Hello from Omaha

[crittersitter51]

I am not yet a Smart owner, but I am seriously re-considering a Passion. My initial excitement was tempered when I discovered the Smart car was rear wheel drive. Living in the Midwest and having to deal with winter driving makes this drive train a potential deal breaker. Now that my kid and his "family" have moved in with me, they have promised to get me to work when the weather is dicey. It may be time to test drive for real.

I would like to own a Passion, yellow with black strips - "Bumble" on the license plates. Not overly original but it works for me.

Paula

[jetfuel]

..Paula ...welcome to the asylum...
..my bride was a very nervous driver when the roads in Indy got but just a dusting of the white stuff...she has owned her smart for more than a year now...and last winter season was to say the least quite heavy...she missed one day of work 'cause the street was not plowed...so I will say to take that test drive and wait for the other inmates to chime in with their experiences...you'll see...snow and smart are nothing to loose sleep over it.....

jetfuel...not sliding away

[jimvw57]

I hear your dillema. I bought my smart a year ago and used it everyday driving to and from work (about 86 miles total) and only twice was I slowed down by the snow. And that was within 1/2 block of my house!! I live on a fairly steep hill that is a dead end street so it is always the last onme to get plowed. I do also own mostly 4wd vehicles and you do have to drive a smart like a rear wheel drive car, but with the motor weight over the rear tires, you will get great traction. The only problem I had was when I was pushing snow with the front end. Then I will stay home, or drive something else. I have heard snow tires will help but I just can't justify them for a few months out of the year, and since I live in town, well you get the picture. Best of luck with your decision.

Hate to mention it but the Yellow color was only available for 2008. To get a yellow 2009, you will have to have the panels changed out. Yellow panels are still available (so far)

[Ativan]

I have had my smart for two years now. Drive it all the time in the winter, better traction than our minivan. If the snow is not plowed and more than two inches, it stays in the garage as it cannot plow through the snow. I just got back from driving through an ice storm, and it did better than 75 percent of the vehicles on the road. It has some quirks to get used to, (traction control and stability control) but once you are used to driving it in the snow and ice, it is not a problem.

[forestacademy]

Get a set of snow Tires and off you go. It may be rear wheel drive, but thats where the engine is so the weight is back there as well.

The Traction control is great and will get you around in all kinds of messes. The only times we have been stuck home were the days NO ONE was moving on our street.

And if you do happen to slide off, its so light it isn't going to take much effort to get it our of the fluffy white stuff.

[rfernatt]

We don't have midwest snow here in the mid-Atlantic, but I didn't have any problems in slippery, icy conditions last year. I do drive the truck when I know it's going to be bad, but you can't always predict that! I live on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere, so my road is last on the list.

I've heard many people say that the original VW Beetle with the same rear engine, rear wheel drive setup, did pretty well in slippery conditions and that was without traction control, stability control, etc.