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What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

9838 messages,  Last post on Feb 07, 2013 at 10:28 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, smart fortwo, MINI Cooper

Messages Page 213 of 985

#2112 of 9838 Re: I've never sat in a Smart... [snakeweasel] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Sep 07, 2006 (7:02 am)

Replying to: snakeweasel (Sep 07, 2006 5:58 am)
oh, c'mon...the Yaris and Scion xA are to a Smart as a house is to a bird feeder...it's WAY bigger, visually and voume-wise. Check out my carspace page and see pix of what I stuffed into an xA. You aren't getting too much more than a cat and a cantaloupe into a Smart. And yes, the xA comes standard with AC, CD, airbags and ABS...no extra cost.
 
SOME STATS on new diesel hybrids:
 
Okay tracked down some info on the next generation of small diesel hybrids out of Europe. The Peugeot and Citroen hybrid cars are subcompacts with 1.6 liter diesel engines registering 69 mpg. They will appear late 2007 early 2008. The Smart fortwo hybrid diesel is a microcar with a 799cc unit achieving 81 mpg. Note that the Smart takes 17.8 seconds to go from 0-60, about twice the other cars.
 
Makes me think all the more that Smart is a limited car for a limited audience and at this point at least, has been rendered basically unmarketable to mainstream America by new sophisticated diesel/hybrid technology. As Road and Track said recently: "this car on our modern freeways?"
 

#2113 of 9838 Re: the ?: what's wrong.. [brightness04] by logic1

Sep 07, 2006 (7:11 am)

Replying to: brightness04 (Sep 07, 2006 12:23 am)
it's almost always better to buy somewhat more than one's current needs at the time of purchase . . . for the simple reason that if you can keep the car for 4-5 years instead of 2-3 years and have to get a bigger car after that due to life style change (getting married, having kids, find a new hobby, whatever)
 
The argument can just as easily be turned around to say that by buying what you need and maintaining a sense of discipline, you will not be tempted to adopt wasteful habits.

#2114 of 9838 Re: I've never sat in a Smart... [Mr_Shiftright] by snakeweasel

Sep 07, 2006 (7:22 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 07, 2006 7:02 am)
oh, c'mon...the Yaris and Scion xA are to a Smart as a house is to a bird feeder...
 
I mentioned the Yaris not the uglymobile. And the Yaris is small.
 
Check out my carspace page and see pix of what I stuffed into an xA.
 
I bet I could fit more into my Elantra and thats a small car.
 
You aren't getting too much more than a cat and a cantaloupe into a Smart.
 
You can fit a few bags of groceries in a Smart.
 
Note that the Smart takes 17.8 seconds to go from 0-60, about twice the other cars.
 
Since the Smart is going to be sold only in major metropolitan areas where traffic rarely gets to 60 MPH and fast accelerations times are a waste I don't see that as a problem with a Smart.
 
Makes me think all the more that Smart is a limited car for a limited audience
 
To one extent or another every car is like that. Otherwise we would all be driving the exact same thing.
 
As Road and Track said recently: "this car on our modern freeways?"
 
Its not a highway cruising car so please don't make it out to be one. It is a commuter car and lets face it there are plenty of cars out there that are used strictly for commuting and rarely see more than one person in it.
 
Why are you so dead set against a car that if it comes in at the right price would be perfect for many, many people?

#2115 of 9838 Re: the ?: what's wrong.. [brightness04] by snakeweasel

Sep 07, 2006 (7:32 am)

Replying to: brightness04 (Sep 07, 2006 12:23 am)
due to the high transaction cost, it's almost always better to buy somewhat more than one's current needs at the time of purchase . . . for the simple reason that if you can keep the car for 4-5 years instead of 2-3 years and have to get a bigger car after that due to life style change
 
I wouldn't go so far as to say almost always or even the vast majority of the time. As an example, me and "she who must be obeyed" are empty nesters. Since both brats (oops I mean kids) are on their own and no new ones will come our way why buy a bigger car or house than we currently need? And we are not an isolated case. there are plenty of empty nesters, DINK's (Double Income No Kids), single people with no plans of a family, retirees and the like whose needs are not going to increase.
 
