New member - Bainbridge Island, WA

[tipo158]

As requested by the initial PM when joining these forums, I am introducing myself. As indicated in the title, I live on Bainbridge Island, WA, across Puget Sound from downtown Seattle.

I reserved in mid-June. The smart will be primarily for my wife and daughter.

We test drove a couple of the 'street smart' tour cars here (well, at Acura of Seattle, one of the local dealers - hope there will be one on this side of the Sound) a couple of weeks ago. I liked the layout and size. The power was fine and I like the paddle shifter. However, the dramatic pause between gears when shifting was really annoying.

alan

[lhoboy]

Originally Posted by tipo158

As requested by the initial PM when joining these forums, I am introducing myself. As indicated in the title, I live on Bainbridge Island, WA, across Puget Sound from downtown Seattle.

I reserved in mid-June. The smart will be primarily for my wife and daughter.

We test drove a couple of the 'street smart' tour cars here (well, at Acura of Seattle, one of the local dealers - hope there will be one on this side of the Sound) a couple of weeks ago. I liked the layout and size. The power was fine and I like the paddle shifter. However, the dramatic pause between gears when shifting was really annoying.

alan

Reserve judgment until the models tuned to the "American taste" are available for test drives. According to the Smart reps that were demo-ing the cars, the Smarts sold into this county will have a "different transmission" than the Euro models used for the demo tours. "Different" could mean a different model tranny or just different adjustments or programming.

[alejake]

A warm welcome to the SmartCar world and to this forum from an ex-Seattlite now living in Sun Lakes, Arizona.

While we both still love the Pacific Northwest, we love seeing the sun three-hundred and twenty (320) plus days a year. Naw . . . It wasn't the rain that drove us here, . . . . it was those periodic and recurring overcast days that lasted ten to fifteen days at a time.

In our opinion, when the skies are clear and the weather at least warm, their may be no place as beautiful as the pacific northwest. But we will deal with the too hot months and enjoy our continuous sunshine. Hope you love your SmartCar when you get it as much as we do.

[tipo158]

I hope the pause goes away on our car, but I am not particularly concerned about it. My wife, who would be driving it more than me, had no problem with it.

My daily driver is a VW R32 (manual gearbox with a ECU upgrade and an upgraded AWD controller) and my other car is an early Lotus Elise (400 lbs lighter than the US model Elise) and the smart is a bit different, so I have to get used to it.

Also, the smart test drive was just around the block and the smart rep seemed a little nervous when I was trying to drive it like I would drive the Elise!

alan

[MicroNut]

Originally Posted by tipo158

Also, the smart test drive was just around the block and the smart rep seemed a little nervous when I was trying to drive it like I would drive the Elise!

I'm not surprised! See this handling comparison of Lotus vs smart from a different thread: http://smartcarofamerica.com/forums/...read.php?t=495

[tipo158]

Originally Posted by MicroNut

I'm not surprised! See this handling comparison of Lotus vs smart from a different thread:
<link deleted because my post count isn't high enough>

I think that is the old car. I also wouldn't approach a series of bends in a smart at the same speed that I would in an Elise.

Has the following video been posted here before?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XYmDxwfGFI&NR=1

The reviewer brings up my gearbox complaint.

alan