One of those will be mine, although I probably won’t get it until next year.

33/41 MPG is a joke for a golf cart with a roll-cage.

The mileage is a joke for this thing. Why do we constantly have to be reminded small cars are selling so well because of high gas prices? I think we can all figure that one out by ourselves LLN. Anyway, 41mpg SUCKS for a car like this, it should get at the very least in the low 50mpg’s.

But don’t forget it also doubles as a SmartCoffin!

Some one in my ‘hood has one. I think it’s a cool little car, it’s turns heads where ever it is.
I seriously doubt the Ford Ka will ever be able to do that.

Nice car…but the smartusa website does not do it justice. There are very few pictures of the car and very little information. Smart needs to promote their car better so that it can sell more! Can you imagine how fast this car would sell if they made commercials of it?

^^^ Yeah you can air the commercials on the comedy channel during commercial break for South Park and Chappele Show, because this car is nothing but a joke.

maybe u think that but this JOKE is the future. wether u like it or not

Why would anyone want to market this car? It’s definitely a niche product. The inside is absolute garbage — you’d expect that kind of hard plastic from a Chrysler … wait a sec, Daimler used to own Chrysler … coincidence?

But with the Euro being so high VS the greenback, it’s almost a losing proposition to sell the Smart as an ‘econo-lux’ vehicle since it has zero luxury. You’re better off buying a Mini, an entry level Audi or even a 1-series BMW.

All I know is that in Canada, the pricing for a Smart is too high for such old technology and you are forced to go to a MB dealership to have that thing serviced. No thanks!

33 mpg for a car that cannot accommodate more than one friend or your groceries. 29 mpg for a car that can accommodate three friends AND your groceries (e.g. the MINI Cooper, the Cobalt, the Corolla, etc.). Don’t be an idiot. The Smart Car doesn’t give back near enough for all the sacrifice it demands of its owners.

should have had hire estimates

I’d never buy one, but most of the target audience are urbanites that live in congested cities and will never take these out of city limits. I’d much prefer a 2.5 Rabbit or something else like TomF suggested.

I don’t understand this car. Why not get a Mini or Prius for this price range. More car for your money. Isn’t that what we all want?

Woaaaaahhh! Don’t get so offended FU@$$hole. I’m making fun of a car, not your mother. Amazing how worked up people get over a car they don’t even own. You must think the future will only be saved from a massive extinction by your hero known as the Smart Caaaaaaaarrrrrrrr!

It’s a cool little niche car… but I’m afriad that’s all it will ever be. It’s too expensive… too slow… too impractical. It also doesn’t get anywhere near 33/41 in real world driving. More like 29/35. I know that many Smart owners are dissapointed in the car’s fuel economy… AND it burns premium gas. They would have been better off making it a diesel.

The first ones into Canada were diesels, then they switched to the gas motor. Believe it or not the diesel was a more pathetic powerplant than what’s in it now.

Johnny, you are probably right, but I cant imagine how much worse could it get. I drove gasoline version years ago in Europe and was disgusted. Every in-town rental in Madrid had them at a time and even rentals they had discounted rate for a day of about 15-20 EU. For comparison, small Hyundai/Kia, Seat or Skoda were over 25 EU.

Wow. Mini vs. Smart? $19,700 for 29 mpg vs. $11,590 for 37 mpg? This is a second car, a daily commuter car, not my family car replacement. Lucky for me, I drive 7 miles to work each day on roads that do not exceed 35 mph. I test drove both, and my hair was touching the ceiling of the Mini, but I had plenty of room in the Smart. It’s for me to drive to and from work, and that’s it. I want a new car, and I want to spend as little as possible to get something decently safe, decently efficient, comfortable and with a good stereo. Seems like a winner for me. Not everyone is the same, but I fit in the niche perfectly. Plus, I like the looks of it.

However, judging by the numbers, I think that “niche” is bigger than we think.

Wait until the 40+ MPG Cobalt hits the market, followed by a slew of cars from Ford, Honda, and Nissan. Sell Smart while they can, it’s days are numbered…

beatusmongous, try it again. You are obviously much taller then I am, but perhaps Fit will accommodate you. Everything I drove after original bug drives and handles better then Smart. It is not selling in Europe at all now.

I fit in the Fit and Yaris, but they still felt cramped for headroom for me. My only beef with the Smart was the shoulder room was tight if someone else is in the car, but I’d almost never ride with anyone other than my 4-year-old daughter. It also felt a bit strange when braking and turning, because of the MR configuration, but that’s about it. The 2008 U.S. model is very different from the ones scattered all over Europe. In fact, the U.S. one is not as efficient as the 2006 Euro version.

However, price is where I’m happy. I’m not getting a Cabrio, so I won’t be spending $18,000 on this thing. Mine will be $14,395, with my stereo and all the other features I want. There is no car with the same features for the same price. None. And it has better safety ratings than any other small car for the price. The Yaris does have comparable safety ratings, but only when you tack on the airbags, which brings the price to nearly $17,000, knocking it out of the price point that I’m in.

Again, I’m not replacing my family car, and I don’t need 4 seats and room for groceries for my commute. I go to work, and come back, and I carry my laptop and a sack lunch. I need a second car because my minivan isn’t that efficient, and my wife needs it more than I do. It costs more to have her take me to work each day than it would to buy this car. The extra expense of insurance and fuel have been considered, and for the convenience of having two cars, it’s worth it.

Trading a big car that is not ready to be replaced for a small car just for efficiency is a bad idea. But buying a second commuter car if you need it is not a bad idea. If you are shopping, shop around and find something that fits your needs and wants. I found what I need and want, and I’m sure not everyone will come to the same conclusion. But no one should be sheep, and just buy stuff for the wrong reasons. They should buy it because that is what they need and want. If we all needed and wanted the same exact thing, our cars would look like SeAZ.

