Friday, April 18, 2008

More on the Smart Car

One thing I forgot to mention about the Smart Car - it runs on premium fuel only. That's crummy, as that puts it at almost the same cost per mile as the Toyota Yaris, which has four seats, (The Smart gets 36 combined mpg, whereas the Yaris gets 32 combined mpg - but runs on regular fuel. So when you compare the prices, they come out about equal. The Yaris wins, in my book.)

Just FYI, the similarly small Chevrolet Aveo gets a relatively bad 26 combined mpg. I have driven that pup, and it feels really cheap, as in cheaply-made.

Another downside is that there is a 6-12 month wait. You have to deposit $99 to put your name on a waiting list. I just can't figure out why the parking lot has 15 or 20 Smarts just sitting, waiting.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

For those readers who are eager to partake of Smart Car feelings, please hold out for a little while longer. Toyota, the crown prince of reliability under king Honda, is coming out with a Smart sized vehicle that will do all the things you would think the Smart would promise like size, economy and price. Its called the IQ. Its the Smart done smart.

paulmerrill said...

I think in about 10 years, just about every car manufacturer will have a Smart equivalent - or three.