I drove my new Smart Car about 100 miles this weekend, about a quarter of that on the freeway. Here are some early observations.
Handling
The steering has reasonable road feel and the force required to turn is just right. The short wheelbase and light weight conspire to make the car jittery on roads that aren't perfectly smooth. Short speed bumps best be taken very slowly. Front suspension is surprisingly soft in a straight-line but gives adequate control when cornering. You can't turn off the stability control and it will come on quickly if you push the car in a corner. This will never be an autocross competitor but neither is it scary or uncomfortable.
On the freeway, I felt surprisingly comfortable. Stay out of the bumpy truck lane and freeway driving is very good. I went as fast as 80 mph but most of the time was 70-75 mph. The ride was very stable and surprisingly quiet for a convertible with the top up. I think the car would be quite comfortable on a long road trip. It is tall enough that other drivers see it easily. Maybe too easily - the biggest hazard on the freeway was the crazy maneuvering of other drivers who wanted to get a better look.
Interior
The seats are firm but comfortable. They have very little lateral support but since you can't even approach 1 G cornering, it is not so important. For me, the driving position is excellent. I like where the wheel and pedals are in relation to the seat. There is plenty of room in just about every direction and the passenger side is particularly spacious.
The speedometer is easy to read and the tach in the dash-mounted pod is very easy to see without taking your eyes off the road. The LCD screen below the speedometer has odometer, trip meter, outside air temperature, time, and the fuel gauge. With sunglasses on, the LCD is a little hard to read during the day. The nighttime illumination of the instruments is excellent. The center console position for the ignition key takes some getting used to - I still try to put the key into the steering column about half the time. Speaking of center console, I wish there was a center arm rest.
Entertainment
The audio system sounds very good and I like all of the features, particularly the ability to play MP3 CDs and the Aux input. A steering wheel mounted volume control would be nice but that is a minor issue. The radio as six presets each for one AM group and two FM groups. The six CD changer makes you select the slot in which to insert a CD (instead of just putting it in the first empty slot). Playing MP3 discs allows for close to 1,000 songs available at any time - very handy. The player displays the ID3 Tag info on it's LCD screen: album, artist, song name on three lines. The characters are small but very readable. If you play a CD that has song TEXT info, it will also display. The aux input is in the glove box which is a little inconvenient but at least is is available, which is more than on most cars.
Engine/Transmission
I was initially apprehensive about the lack of horsepower but in real world driving, it is perfectly okay. The most notable area where the engine suffers is at speed - when you are going 70 mph and want to pass, the acceleration is very weak. In around town driving, I haven't noticed a problem with the power. To move quickly, just get the engine up to 3,000 rpm where the torque starts to kick in and you can handle most situations.
The transmission is another story. The semi-automatic shifting is not the highlight of the Smart Car. The up-shift times are too slow; particularly from first to second. Lifting slightly on the throttle helps but it takes some practice to get the timing right. It seems a little silly to have to lift your foot from the throttle while using paddle shifters to change gears. Down-shifting is okay except when coming to a complete stop - sometimes there is a lurch forward in the last few feet as the clutch tries to decide if it should be in or out. Also, reverse is a little tricky to find but I think that may just be a problem in my particular car which is fixable.
General Driving
As you might imagine, parking is quite easy - just pull directly into a parallel parking spot. The short turning radius is useful; I can turn the car around in my driveway and exit pointing in the right direction (for my particular driveway, this is a safety plus). Being able to raise and lower the top while driving is very handy. The doors are very long (wide?) which is a consideration for some types of parking.
Because of the high seating position, visibility in the front and sides is very good. Rear visibility is hampered by the high seat backs and if the top is all the way down, it blocks the lower half of your rear view. The outside mirrors are located well and help offset the poor visibility of the inside mirror. The passenger visor has a mirror (no light) but the driver visor does not.
Even with the high compression ratio, the small engine does not offer much braking assistance. Use of the brakes on long downhill runs is necessary to keep speed under control.
The headlights work really well and night visibility is as good as any car I have driven. Auto on/off is handy and the lights also come on automatically when the windshield wipers are on - perhaps saving me a ticket sometime in the future (California law requires headlights on when windshield wipers are on).
Summary
This is not an objective review because most owners of a new car are going to find it praise-worthy. Overall, the Smart Car is fun to drive and should prove economical to operate. It is roomy inside, comfortable enough, and surprisingly easy to drive at highway speeds. The clutchless shifting could be improved (and might be with some creative ECU remapping). The bumpy rides on unsmooth roads might be improvable, I will keep my eyes open for suspension improvements. However, I won't be able the change the wheelbase or weight so it is probably a permanent situation. There might be some power improvements available without seriously hurting reliability or the environment - a Doug Thorley exhaust system looks like it is worth about a 10% improvement.
Where can I go today?
Subscribe