Even with the young and newly weds who are planning on having a family later one (say five or more years down the line) buying bigger than you need for the future may not be the best thing.

#2116 of 9838 Re: I've never sat in a Smart... [snakeweasel] by kirstie_h HOST

Sep 07, 2006 (7:34 am)

Replying to: snakeweasel (Sep 07, 2006 7:22 am)
You aren't getting too much more than a cat and a cantaloupe into a Smart.
 
This is silly. Everyone knows that cats hate car rides, and without the cat as a space-filler, the cantaloupe would just roll around.

#2117 of 9838 Re: the ?: what's wrong.. [logic1] by nippononly

Sep 07, 2006 (7:34 am)

Replying to: logic1 (Sep 07, 2006 7:11 am)
We see eye to eye on this one, logic!
 
Not to mention, around here a lot of people who improve their financial situation move into San Francisco, where the big car they bought in the burbs would be LESS practical, not more. So your future needs could just as easily be for a SMALLER car as for a bigger one.
 
People I know that do have kids and bought a larger car as a consequence carry around about a thousand things in the car that neither they nor the kids ever touch. Often, buying the bigger vehicle can indeed just pave the way for adopting wasteful practices.

#2118 of 9838 Re: the ?: what's wrong.. [nippononly] by logic1

Sep 07, 2006 (7:46 am)

Replying to: nippononly (Sep 07, 2006 7:34 am)
Not to mention, around here a lot of people who improve their financial situation move into San Francisco, where the big car they bought in the burbs would be LESS practical, not more.
 
Well, if any of my fellow NYers caught me posting this, I would probably be burned at the stake, but yeah, if I could, 900 square feet in SOMA, a SMART and a bike to supplement the BART and Bus. Daily hikes in the Presidio. Weekends up in Marin and Sonoma on the mountain bike trails. What a life that would be!

#2119 of 9838 Re: the ?: what's wrong.. [logic1] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Sep 07, 2006 (7:55 am)

Replying to: logic1 (Sep 07, 2006 7:46 am)
I used to drive my cat around....
 
Well you need a car in SF because public transportation is rather lame...but it's much easier to own a car in San Francisco than NYC, the latter being just about impossible.
 
ELANTRA---no way you'll get the same cargo into it as an xA....big lunch says you'll get close but won't make it.
 
check it out,
http://www.carspace.com/mr_shiftright
 
 and yes, you can use the front seat but you can't use a trash compacter! (what'll stop you is the height and length of some of the boxes, not necessarily the volume.
 
The Smart couldn't carry 1/10th of this stuff even though it's 2/3rds the size.
 
INCENTIVES TO BUY: Presently with the Prius, you get a) ultra-clean (unequalled) emissions, tax break, commuter lane pass, status of advanced hybrid technology.
 
With the Smart, you get none of the above at the present time.

#2120 of 9838 Re: the ?: what's wrong.. [Mr_Shiftright] by jlawrence01

Sep 07, 2006 (8:07 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 07, 2006 7:55 am)
Seems to me that you would be better off buying the smallest car that meets 95% of your need and renting a larger vehicle when you need to haul freight. Home Depot rents pick-ups for $19.99/day in many markets as do some of the U-Haul type organizations.

#2121 of 9838 Re: the ?: what's wrong.. [Mr_Shiftright] by snakeweasel

Sep 07, 2006 (8:18 am)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 07, 2006 7:55 am)
check it out,
 
Checked it out, yep it would fit, no problem.
 
and yes, you can use the front seat but you can't use a trash compacter!
 
Wouldn't need the front seat, just would have to fold down the back seat.
 
Just remember I am driving this:
 

 
Not this:
 

 
INCENTIVES TO BUY: Presently with the Prius,
 
There really is no real incentive to buy except for the "look at me" factor and the so called feel good factor. The tax break is fastly disappearing and doesn't really offset the extra cost, we don't have commuter lanes here and even if we did allowing hybrids to use them goes against the reasoning for them. As for the advanced hybrid technology, thats just makes it more complicated, more prone to breakdowns and more expensive to fix when they need repairs.

Messages Page 213 of 985

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