Article Comments 2008 Smart Fortwo First Drive

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

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What is this discussion about? smart fortwo, Hatchback

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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#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...
#83 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [snakeweasel] by tonyride Feb 29, 2008 (6:27 pm)
Replying to: snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 5:36 pm) Granted, but my point is not about trade off. I don't know if you read the review I was originally referring to but they point out the pluses and minuses of the ForTwo and I just thought it was interesting that they chose not to mention the premium fuel requirement. As for needing a back seat, well I guess your situation is different but although I do drive to work by myself, I do have family, friends, and 2 dogs that will occupy my rear seats on occasion. Buying and insuring another car just for my commute to work is just out of the question. Replies to this message: snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 6:49 pm)
#84 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [tonyride] by snakeweasel Feb 29, 2008 (6:49 pm)
Replying to: tonyride (Feb 29, 2008 6:27 pm) As for needing a back seat, well I guess your situation is different but although I do drive to work by myself, I do have family, friends, and 2 dogs that will occupy my rear seats on occasion. So do I and here is the thing, I never said it was a good car for an only car but the perfect second commuter car. In my personal life I would have many occasions to use a back seat and need more cargo room but me and "she who must be obeyed" both don't need a bigger car. One of us can have a Smart and the other a larger sedan. There are many two car families out there where the second car could easily be filled by the Smart. When you go out on the weekends or evenings with family and friends take the other larger car. If you are single and only have one car the Smart is not the way to go, if you are married with two cars and one is primarily used for commuting then the Smart is that perfect commuting car.
#85 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [snakeweasel] by magbarn Mar 01, 2008 (7:33 am)
Replying to: snakeweasel (Feb 29, 2008 5:36 pm) The problem with this car is you HAVE to spend more money to lose the back seat lol. A 2008 yaris sedan can be easily be bargained/bought for $12000 before TTL with a proper manual tranny. My roomate's yaris also gets 38-40MPG on REGULAR. This car is definately more a fashion statement unless it was priced around $9000, then we're talking. Replies to this message: snakeweasel (Mar 01, 2008 8:16 am) magbarn (Mar 03, 2008 9:10 am) snakeweasel (Mar 03, 2008 3:41 pm)
#86 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [magbarn] by snakeweasel Mar 01, 2008 (8:16 am)
Replying to: magbarn (Mar 01, 2008 7:33 am) The problem with this car is you HAVE to spend more money to lose the back seat lol. No you actually spend less. A 2008 yaris sedan can be easily be bargained/bought for $12000 before TTL with a proper manual tranny. Compare apples to apples please since the Smart is an automatic and it is almost impossible to get a manual Yaris price the Yaris with an automatic. Plus the Smart has traction and stability control, I am not sure you can get that on the base Yaris. My roomate's yaris also gets 38-40MPG on REGULAR. The Yaris is rated at 36 Highway and at 3.15 per gallon that comes to 8.75 cents per mile to drive, The Smart is rated at 41 so at 3.35 per gallon that comes to 8.17 cents per mile. Thats 0.48 cents a mile more to drive the Yaris, while it may not sound like much it does add up. Driving in the city the difference is even greater. Replies to this message: magbarn (Mar 03, 2008 9:10 am) snakeweasel (Mar 03, 2008 3:41 pm)
#87 of 110 Told you so! by 6sptl Mar 01, 2008 (9:16 am)
The smart is a poor excuse for a car. It is unbelievably cute. But its cuteness cannot coverup the fact that it drives badly and gives terrible milage for what is essentially an overgrown go kart. Furthermore, the fools that do buy one will soon discover, its reliabilty is a nightmare. A Honda fit is infinitely more spacious (it fits 4 plus cargo) spends less fuel and drives like a proper car, to make matters even more ridiculous it costs the same.The Smart is an oxymoron! The smart is simpy the modern version of the YUGO but this time it has a very pretty face!
#88 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [snakeweasel] by magbarn Mar 03, 2008 (9:10 am)
