Here's the biggest problem with our long-term Smart Fortwo:
It's priced like a real car.
Whenever someone asks me for my opinion of the Smart, I reply, "It might make some sense...if it cost eight or nine grand." But ours listed for over $15k. That's real-car money. Honda Fit money. Base Mazda 3 or Elantra or Civic or Corolla money. Hell, our Smart even makes the base Yaris looks like a bright idea at $12k and change, not to mention the Accent coupe at $11k.
Now, suppose the Smart got ridiculously good gas mileage. Say, 50 city/70 highway, something like that. In that case, it would be understandable that this thing is exceeding sales expectations, with the first two years of stateside Smarts already spoken for back in March. Fuel economy is sexy these days, so I could see why people would want to pony up real-car coin for a toy car with mega-MPGs. But the Smart's 36 mpg combined figure is frankly pathetic for something this small -- and that's using the required premium unleaded, of course.
So the Smart's sales success leaves me scratching my head. Lop $6 or $7k off the price of our Fortwo, and sure, I'd recommend it as an unrefined and impractical but affordable alternative to a real car. As it stands, though, this has got to be the worst $15k you could possibly spend on a new car today.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 10,327 miles
Subscribe
Recent Posts
Archives
Vehicles
Past Vehicles
Links
If only car marketing/sales involved logic.
Agreed. As I understand it, from talking to car people during my 4 months in the UK, the Smart is more of an 'upscale' city car than anything else. If you wanted real economy without the looks, you'd go for a Fiat Panda, Toyota AYGO or something similar. Too bad they can't justify vehicles like those in the states...especially the new Renaultsport 197 Cup (built off of the Clio base).
Amen.
I don't think people buy this car because they like the car itself. I think you can rack this up for the 'snob factor' it generates. I don't see Joe the Plumber rushing to the nearest Mercedes dealer to get on the waiting list.
For that matter, I don't think any car with a 2 year waiting list has staying power (yes, even the Mini will lose its euphoria eventually).
This might be true in parts of the country where parking is plentiful.
But if you live in a city where parking is a nightmare, the Smart fortwo is worth its weight in gold.
Plus it is the only rear-engine car you can buy for under $80k.
Disclaimer: I have the brabus model that was released yesterday reserved.
I think I would just get an 09 Honda Fit. Seems like a more practical, reliable, and enjoyable small car.
Agree?
Josh - I agree completely. Good write-up.
As for why they are selling so well - people are idiots. There's a whole lot more idiots than smart people out there. Idiots seem to reproduce more for some reason, and natural selection is temporarily faltering in the human species.
PC has it exactly right. In my younger days when I lived in a hipper part of Chicago I drove a Honda CRX that allowed me to park in very small spaces that only 2 or 3 other cars sold at the time would fit in. I probably saved 15-20 minutes a night of driving around time.
When I did a driving vacation to NYC this spring a car the size of the Smart as opposed to my Forester would have been a god send (of course the actual driving from Chicago to NYC and back part would have sucked, but the easy parking when I got there would have been great).
My biggest complaint with the Smart is the premium fuel requirement. Why in the world does a slow, non-turbo, 70 hp "economy" car require premium? That is simply ridiculous.
Good entry, great picture.
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Edmunds wrote:
"even makes the base Yaris looks like a bright idea at $12k and change"
What exactly is so bad about the Yaris? Is there a reason that Edmunds has never tested one? Add one to the long term fleet!
I'd take an xD over a Yaris any day just to get the 1.8L engine.
pc123456, if that's your primary concern when buying a car, then the Smart makes sense. That's not why most people buy it.
The premium fuel requirement still floors me.
Ok, now for my pro-American bitch. Many fuel efficient alternatives were listed, but none American. None of those listed beat the Cobalt XFE. The Focus falls right in the middle of the pack for those listed. Call me overly critical if you must, and I'm sure you will. :)
There is one customer for the Smart: the idiot who wants attention. I live in downtown Charlotte, where parking, while at a premium, is still strictly 1-car-per-space whether you drive a Tahoe or a Smart. Believe it or not there are several people I know with them, and they usually will park outside of a coffee shop each morning (taking up a regular-sized-car space) , grab a coffee, and then sit outside, making sure to grab the outdoor seat closest to the Smart and displaying the keys to it.
Exactly my thoughts about the car. For $15k and in need for a small car, I would buy a well equipped Yaris with the same mpg and the ability to carry more people and stuff.
They take an outdoor seat because the Fortwo does not come with cupholders.
http://www.smartusa.com/smart-fortwo-pure.aspx
For some reason the cars I buy have a tendency to give me the label of an idiot and I don't know why. I have owned two H1 Hummers, a H2, several exotics of varying labels, and now I have a Smart on the way. Yet I am being called an idiot again. People who sell their $5,000 Toyota Echo and buy a $25k Prius to save money on fuel are the real idiots.
