's a fun little car but i think it's kinda impractical at that size to be competition for the fit.

 

The dealers up here have plenty - there's usually at least 5-10 on the lot in a variety of makes. $12,000 seems a bit low - from research, to get similar features to my Fit, I seem to recall somewhere around the $18,000 mark, at the least.

 

smart did a promo thing at the mall i work at and had about 5 scattered throughout our parking lot. of course one parked right next to my fit :)

i couldn't believe it was about half the size of the fit! waaaaaay too small for my taste, especially if i ever had to do highway travel in it. i'd feel really unsafe.

as far as it's speed is concerned, i think you caught it at it's maximum power :) i thought it maxes out at about 90 mph. i thought, i may be wrong.

 

smart fortwo is a very comom car here in portugal! in citys like lisbon is the ideal car to go around town.
where a mercedes park can 2 smarts park, and parking is a huge issue in lisbon!
i drove one from brabus some months ago and was a blast.....

 

It's common up here in Canada as well. We've had them for a few years now. I actually sold my smart car to get a Fit :p Great car for city driving and a general commuter car for two. Can get lots of groceries as well, I fit 10 bags of groceries at one point without a problem. Then I started changing the sound system because it sucks, and I stuck a sub in the middle. Still enough room on either side to fit a large backpack when I went to school and carpooled with a buddy. I was able to get the University to give me the carpooling rate as long as I had a passenger because it is an environmentally friendly car hahaha. Ahhh good times. But azlynn hit it dead on. It's great for running around the city, you definitely save on your gas bill, but if you ever need to take more than one person, you are hooped. You'd be surprised at how much you can fit in there, so if you only go make a shopping trip once a week and don't buy any gigantic items like furniture, then you'll be fine. I was able to fit my winter tires for the smart inside the car when I bought them from the dealer :)

I miss my little smart, it was so much fun checking out the stunned look on people's faces when I blew by them or left a big cloud of diesel smoke in their face for tailgating me hehehehehe...helps that I got a remap done as well :p I topped it out around 145km/h (speed limiter) on the highway...

 

Do you feel you made a good choice in trading in the Fortwo and switching to the Fit?

The SMART car is a great commuter car (duh) but I think the roads and parking spaces here are wide enough to where I wouldn't need that kind of car. Also, what if I were to have a child down the line? That's a scary thought......but anywyas, I don't like the hassle of trading in and getting a new car....getting my last car made me pretty much allergic to car dealerships.

 

+1 Nice little car but the marketing I am seeing is so-so. It appears to be marketed to urban lifestyle folks. Live in the city, work in the city, do stuff in that same city...While a practical solution for dense population zones, in the US where people commute up to an hour or so to and from work, doesn't seem very practical. Maybe im missing something...dunno. If someone gets one, bring it to one of the Fit meets so I can peek more closely at it. :D

 

Yeah i would never trade my Fit for one because im sooo attached to my Fit lol, but i cant wait untill they hit dealerships in January so i can check one out.

 

For me, yes it was a good decision. If I could run two cars, I would have kept my smart for daily driving, but since I can only have one, I'm happy I went with the Fit for its space. I'm not sure how smart is marketing down south, but from my experience, the smart car is a great choice for the following:

1. Single individual who lives in the city and does mostly city driving
2. Single individual who has long commutes to and from work etc.
3. Small family as a second car mainly for commuting to and from work as well as small trips for up to two people at a time (i.e. grocery shopping, taking your child to a game, etc.)
4. New drivers who want to learn to drive in a smaller vehicle to get comfortable in before moving onto something bigger.

I've been driving for 5 years, almost 6 now and I've driven everything from my smart car to H2's (worked at a GM dealership for a summer), and I still prefer smaller cars. I can park anything in any direction, but I hate the hassle of larger trucks and SUV's because they can be quite inconvenient in parking lots.

