http://www.smartusa.com/

The Smart is coming to the USA! If only they bring over the roadster.

 

FIT FTW smart will be very expensive

 

No roadster, it has already been discontinued. :( The only car Smart will sell now is the ForTwo.

 

The coupe up here is priced around $16,500 to start (base model). The top model is priced at $20,500, so right around the Fit sport range. If you want a convertible (cabrio), then expect to pay around $3000 more.

I traded a smart for a Fit mainly because I wanted more room. Both cars are great cars, but I would only recommend the smart if you plan to do most of your driving in the city. It holds its own on the highway, but I don't like having my speed governed at 140km/h. Saves a bunch on gas though, I can get the same mileage out of the smart as I do the Fit for 1/2 the price per tank.

 

Saw a SMART today. Neat car, not sure how it will do in the US.

Honestly, Mercedes should bring over the A klasse, but then Dodge has that new car they are working on, so chances of that are lower maybe?

Dunno.

 

I have been a smart fortwo owner for the last 2.5 years, and I got it now just the way I want it, with a custom leather seat job being the last modification. I can speak a little bit of the Canadian cdi (turbodiesel) model, but I don't speak for all such owners. This is also the outgoing model that will be replaced in North America with the new generation petrol ones (Autumn 2007 in Canada; Winter or Spring 2008 in USA). Currently, the 2006 model is eligible for an Eco rebate from the Federal Government for the full $2000.

Pros:

• Best real-life mileage apart from the Honda Insight
• Car with a unique design and character
• Easy to maneuver in small spaces. Lots of visibility of your surroundings, feels like you're an active and aware driver
• Loaded with safety features, both active and passive. Only car in Canada to pass the proposed 80 km/h rear offset crash. No-one has died in one yet
• Car does hold the road remarkably well for its size, but correct choice of tire is important

Cons:

• Hit-and-miss support from Mercedes-Benz Service Centres (some good, some bad). No courtesy vehicles and shuttles are short-range. Absolutely no support for travel to USA
• Wear-and-tear items replaced sooner. Headlights expire quickly and are hard to access
• Poor/leaky A/C in Summer; Poor heat in Winter (due in part to diesel efficiency)
• Inconsistent quality of parts, leading to common EGR clogging, oil leaking from intercooler, chop-job on external light wiring for the Canadian-compliant import modifications
• Choice in diesel stations limited; Even more limited if you want "the good stuff"
• Recalls and service bulletins. I'm still under warranty and I've been in for non-scheduled service dozens of times. I don't believe the car was built to meet North American expectations of durability and reliability (this may change with the next generation)

So, being that this is my first post, why am I here? I've made it no secret that if I were to choose again and be more conventional in my thinking (and listening to parental advice) that I would get a Honda Fit. I've been fascinated with these since they were introduced at the Canadian International Auto Show 2006. At this time I'm sitting on my own fence: There are some things I cherish about my smart fortwo, but I'm also frustrated that my Service Centre visit frequency, after all this time, hasn't tapered off. I'm apprehensive that the future, after warranty, will eat all of my fuel savings in service and repair jobs. Maybe I'm not the kind of enthusiast that a smart fortwo owner should be. I want reliability and I don't want a high-maintenance vehicle. I'm here to find out about Honda Fit owners' experiences.

 

I really wish they would bring the roadster but as stated they have been dicontinued :( Those things are sweet, don't think I would trade the fit in for one but as a second car It would be great

 

would have been nice if they brought over the smart forfour.

 

check dis out... YouTube - Smartcar with Hayabusa engine, Fast <<< smart gone crazy YouTube - Ferrari vs. Smart Car, An Ass Whipping <<< smart car vs ferrari... im sure you guys will think twice about these smart cars...LOL:D

 

Holy crap! Spinner I never thought I would catch you on here! I hope you still remember me, Illusive 4-2 :p Go with the Fit, you still get decent MPG but get more utility and room...also you dun have to go in for service as much...I think I went in twice as much with the smart than my Fit.

 

hahahaha, I no longer want to mod my fit so i can save up to make one of those :eek:... but i doubt it will happen :(

 

Yes, I remember you. Plus there are two other names here that I recognize. Your pictures with your friends' Protégé 5s kinda said it all. :) But you never answered the question of whether the Fit was made in Japan. Mike T is still going on about it coming from China because that's what a Honda official told him at the Pacific Auto Show last year.

 

The Fit is made in Japan

 

I was going to get the Roadster before I decided on my Jazz...
Basically, for what you're paying for the Roadster, you get jackshit, putting it bluntly... x.x ...

 

Oops my bad, I was skimming your post :p Yeah my Fit and I think every other Fit is made in Japan, not China. My VIN tells me mine is at least :) I'm not sure who Mike T spoke with, but that Honda official is nuts...maybe some components came from China, but assembly and major components I'm pretty sure is built in Japan!

 

I have revisited a Honda dealership to see the Fit up close again (it has been one-year sine my last visit), and I have come to some conclusions that have turned me off of pursuing a Honda Fit:

• Plastic, plastic, and more plastic! Look at the wheel arches in the trunk and see where plastic piece meets plastic piece and go, "Oh dear!" The Fit shows that Honda can present cheaper-than-Civic, and personally I think it's a little beneath them to try so hard. Fit and finish, not to mention style, is superior in a smart fortwo. Having said that, I have no doubt the Fit will win by a long shot in reliability
• Thin and flimsy doors. Thin, flimsy and non-breathing seats, "itchy, scratchy" fabric
• Floating carpet that's not really proper carpet at all
• No dead pedal. I can't drive long distances with each of my legs articulated differently and one of them unable to stretch out
• Non-locking gas cap
• Hollow roof liner -- resembles the "carpet", actually
• The Fit is an economy car in price, but in North America it forgoes offering fuel-efficient choices. I'm not even sure who this car is for, apart from those who want volume of space or who want to save their money for image modification. There IS a market for luxury minicars that the Fit is missing completely

After getting out of a Fit, I actually feel much better getting back into my smart fortwo (which is essentially a luxury minicar). If you're following my story from earlier, then this post means that for me at least, the Fit isn't a suitable replacement for my smart fortwo.

 

They're two completely different cars IMO. When I purchased my Fit, the Smart was not even a consideration. The FourTwo is basically an in-town people mover; Two person mover. Although it's usually only me and the wife in the Fit, being furniture and space designers, we have to carry odd shaped cargo quite often. In fact, right now there are two plaster decorative columns in the back right now. We've also moved a whole set of 4 large squared off dining chairs without stacking with the rear seats folded down. There is no way to do any of that with a FourTwo. The short wheelbase of the FourTwo also means the ride is more jarring, less confident feeling on the freeway.

But if all you do is in-town driving with one or two people without having to carry anything most times, the Smart is worth looking into.

 

Neither the smart nor the Fit were right for me. Going into Civic land I eventually decided on the Hybrid. Beautiful. Relatively luxurious. Fuel-efficient. Off-the-lot I was already getting 6L/100km in mostly city driving. To see how that pans out over time, watch the spritmonitor meter in my signature. The deal I got, plus the cumulative rebates I will apply for from two levels of government, my final price will be less than a Civic Sedan LX with auto (Ontario residents).

 

the smart cars were doing some promotional thing at my job, and one parked right next to my fit. it's smaller than a yaris!!

i would definitely not feel safe doing any sort of highway driving in something that small.

 

i actually was w/ my friend in my fit (she has a fit too) and we saw one crusiin on the freeway and i'm like "oh shit check dat out its the smart car!" she's like "omg u can die in that thing" lol. its TINYYYYYYYy.