[quote=iheartthesmart;79111]Greetings everybody,
I, too, am new to the board and live in Renton. I'm still deciding whether I want to order a Smart Passion Coupe red (of course red!) metallic. The projected Mercedes-esque repair/maintenance costs are spooking me a bit, because I'd blow through 24K miles in probably 1.5 years.
I also don't really know how reliable this car is yet. I love road trips/weekend getaways, especially in the summer, and I want to be able to pack 1,000 miles on the car in a few days without worrying that I've shackled myself to a temperamental European "high performance" instrument that poops out after half a trip. I've always driven Japanese econoboxes that are very reliable, but lower-mpg than Smarts and kinda blah to drive.
Took a trip to Brinnon (on Hood Canal) last weekend. Fully loaded with 2 adults a dachshund and about 75 lbs. of gear. Pleasant trip except Snoqualmie road surface and smart are not very compatible. Rough and noisy. Great the rest of the trip, though.
Quite comfy to drive long distance and made 47.9 mpg on one tank and were able to pack everything we needed for a camping overnighter. Would turn around and go again if not for the need to work.
We plan to take this trip and longer as often as possible. The 2-lane parts were the best, just rollin' and grinnin'.
Don't forget, it's a Japanese econobox engine and a Getrag tranny (they've built a couple...) should be no reason for significant reliability
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