Edmunds new test drive - posted this week

[prash]

Have not seen this posted yet...sorry if it already is here.

Says premium recomended but will run on regular.



http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...hotopanel..1.*

[Carnut]

Another accurate article naming the base model "Pulse" - <sigh>

[spdickey]

Originally Posted by edmunds.com

Also the Smart carries only a two-year bumper-to-bumper warranty.

Yet automotive entrepreneur Roger Penske is Smart's U.S. distributor, and he's not a man known for poor business decisions. We think his Smart USA won't have much trouble hitting its initial sales goal of 25,000 a year. But growth after that could be a struggle unless gas prices create a panic.

Also, more gripes about the shifting.

Nice comparison to the original VW Bug.

The Smart is powered by a 1.0-liter inline-3 that produces 70 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque, more power than that VW Beetle...

[sisyphus]

More factual errors...

"Seats are supportive and surprisingly comfortable; bright colors add a touch of richness to the Passion model, while Pulse comes in Model T black." (Pulse? Model T black?)

"The optional tachometer is mostly ornamental, as the transmission is programmed to shift automatically when the engine hits redline." (Doh!)

"Passion model's 15-inch alloys with low-profile rubber cover hefty 11-inch brake rotors in front and 8-inchers in back." (never mentioned-rear brakes are drums)

I like this item, though: "At first look, the Smart seems too small to be practical. It's not. Rather, it is a marvel of packaging efficiency."

It seems to be a rare occurrence whe an automotive writer gets all his facts straight with our smarts. It's no surprise to me at all that we know more about them than they do!

[amoore007]

good photos.
Is that the wheel we will receive?

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by spdickey

Also, more gripes about the shifting.

It isn't that the shifting is particularly rough or jerky (unless you have only driven automatics all your life), but that it may come unexpectedly. All of us manual shifters know that at the shift point there is a slight fall-off in acceleration while the shift is being made, then a bit of a surge when again clutched-in. But we make no note of it because we have initiated it and know exactly when it is going to happen. Maybe it will be easier, once the approximate shift points are expected, to just mash the dead pedal with your left foot.

[propes]

I don't have time to look, but who were the authors of the edmunds articles (this and in the past). I wonder because all of them knock the transmission - but all seem to generally like the car.

Just curious if it's one person, or just a general feeling from edmunds.

[24-42]

Originally Posted by fishrdnc

It isn't that the shifting is particularly rough or jerky (unless you have only driven automatics all your life), but that it may come unexpectedly. All of us manual shifters know that at the shift point there is a slight fall-off in acceleration while the shift is being made, then a bit of a surge when again clutched-in. But we make no note of it because we have initiated it and know exactly when it is going to happen. Maybe it will be easier, once the approximate shift points are expected, to just mash the dead pedal with your left foot.

You pretty well hit it on the head.
If one studies and practices the nuances of the trans, uses the tachometer reading and learns from their practice, you can get the shifting down to a point that is very pleasent.

A co-driver at the Smart house remarked that he had never experienced shifting as smooth and fast as he did when we went for an extended ride.

Getting the accelerator, vehicle speed and the tach in sync can result in imperceptible shifts. It part of the challange (fun) of the Smart.

BTW: I didn't notice any difference between the 450 and the 451 shifting.

[gamernotwatcher]

I read your post with foot going through the motions. The smart brings back the "art" of driving.

[Yellowcarsrock]

What exactly is a smart house? Is that what they call a smart dealership in europe? What # got calls today? anyone know by chance.