Good Commuter Car?

[nprsmart]

Originally Posted by Bumble-Bear

Hello Everyone,
I am new to the site and am possibly getting my smart tomorrow. I had had a few reservations about it, as I am now seeing a spike in the number of orphans and used smarts for sale. Are people just not enjoying their new smarts? Are they having problems using them to commute on the highways? I really love the look and feel of the car, but have not tried driving one on the highway for any distance, and I have a 20 minute commute each way on 1-75 in Tampa, FL. Please respond so I know what I am getting into. Thank you everyone.
Ryan

I took I-75 / I-4 to Orlando and back last week and it was fine. Enjoy.

[forestacademy]

Originally Posted by Bumble-Bear

Thank you everyone for the advice.. Just got back from the dealer.. Picked up a yellow orphan with black trident. I drove it home and LOVE it... Can't wait to take it to work in the AM... Thanks again for all the feedback..
Ryan

I stand corrected, Gongrats on getting one of the last 08's and Yellows.

Enjoy your bee

[jefferios]

There are several reasons for more orphans and used, but I doubt that people's admiration goes down after ownership. I still love my Smart months after I got it!

[imcquade]

Originally Posted by Bumble-Bear

Thank you everyone for the advice.. Just got back from the dealer.. Picked up a yellow orphan with black trident. I drove it home and LOVE it... Can't wait to take it to work in the AM... Thanks again for all the feedback..
Ryan

Tridion not Trident LOL ..... sorry couldn't help myself

Enjoy the car

Cheers

[SmartCabrio]

100 mile round trip to work commute every day of the week and my Smart is still going strong (knock on wood). Almost 18,000 miles since I got my orphan in April. It has saved me a bundle (one of the main reasons I purchased the car) and is fun to drive. Best of luck with your new Smart.

[doenut]

I've had mine for 5 months (and over 6,000 miles) and I commute about 25-30 minutes, mostly highway, every day. This past weekend I drove 253.5 miles round trip from RI to Maine and back for a smart car road rally sponsored by the Massachusetts smart car club. The weather was crappy, but we had a blast! The drive home was a bit windy and VERY rainy, but I had no trouble keeping Poppy on the road and in her own lane. She's a blast to drive, and I still love her to pieces!!

[1959_Imperial]

I put 62,500 miles on the car using it as a commuter car in two years. The good news is that it is more comfortable then a Toyota Corolla and works fine commuting BUT it has very low rear gearing so the thing is running like some weed wacker on the freeway. The engine is spinning at 3,500 rpms while some of the other cars next to you on the freeway are running as low as 1,800rpms in overdrive. That is one reason the smart doesn't get much better mileage then the Honda, Nissan or Toyota even with the MUCH smaller engine. Since the engine spinning around so many more times then other engine it might not get the 250 to 300,000 miles you can get on a Toyota or Mazda. Time will tell but I think we will be lucky to get 150,000 miles on the engine.

[jimvw57]

I have a buddy witha Geo Metro with the Mitsubishi motor, Last week he hit 325,000 miles. Not much body left but still running strong.