If I had the choice of a 2nd car and I commuted to and from work, I would have a smart car hands down next to anything else. The chances of you driving more than yourself and one passenger is already slim and the back, despite the overall size, is large enough to hold whatever it is you take to work. It's also good if you do sports like hockey, soccer, etc. All of your gear will fit in the back with ease. The only hard part would be your sticks, as you'd probably have to put the front passenger seat down to make it fit, otherwise you'll need the bike rack in the back to store it on your trip to the rink.

IMO, it is a very practical car, the problem is many people think of extraordinary situations that occur maybe once a year. You'd be surprised at how roomy the interior is and how much actual space is back there. It ain't no Fit, but it can store a bunch of groceries when you need it to.

You'll find driving in and out of crappy traffic is easier due to it's overall size. Also, parking is awesome, I've parked perpendicular to the curb before and had no problems with the fuzz to fit into a small spot. It's overall length I believe is less than the width of a large SUV. All of those small spots that you have to think twice about parking in is a breeze for the smart. It's a lot of fun, you have to experience it before you really get the true feeling of the smart car. And BTW, IT IS A SAFE VEHICLE!!! Just because it's small doesn't mean it ain't safe. Just in case anyone has to bring that up (someone always does).

 

I'll back you up on that.

YouTube - Crash Test - MCC Smart Fortwo VS Mercedes S-Class

YouTube - 5th Gear Smart Fortwo Crash Test

Also, some people go crazy and do engine swaps on the things. Engines from sport bikes o.O

YouTube - Smart with hayabusa engine

YouTube - Smart diablo 2007

 

Its funny you metioned Hockey Illusive. I actually play hockey, and goalie on particular and i was wondering if my gear would fit. I have ALOT of gear because im a goalie. I bet it would, just not the stick..
All my gear Fits with ease in my Fit, infact i have to load it up soon because i have a big Playoff Game tonight!

 

i actually am the same as tool, i am goalie, itech leg pads and gloves, i rock TPS shest protector, bauer breezers, iteck cat eye mask, and the stick.... never can go wrong with sherwood. me playing hockey was what got me to decide on a hatchback again.

as for the smartcar, i had the joy of test driving one this summer in phoenix, on their USA tour, they stopped by my work for a weekend. i thought it was going to be like driving a pogo stick, i was pleasently surprised.

anyways, we should get a fit/hockey meet sometime, we already have 2 goalies! ha

 

Yeah that would be sick!

I have pretty much vaughn(SP?)everything. My mask is itech, and sherwood stick!

How was the pickup when you were driving? More or less power then the Fit?

 

a lot less than the fit, but i test drove it when i had my focus, so it was harder to compare the two, i just didn't like the way it handled, but that's something you get used to. too small too, you need something bigger when you rock the 33'' itechs.

vaughn was spelled right, great company, they make TPS i believe... research time...

 

thats here in portugal!!!!!!
in the racing track in estoril(lisbon) every month or so, there are races and other things,and that smarts are always there... always give a big show in and out the race track

the motor in that smart is from a suzuky hayabusa, 1300cc ... runs like hell
too bad the honda jazz here dont come with the vtec motor, don't see any in the race track!!!

 

We are seeing a few in Hawaii but they are not cheap.

The new 2008 version will be sold by real dealers but for now we only have importers that have done the conversion and brought in a few older ones from 2005 and 2006 and are reselling them as new or used for $26,000+ each. And they have no trouble selling about 12 in a few months.

They really don't have much top speed and aren't very fast. Tires especially the fronts are very narrow and small and rims are also small and hard to find any upgrades for in the US. Sources are overseas- UK has good ones.

So far I don't know who will be the Hawaii real dealer.

People all over the US have put down $100 each to reserve the right to purchase a Fortwo 2008.

I saw one in Orlando at Disney World about 4 years ago.

 

I actually reserved my Smart ForTwo on the second day that they were available. Still have my spot actually, but decided to get a Fit - I know there's a Honda dealer near me, and I was tired of waiting.

I still may buy a Smart to flip once they come out though. :D