NYT Article on the smart

[SeaDoc]

Originally Posted by 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.

open the engine lid under the carpet in back - I found two license screws sitting there -

[a2jack]

Smarteq. Your car is not right. We drive 80-85 on the freeway everyday and the car handles about the same as our old Honda 600 coupe. In fact the smart feels heaver and will do 90 + with ease.

If I could suggest: don't lead the dealer in solving this problem by offering any solutions (hard not to do for us gear heads. ) But rather look the sevice manger in the eye and say "Fix It".

One of the problems you have is, there are no other Smart owners around that could go for a ride and give you a second opinion. Perhaps you could test drive the dealers demo and get an idea.

Best of luck.
A2Jack.

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

Alan...what the hell are you talking about?.... I suppose you never have been to France, Belgium or Germany......

You're right, Fred - I've never been to Europe. On the other hand I've seen all the hype that says the car is an Urban commuter, not an autobahn rocket...

[SmartPassion]

The reason the smart follows the grooves is due to the choice of tires. Not the car. Our tire tread happens to slot within the rain grooves on many highways. You can tell because the car runs fine on smooth roads.

Originally Posted by 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.

[Fredvon4]

Alan...sorry to sound so abrubt... the smart was engineered in Europe for typical European traffic and driving conditions....

There are distinct differences in the engineering of their inter city and interstate road network... like no very long straight and boring stretches

But speed wise they are very similar to our freeway and major highway systems....

Germany can be thought of as one of our states. The point I want to suggest is like you deciding to cruise out to Lake Comanche near Modesto for the day. To get there you need to travel some highway/freeway/ and secondary roads. Not unlike a German in Frankfurt wanting to visit the nuddie lake 35 miles away in Morfelden and later a night of drink n dance in Saxenhausen... they have to use the Autobahn and secondary roads.... smart was designed to deal with these typical usages ...they, Mercedes Benz, NEVER envisioned it as a strictly "city car".

There are literally thousands of smarts all day long on autobahns going to an from cities and vacation spots....

Like our major cities, they have ring roads around the periphery of the city.... need to get to the south end of town? Climb on the autobahn for 3 to 20 kilometers is a way of life....

Similar to bypassing down town San Fran using the 101 or 280 freeway from Golden Gate bridge to San Jose