Power steering... Worth $700???

[sreeb]

Originally Posted by MB DNA

Have driven both and own Cabrio with PS.

This light weight vehicle really has little need for PS but at highway speeds seems to track better with this option.

As for value:

$450 for just Power Steering not so smart?
$850 for the Comfort Package (Leather seats, Heated seats, ELECTRONIC POWER STEERING, Rain sensing wipers, Auto headlamps with delay) IMHO, a smart buy!

Sometimes the vehicle model moves you to do options to best match that model and in this case I felt the Cabrio needed the Comfort Package.

I would likely equip a Passion model differently.

Have a smart day!

My wifes orphan passion was optioned with power steering and heated seats (in San Diego). The rest of the comfort package would have been another $80 or so. I have no idea what the person who ordered it was thinking....

[sreeb]

Originally Posted by Calab

Thanks for all the feedback.

I think this is going to push me over to the Passion. I do a fair bit of highway driving, and there are several useful options included in the package.

In the US, the paddle shifters only come on the passion. These would be a must have for me. My wife never uses them though.

[CharBae]

I got a Pure, no EPS. Don't miss it at all. At a dead stop I can still turn the wheel with relative ease. My mother has one without EPS as well. This is the first car she has had in several decades w/o it and she has no problem either. I have driven Highway and City, tracking is very sure, sway is more of a factor.

[Derek Bell]

I didn't get the power steering on my 1173, and didn't miss it until...

...I got stuck with it on my wife's orphan. I really like it in all modes. If I had it to do over again, I'd have gotten it on mine.

[Prospero]

With a convertible, I wanted leather seats (in case of rain).

Effectively, this, the power steering was a freebie.

[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by Prospero

With a convertible, I wanted leather seats (in case of rain).

Effectively, this, the power steering was a freebie.

EXACTLY the same reason here!

[scdaf]

Originally Posted by sreeb

My wifes orphan passion was optioned with power steering and heated seats (in San Diego). The rest of the comfort package would have been another $80 or so. I have no idea what the person who ordered it was thinking....

Maybe, like us, that person wouldn't have leather seats in an auto if they were given the seats and $500 cash...

(edited for punctuation)

[mvaldes]

A friend who rebuilds and resells cars (mostly Ferraris and Classics) got it on his Smart because he finds that power steering generally increases resale value. Mine came as part of the comfort package. I like it and would recommend it (I was glad to have it today, having injured - nothing major- my shoulder yesterday. So, for some of life's little unexpected surprises, it could come in handy.)

[JPaul]

A member of the caravan(s) that toured the country last year told me that NONE of the cars involved (i.e. demonstrate its abilities) were equipped with PS...

[SuperGeek]

The car's light enough that you don't _need_ it, but I have it on mine. I can tell you that my steering is super responsive. At 65MPH, I was able to dodge something that fell off a truck just 10 feet in front of me and instead of smacking the windshield it got the side of the car. Without power steering, I may be out windshield. While brake improvements typically work best in a 1-2 second timeframe, a quarter second makes all the difference in steering. To me, anyway.

I know that my SUV's brakes take an extra full 1.0-1.5 seconds to "grab' compared to the smart. I've surprised a couple SUV/van drivers behind me when stopping for a yellow light... not enough to be unsafe, but it seemed clear they were planning to run the light and thought I would too.