Anyone own a Smart Car?

[Dave]

I know there's been a couple announcement threads in the past, but any actual owners here? Like to hear about your experience.

[JoshS]

Saw my first one in the US on the Freeway yesterday. Hate to get into a highspeed accident in that puppy.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by JoshS

Saw my first one in the US on the Freeway yesterday. Hate to get into a highspeed accident in that puppy.

I wouldn't either, but it actually gets good crash test reviews, this just released:
Smart ForTwo gets top marks in IIHS crash tests - May. 14, 2008

[BladeRunner]

The polar opposite of a Lotus, performance-wise. Also, as mentioned many times before, not very good fuel mileage for such a small and light car (40 mpg?).

A Honda Insight or just about any motorcycle would be a better choice

[PhlypSide]

I don't but I drove one. Very cool little car and the pricetag and gas mileage are awesome.

Crashes?

Top End S Class versus Smartcar ("A Class")

YouTube - Mercedes S-Class vs. Smart

(Spreken zie deutsch?)

Mid-range E-Class versus Smartcar

YouTube - smart car high speed vs E class

(English, probably from "Fifth Gear")

Smartcar versus concrete blocks at 70MPH

YouTube - Smart Car Crash Test

(Definitely from "Fifth Gear" )

[jmiesse]

it weighs 2300 pounds

[jmiesse]

1 year wait according to Smart at Easton in Columbus

[Dave]

Originally Posted by jmiesse

it weighs 2300 pounds

I believe that's it's max weight with pax. I think it's just over 1800lbs curb.

[texige]

The videos crashing the Smart head on into a barrier are very impressive. It probably does better than most cars on the market but if they crashed it head on into a moving Suburban or pick up, the result would be ugly.

[PhlypSide]

^^^ What about the crash into an S Class (weighs about as much as a pickup/SUV) but lower bumpers?

[KingOfJericho]

I'm really surprised that so many people question the safety of the Smart but drive a Lotus without batting a lash... You are aware that the average sedan could drive right up the front of the Elise and if you were to rear and nearly any car you would slide completely under it. See below...

[jallingt]

Quite impressive. These videos and tests really show how crumple zones do so well in other cars. I would think one would not survive those impacts just due to decelleration G forces alone.
The car is a quite strong metal box!

[ivan1]

just came across this today...very safe if you hit another smart car

The ultra-tiny Smart ForTwo earned top marks in side and front crash tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said Wednesday. The two-seat car did not earn the Institute's Top Safety Pick designation, however, because it didn't earn top marks for whiplash protection.

But even if the ForTwo improved its whiplash protection, it would not be named a Top Safety Pick, said IIHS spokesman Russ Rader. The institute does not have a specific size requirement, but the ForTwo is simply too small to be considered safe under all conditions, including highway driving, he said

Smart would not comment on the IIHS's decision regarding the car's eligibility to be a Top Safety Pick.

The ForTwo, which is about three feet shorter and 700 pounds lighter than a Mini Cooper, earned the best possible rating of "Good" for front and side impact protection in tests by the IIHS, a private group funded by insurance companies.

The ForTwo received an "Acceptable" rating, which is the second best possible, for whiplash protection in rear impacts. Technically, that would prevent it from getting a "Top Safety Pick" from the IIHS.

The ForTwo is the smallest car the IIHS has ever tested. "All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better," said institute president Adrian Lund in an statement. "But among the smallest cars, the engineers at Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."

The ForTwo, which the IIHS classifies as "microcar," has very little crush space in its short front end. The institute credits the car's seatbelts and airbags with helping minimize crash forces on the occupants. The crash test dummy's head hit the steering wheel through the airbag during the front crash test, but the impact wasn't hard enough to affect the final rating, said spokesman Rader.

"The IIHS frontal crash test is conducted at a higher speed than required by federal safety standards, and it's an offset test that replicates most real-world crashes. The smart's sophisticated safety management system performed as designed," said Smart's Schembri.

A different kind of test
The federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted different crash tests, whose results were released in April and showed some weak points.

In the NHTSA front crash test, the ForTwo earned the top rating of "Five Stars" for driver protection, but just "Three Stars" for passenger protection. Few vehicles today get ratings as low as three stars in NHTSA's front crash tests.

The IIHS uses a different type of front crash test and does not place a crash test dummy in the passenger seat. While NHTSA tests vehicles by crashing them straight into an immovable barrier, the institute crashes vehicles into a deformable barrier so that just part of the vehicle's front end strikes it.

Results from front impact crash tests, no matter how they are conducted, cannot be compared between cars of different sizes. In a real-world front crash, occupants in a smaller vehicle would experience greater crash forces when hitting a larger vehicle going in the opposite direction.

The Smart ForTwo earned the best possible ratings in side impact tests conducted by both NHTSA and IIHS, but in both cases, the door became unlatched during the crash tests. While that didn't affect the final score in either case, it's not ideal, said IIHS's Lund.

Smart is a product of Germany's Daimler (DAI) (DAI), which also makes Mercedes-Benz luxury cars.

First Published: May 14, 2008: 3:51 AM EDT

[PhlypSide]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

I'm really surprised that so many people question the safety of the Smart but drive a Lotus without batting a lash... You are aware that the average sedan could drive right up the front of the Elise and if you were to rear and nearly any car you would slide completely under it. See below...

^^^ Oh d@mn. But look how strong the front clam is holding up a crown vic like that!

[PhlypSide]

Originally Posted by jallingt

Quite impressive. These videos and tests really show how crumple zones do so well in other cars. I would think one would not survive those impacts just due to decelleration G forces alone.
The car is a quite strong metal box!

^^^ That's a very real concern, the car seems to come away okay, but dummies are not people (most of the time ).

[kestrel74]

No....but my VW stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night !

[jallingt]

I did see a Smart Car that appeared to be broken down last week ....... did not to smart to me!

[John]

Dave, cory1000 has one if I recall. And he's local to you if I remember correctly...

Edit: I just watched the videos - that little car holds up remarkably well, especially considering its impact into the concrete wall. Hell, you can still even open and close the doors!

[Dave]

Originally Posted by jallingt

....... did not to smart to me!

Say what?

[Dave]

Originally Posted by John

Dave, cory1000 has one if I recall. And he's local to you if I remember correctly...

I'll check with him thanks; some of us Ohioans are meeting for a drive in a couple weeks.