NYT Article on the smart

[SmartPassion]

A friend forwarded this article. Wasn't this written by a member? Anyway, I found the comments interesting.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008...=5070&emc=eta1

[SmartAzz]

Conversation about it here, fyi:

Smart, and Not So Smart

[Smarteq]

I'm sorry to say that I have to agree with some of his complaints. I've had my car five days and put on about 350 miles. My car definitely had some rattles. The drivers door sound like it has loose parts inside. There is a rattle in the back that I have't figured out yet. The car is very loose at speed. It's OK up to 50-55 or so, and better on aspha lt pavement than cement, but, after that, it's all over the road. It will wander 2-3 ft. one way or the other on it's own without any steering input. It is a very unenjoyable car to drive any distance.

The ride and performance are about what I expected. After all, it is a small car with a short wheelbase and only 71 horsepower. I got 37 mpg on my first tank which is within the ballpark of what I was expecting. I'm getting used to the transmission and in some ways I really like it.

I have owned other small cars, the smallest being a 1970 Honda 600, that had much better manners @ speed. There are a lot of things I like about the car. And at low speeds it's great. But the way it twitches all over the place at higher speed is just unacceptable. I have called the dealer and I will be taking it in to have the alignment checked. They said that there have been cars that were a little out of alignment.

From my experience so far, I would say the the smart is fun for driving around town but not for extended driving at freeway speeds. While it has no problem going 75+, it is not fun to drive at that speed. It feels like you are driving in very gusty wind conditions and you're getting blown around. Unfortuantely, it's the feeling of wind without the wind. What if it really was windy? A number of other owners have posted complaints about how the car handles in the wind. Now I'm wondering if it was actually as windy as they thought or if it's the car that just acts like its windy.

I'll post again after the alignment check. Hopefully the situation will have improved.

[eqwalker]

Don't know what could be wrong with yours (except maybe alignment). I drove mine at times on the freeway at 80 to 85 with no ill effects. Just like any other car to me. I now have 5k miles on mine. The squeeks were an issue at first. I got some spray silicone lubricant and have applied that to all of the rubber around the doors and back hatch and that has stopped any squeeks with mine.

[SmartAzz]

Smarteq, check your tire pressures and wheel weights. Fwiw many people seem to have found that the dealers did not check or put in the correct tire pressure and it definitely throws the handling off.

Squeaks are another matter and frankly not a surprise coming from an inexpensive replaceable panel car. The surprise is that 40k+ BMWs often squeak up a storm too.

[Alan_Hepburn]

So it seems that after several reviews by major outlets, countless blogs, and members here the results are in: the smart car performs well when kept within it design parameters, but does poorly when asked to do things it was never designed to do - how surprising...

[SmartPassion]

This seems like an excellent summary. Enjoy it for what it is. Add whatever accessories to personalize leave it at that.

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

So it seems that after several reviews by major outlets, countless blogs, and members here the results are in: the smart car performs well when kept within it design parameters, but does poorly when asked to do things it was never designed to do - how surprising...

[Fredvon4]

Alan...what the hell are you talking about?.... I suppose you never have been to France, Belgium or Germany....... The car is engineered to handle normal autobahn speeds of 100~130Kph (62~80mph) and when properly set up it does it well.... In fact the one I borrowed for a day (05 450 version) did exceptionally well at 145~160KPH with only the wind buffet while overtaking a Big Truck causing some modest concentration and intimate knowledge that you must complete the pass as swiftly as practical.

I suspect some of the reports are simply tire inflation issues and maybe some are alignment issues.... The folks driving them here in Texas generally claim the windy gusty days the car is a nervous handful to drive but most of the time normal freeway speeds of 65~85 are stable and comfortable.....

I also wounder how much of these wander and nervous reports, are really just crappy roads with deep truck grooves, poor crowning, no crowning, off camber corners, and the other insane ineptitude our road engineers manage to sell us as American roadways!

[msjohnson1974]

The two times I've noticed that my smart wanders are 1) grooved concrete pavement - it follows the grooves, just like my Z4 and 2)when some jerk in an Escalade passes me at 100 mph compared to my 65 mph. Its definitely NOT a typical American cruiser that you just point down the highway and don't pay attention while eating, drinking, smoking, and texting instead of actually driving.

[BeSmart]

Smartie is particularly "jumpy" on the rough, groovey concrete of Hwy 101 through Thousand Oaks and Camarillo. Try PCH for a fun ride.