My reasons for buying a Smart are I can fit it in my garage lengthwise behind my golf cart. It is a stylish little thing, and I bet it is going to be a barrel of monkeys to drive my convertible in the summer. It is not always about any measurable or reportable aspect of a car. For me it is most about a soul and a honesty in a car just like what has had me keep a 1994 Miata around for 10 years when I usually keep cars around for 2-3 years max.
^ I can't tell if the above post is real or fake.
What really makes me scratch my head is the dealer mark-ups on the Smarts. I'm seeing them advertised in the paper at $24,000. Twenty four grand! On Ebay, they're even more! It's madness!
The premium fuel requirement baffles me as well.
At this rate, I'd rather take the keys to the Ford Focu....oh wait...I have to go slit my wrists now.
Its all about hipness... even the Prius in some parts of the country is more about an image than a real concern for the environment. There's nothing smart about the Smart for an economic and practical standpoint. Who in this world needs a golf cart and a Smart??? And Hummers? The math adds up perfectly.
The novelty hasn't worn off yet in the US for the Smart - "Hey, look! It's one of those Smart cars!" Give it another few years, and the rebates and low-interest financing will come along. I still cannot understand how a 1.0-liter, 3-cylinder engine can't even crack 40 mpg in such a light car, and uses premium fuel no less! This car is begging for the diesel engine and a true manual-transmission. Then it would make sense. I think the Toyota iQ will end the Smart craze once and for all.
Thank you, I agree with everything you said. Premium fuel for that. bahh
"Exactly my thoughts about the car. For $15k and in need for a small car, I would buy a well equipped Yaris with the same mpg and the ability to carry more people and stuff."
well equipped? Yaris? hmm?
I'll bet it would gain 10 mpg just by having a real manual trans.
We already know it will get 60 or 70 mpg with a diesel. Imagine a diesel and a manual.
Those 60-70mpg ratings don't transfer to the US. The European mpg ratings are bs. I really doubt that diesel would pass US emissions either.
I do agree that there is likely substantial loss in the tranny though. Seems silly that MB doesn't address that.
^^ you can get higher octane fuel in Europe, hence the higher mpg ratings.
I can get high octane fuel here too. I believe the IL folks have been using premium and the mileage is still poor relative to the car's small size, light weight, and 1970's weak engine.
"Those 60-70mpg ratings don't transfer to the US. The European mpg ratings are bs. I really doubt that diesel would pass US emissions either."
Actually I'm taking Canadian ratings, not European. I haven't looked up what they are rated at in Europe.
Here the diesels Smarts are rated at:
City: 4.6 L/100 km (61 mpg Imperial)
Hwy: 3.8 L/100 km (74 mpg Imperial)
In US gallons that works out to about 52 mpg city and 62 hwy.
Since several people I know with them have no problem beating the Canadian ratings, I don't think they are BS.
I find it amusing that somehow car diesels which produce very little pollution are not allowing but the roads are full of large trucks, buses etc spewing out huge clouds of smoke. And then add in ships, planes, trains, construction equipment and farm equipment which don't have to meet any standards.
It sure is a good thing they kept out the tiny Smart diesel. The world might have ended.
I keep forgetting you're from the Great White North and have funny gallons. 50/60 makes more sense. I'm sure the EPA would rank it just a little lower.
Never underestimate the ability of Americans to buy huge numbers of cars that are terrible to drive.
And we always thought you had the funny gallons ;)
You're right about the EPA rating it lower. The current gas Smart in Canada is rated at 5.9 L/100 km city and 4.8 L/100 km hwy. That works out to 40 city and 51 hwy in US gallons.
I checked the US EPA ratings for 2008 and it's only rated at 33 mpg city and 41 hwy.
That's huge difference. Tough to say who right though as everyone I know with a Smart has a diesel. Sales seem to have slowed since they started offering the gas model only.
Resale prices on the diesel are impressive though.
"Never underestimate the ability of Americans to buy huge numbers of cars that are terrible to drive."
Don't forget that Smart sold something like 800,000 fortwos in Europe and Canada before it was ever released to the US market. Looks like we're not the only ones who buy terrible-driving cars.
"I can get high octane fuel here too. I believe the IL folks have been using premium and the mileage is still poor relative to the car's small size, light weight, and 1970's weak engine."
97 octane fuel? i believe that in Germany you can even get 100 octane. On my dads ML500 he can get 18 mpg with 91, and 20 mpg with 93...
^^ sorry 100RON...which is about 95-96 octane
m_thrizzle: it's real right now I have something like 16 cars ranging from the oldest a 1912 Ford hot rod to the newest of the Smart which is on the way.
@mbtech : Europeans can have even worse taste than Americans. Renault Twingo. 'nuff said.
"@mbtech : Europeans can have even worse taste than Americans. Renault Twingo. 'nuff said."
What's wrong with the Twingo?
http://www.renaultsport.co.uk/roadcars/twingo/imagegallery.asp