Article Comments 2008 Smart Fortwo First Drive

110 messages, Last post on Aug 07, 2008 at 8:31 AM

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Article comments for First Drive: 2008 Smart Fortwo - The 2008 Fortwo is larger than its predecessor, but it's still outrageously small, some 40 inches shorter than a Mini. In real life, it looks like an artist's impression of what a car might look like if we all drank skinny lattes. (more)

Full Test: 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion - Bottom Line: Hugely versatile as a city-only car, but perhaps not the best choice for those who go farther or need to carry more. (more)

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#73 of 110 Re: You're forgetting a couple of things [plekto] by yukon252 Feb 12, 2008 (8:59 pm)
Replying to: plekto (Mar 16, 2007 3:46 pm) i have an older diesel model and have done upgrades to the turbo and intercooler and ait vents to pull more air in and it quite quick. 1 and 2 get the jump on cars at the lights , recent changes put it at 75hp for only 1200ibs car. you can get lighter wheels and body kits and chips to tune up the diesel model. upgrades can push the hp to over 110. and still good mpg. it becomes fun with that power and the 6speed and performance exhaust sounds nice.
#74 of 110 Couldn't resist! by pf_flyer HOST Feb 15, 2008 (5:56 am)
The Bard of the Alternate Route had some commentary on the Smart a few days ago...LOL Ask Dub Schwartz!
#75 of 110 Full Test Available! by KarenS HOST Feb 27, 2008 (2:56 am)
Full Test: 2008 Smart Fortwo Passion
#76 of 110 Maybe the next generation will nail it? by tcolberg85 Feb 28, 2008 (6:57 pm)
Having a small car seems great, but here in LA the Fortwo's power deficit is killer. Maybe it isn't too bad on the West side where the 405 is almost always moving below the speed limit, but I don't think it'd be a good idea to take it on the Pasadena section of the 110 freeway (for non-Angelinos, the freeway has on-ramps that are only 10 ft long in some places). And considering how inadequate the acceleration is, the mileage is very disappointing. The small size and relatively safe enclosure are enticing, but the powertrain, fuel economy and surprisingly high price make it less a practical car and more a second or third car for the fashionistas amongst us in the city.
#77 of 110 No mention of requiring Premium fuel by tonyride Feb 29, 2008 (6:40 am)
I just read Edmunds Full Test of a 2008 Smart ForTwo Passion. I thought it was very informative, especially when they compared it with the similiarly priced Yaris and Fit. But I wonder why they never mentioned that the ForTwo requires premium fuel. Shouldn't budget minded consumers be made aware of that fact? Especially with the price of gas these days and most places charge more that $.20 per gallon extra for premium fuel. It doesn't make sense to me that a car for the budget minded requires the most expensive fuel. Replies to this message: dmathews3 (Feb 29, 2008 8:15 am) tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 8:29 am) snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 3:40 pm) tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 5:07 pm) snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 5:36 pm) and 6 more...
#78 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [tonyride] by dmathews3 Feb 29, 2008 (8:15 am)
Replying to: tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 6:40 am) I think I read somewhere else that you could use either but Premium would give you a little more power. GM has done that a few of their cars in the past, allowed either but commented that prem. would give you more HP. Replies to this message: tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 8:29 am)
#79 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [dmathews3] by tonyride Feb 29, 2008 (8:29 am)
Replying to: dmathews3 (Feb 29, 2008 8:15 am) I know what you're saying but this is not a case where you can use regular. Some manufactures say premium is recommended and others say it is required. For the ForTwo premium is required. By the way, for GM cars that recommends premium, by using regular you lose more than just HP, you also lose some of the rated fuel economy.
#80 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [tonyride] by snakeweasel Feb 29, 2008 (3:40 pm)
Replying to: tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 6:40 am) Premium is only 6% more than regular (and that percentage will only go down as gas prices go up) and the Smart gets 20% better mileage. Sounds like a good trade off. Replies to this message: tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 5:07 pm) snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 5:36 pm) tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 6:27 pm) and 1 more... magbarn (Mar 01, 2008 7:33 am) and 3 more...
#81 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [snakeweasel] by tonyride Feb 29, 2008 (5:07 pm)
Replying to: snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 3:40 pm) That's not the point I was tring to make. Some may think that's a fair trade off but others may not but the fact that a budget minded buyer should need to know that they will need to buy premium gas. Some may not mind that it only accomodates 2 with minimal storage compared to Fit which has 4 doors and can sit 4 comfortably but will squeeze in 5 and has a trunk. A Yaris seats at least 4 with 2 or 4 doors with more storage. The trade off is too much in my opinion. Also, I don't know where you live but premium here in central NJ is 10% more than regular. Replies to this message: snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 5:36 pm) tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 6:27 pm) snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 6:49 pm) magbarn (Mar 01, 2008 7:33 am) snakeweasel (Mar 01, 2008 8:16 am) and 2 more...
#82 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [tonyride] by snakeweasel Feb 29, 2008 (5:36 pm)
Replying to: tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 5:07 pm) Ok the trade off for you may not be worth it, but lets face the facts there are a lot of cars out there that only see one person and little or no cargo. On your next commute to work take a notice of how many cars are single occupancy. A great many of those cars will never have more than two people in it (if that many). So with that in mind the trade off is for those people to spend more money for a back seat and two extra doors that will never be used. I for one cannot foresee any time when I would need a back seat in my daily commuting car. While I will admit that not everyone is like me but I will bet that there is a sizable number of cars that will never see a back seat passenger. As for where I live its in the Chicago area and typically its 10 cents between grades which puts premium just over 6% more than regular. Replies to this message: tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 6:27 pm) snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 6:49 pm) magbarn (Mar 01, 2008 7:33 am) snakeweasel (Mar 01, 2008 8:16 am) magbarn (Mar 03, 2008 9:10 am) and 1 more...