Global, I can’t wait for the slew of EVs, and I hope they are not so costly.

beatusmongous, all considering who will service you Smart and what will be the cost of service? After all parts has to come from Mercedes, albeit it is labeled Smart and sold by Penske. Benz is nowhere near that venture, if it would risk free or less risky I would imagine Mercedes would be selling them like BMW sells Mini through existing network. For some reason, they are obfuscating their relationship with this product in US (and elsewhere).

One reason is MB has its own subcompact (A-class) coming to the US and that’s where they want to limit the downward reach of the MB brand.

The fuel economy is just pathetic for the size. But why is it such a surprise that fuel efficient cars are the new black? And why is it taking auto manufacturers so long to get a clue?

Who could possibly answer those question? Perhaps, Dr. Ruth.

I would take this over a cobalt anyday. Even the prius.

Want something smaller?

Whats 53 inches long and 39 inches wide?

You ___ oranges.

Usually most people regret when they turn _0, which is also part of the name, and one less and that’s the size of the engine!

Peel P50.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K1qV0zQ83A

Funniest Top Gear segment ever, in my opinion.

Let me throw down some numbers for you… for 15000 miles of driving
Fit: $1633.21 @ 34 MPG, $2056.73 @ 27 MPG (3.69 a gallon)
Smart: $1463.41 @ 41 MPG, $1818.18 @ 33 MPG (4.00 a gallon)

anything @ 18 MPG average $3075 (at 3.69 a gallon)

for 5 years of driving
@12 MPG $23,062.50 (3.69 a gallon)
@18 MPG $15,375 (3.69 a gallon)
Fit: @ 29 MPG average $9543.10 (3.69 a gallon)
smart: @ 36 MPG average $8333.33 ($4.00 a gallon)

The difference between something averaging 36 MPG and something averaging 12 MPG is a whopping $14729.17 Dudes!!! Americans are gonna have to slow down and drive smaller… The smart may not be the best answer, but at least it’s a start and for some it’s even a “smart” decision. (sorry I couldn’t help myself!)

My math was with gas prices staying constant… what would this look like at $6 a gallon…
try $37,500.00 at 12 MPG
and $13,750.5 at 36 MPG (calculated at $6.60 a gallon) check this out! even at $6.60 a gallon a car averaging 36 MPG will cost you less in gas over 75000 miles than a car getting 18 MPG when gas is $3.69

Think about it before you buy that 2009 Camaro SS!

Oh and by the way, the US smarts are not Turbocharged… and the turbocharged smarts have more than 70 hp. somebody messed up the specs on this story…

Haha! That’s probably my favorite episode of Top Gear. I can’t believe they still make replicas of those little things, pretty cool.

Although Monster Garage is probably one of the stupidest car shows I’ve ever watched (the things they do are pretty cool), they took a Peel Trident replica and tried to shoe horn a Hayabusa engine in there. Be funny to pull up to a Vette’ with one of those things, and outrun it on a 1/4 mile. Somebody did the same thing with a Smart Car, they have videos on Youtube.

SERSteve- Although I would agree that your saving a lot, your also getting a lot more car and most likely can justify the payments. Personally, I wouldn’t go with the Smart simply because there’s NO room at all. If you wanna take friends? No. Kids? No. Dogs? No. And as far as I know, the current dealership has been touchy with people looking at these vehicles. I’ve seen quite a few up here recently. And why you messed around with the variables some there is beyond me, but let me update that some…

60,000 miles, or about 5 years of driving, at $4 a gallon, with about the most common segments of mpg’s for vehicles, SUV’s, Mid-size and compact.
-15 mpg = $16,000
-25 mpg= $9,600
-35 mpg = $6,900 (rounded to nearest hundred)

But hey, just because of the cost difference, that doesn’t mean we “are going to have to slow down and drive smaller”. I would rather drive something that’s going to cost me a few thousand dollars more, but DO a lot more in the long run with more equipment, to a little vehicle such as the Smart Car despite how good it may be.

It’s a ****box, period. Slow, buzzy, poor acceleration, absolutely no room in it for anything, and window-to-window **** quality plastics and upholstery. It’s a bottom-of-the-barrel effort. The only redeeming quality is quirky looks (will fade as the novelty wears off) and it parks easily. That’s it. You’d have to be really stupid to compare this to a Fit or a Yaris and buy it anyways.

It is time for the Europeans to dump the premium gas requirement. I’d rather have a Ford Focus, base price right at $14,000 and runs on regular gas, rated at 35mpg on R E G U L A R gas. They throw in the back seat at no extra cost.

I just don’t get this vehicle. The gas mileage estimates are weak compared to other, more normally sized vehicles that have better accommodations and utility. Throw in the requirement of premium fuel and you’re easily negating any savings one would hope to gleam from driving one of these death traps. I certainly wouldn’t want to go up against even an average-sized vehicle in an accident, particularly for no real mileage/cost benefit. For $13K+, I can think of a lot of other vehicles I’d rather be driving.

Why are people so obsessed with the regular vs premium? It’s only a 5% difference in price.

jonmiles- 5% difference is pretty big when you look at the overall scape of things. 5% of $4.00 a gallon is .20 cents. Figure you fill up with 15 gallons of fuel, that’s only about $3, but it adds up to something that really shouldn’t be a requirement in such a little car.

With only an 8 gallon tank, I think it will be difficult to get 15 gallons in it. Still, 8 X .20¢ is $1.60 per fill up. That’s really not a big difference. Check out the Edmunds review, which is pretty interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46nMnCt75qI