new to smart car

[bigwill617]

I am looking to buying a smart car to save gas and everything but i want a car that has more horsepower than 71. any ideas?

[johnssc]

The more horsepower you want, the less gas you will save. Sorry, can't help you with this one!

[jwight]

It's officially 70hp so even less than you thought.

Not much help at this point - aftermarket mufflers and air filers add a few hp. Lots of discussion of computer remapping on the forums if you look around.

[parnami]

I had mine on the PA Turnpike this weekend for the first time..and I couldn't be happier with its performance. I had been expecting a real dog, barely capable of merging and keeping up with traffic. It wasn't in the least! I never wanted for power at any time, not even up hills. This thing is plenty peppy for reasonable use at 70 mph, both WITH and without the AC running.

[SuperGeek]

70hp in a four door sedan would be horrible. In a smart, it's good enough. Remember, it's only half a car, so it's like getting 120hp or more in a four seater. HP isn't as important as power to weight ratio. The smart is 1850lbs more or less (2350 with two passengers). I read somewhere that it has the same power to weight ratio as a Toyota Camry 4 cylinder.

Of course, if you're embarrassed to tell people you only have 70hp, find another car and forget about saving gas... in a gas-only engine, HP is inversely proportional to MPG.

[Smartfor2guy]

Originally Posted by bigwill617

I am looking to buying a smart car to save gas and everything but i want a car that has more horsepower than 71. any ideas?

The next step is a Prius, more HP, Bigger Car, Bigger $ or VW Beetle TDI