Replying to: snakeweasel (Mar 01, 2008 8:16 am) Have you actually called around for a manual yaris sedan? It's quite easy to find one if you'e willing to drive the 50 or so miles for a dealer here in southern california. My roomate found one after calling about dealers and got one that was about 25 miles away from the house. He was also able to chop off about $1200 off the price. OTD (with california's craxy expensive tax and DMV fees) was $13400. If you price the pure version of the smart with the following options that my roomate's 2008 yaris had: 1. A/C 2. MP3 Radio with MP3 jack.(I put the cheaper radio as the higher end one has 6 disc) 3. Electric Power steering 4. Metallic paint (I'm going to let this one slide as toyota doesn't charge for his silver paint lol) = $12990 BEFORE TTL ~$14400 OTD estimated. This $1000 difference (smart dealers aren't haggling) is about 208,000 miles before your "smart" car starts making economic sense at .48 cents cheaper per mile. I'm still not counting reliability and maintenance as the yaris is one of the most reliable cars in consumer reports (unlike its big brother camry which has taken a recent nosedive) So the extra $1000 gets you the "smiles" lol The only decent smart car is the turbodiesel edition which our stupid state frowns upon while allowing craploads of diesel 18-wheelers polluting the atmosphere MUCH worse than any euro spec diesel passenger car. Replies to this message: snakeweasel (Mar 03, 2008 3:41 pm)
#89 of 110 Re: No mention of requiring Premium fuel [magbarn] by snakeweasel Mar 03, 2008 (3:41 pm)
Replying to: magbarn (Mar 03, 2008 9:10 am) It's quite easy to find one if you'e willing to drive the 50 or so miles for a dealer here in southern california. Around here you will have to be willing to go at least 150 miles. Sorry but I am not going out of state to but a car. Very few cars around here have manual options. The all come with autos.
#90 of 110 ... by plekto Mar 03, 2008 (3:55 pm)
The Yaris is rated at 36 Highway and at 3.15 per gallon that comes to 8.75 cents per mile to drive, The Smart is rated at 41 so at 3.35 per gallon that comes to 8.17 cents per mile. Thats 0.48 cents a mile more to drive the Yaris, while it may not sound like much it does add up. Driving in the city the difference is even greater. **** That's $480 in extra gas for 100,000 miles. And a manual Yaris is a snap to get - just go to Cars Direct and have them get one for you. Plus, Toyota is running $500 in manufacturer to dealer incentives right now, which is why you can get about $1200 off the normal price. That pays for the convenience package which includes most importantly, rear seats that recline and slide back and forth, which allows for Honda Fit type legroom and headroom. In fact, slid back and leaned all the way back as well the thing is as spacious in the rear as a Camry. Oh, it would also include all the goodies. Here's a Yaris: Base Model: Net Cost: $10,552+660 delivery. Power/Convenience package: $1161 ABS: $258 Side Airbags: $559 Fog Lamps: $88 TRD rear swaybar: $150 - not stability control, but nearly as useful in this car. Cold Area Package: $88 - see below $13,516 Total. This, of course, adds a lot of features, but the Smart has most of these. I added the cold weather option because I always add that if its available, since it adds a heavy duty starter and rear heater ducts, heavy duty heater, and so on, which I figure Smart would add if there was a rear seat.(and my son wouldn't be happy without - rear heat is a godsend) The Base Smart: Target Price: $11.590+635 delivery. Air Conditioning - $600 MP3 capable radio - $495 Fog Lamps $110(if the dealer doesn't charge you to install this) $13,440 total. Honestly, too close to call. And, this really isn't a Yaris - the Upper trim level Smart is closer to it, since the Yaris I chose has power everything on it. Smart Passion: $14,235 Total This includes the foglamps and MP3 stereo for $260. It's a nice car and all, but it's obviously suffering from Mercedes pricing, especially since Mercedes is on record as saying that they reduced the production costs of the Smart 451 by over 20% from the older 450. That nets about a $9000-$10000 cost for the car and the rest is markup. Replies to this message: magbarn (Mar 03, 2008 9:29 pm) 6sptl (Mar 05, 2008 9:48 am)
#91 of 110 Re: ... [plekto] by magbarn Mar 03, 2008 (9:29 pm)
Replying to: plekto (Mar 03, 2008 3:55 pm) I've come to the same conclusion. Also keep in mind the BASE smart car doesn't come with power windows that's why my roomate's yaris was even less than the smart by about $1000. Face it, you can't argue in favor of the smart other than it's size, "cuteness" factor, or appearing "green". From an MPG/pricing standpoint it doesn't hold water. Replies to this message: 6sptl (Mar 05, 2008 9:48 am)