How sad when we have to shoot the messenger because we refuse to accept the truth. The car is just a car it has good points and bad points. It is up to each of us to make our own decision. I would much rather be fully informed from both sides than be shocked by the reality of what the car is and is not.
Well said!
Unfortunately a car of this sort, being so new to our market, really has to prove itself and is under major scrutiny. Neither of the reviews is that much off the mark factually. Some of the points are realy more opinion than fact, however. If the fortwo got some major mileage...say 55+...I would trade my Yaris in but alas...it does not.
There is another link from the NY Times that has a nice review but the comments are quite a hodgepodge if you want to take the time to read them. Click here.
Frankly, I've had a myriad of cars over the years, and what I like most about the smart is that it is just fun to drive - it's quirky, changing gears smoothly has become 2nd nature now that 'we have bonded', and mileage is great ( I have sports cars that get much less mpg ) and I can work on the car so easily - change radios, add nav, change oil, all the things I did when I had my 60's VW... in fact, I enjoy my first one so much, I'm getting a 2nd, come this August, so there... and, in my small way, I'm helping the environment.
How sad when we have to shoot the messenger because we refuse to accept the truth. The car is just a car it has good points and bad points. It is up to each of us to make our own decision. I would much rather be fully informed from both sides than be shocked by the reality of what the car is and is not.
Lol, it seems like most people here have no issue with valid observations, but seriously, based on this guys comments he could/did not acclimatize to the car and was simply a bad driver - listening to some of his remarks is not to be informed but mislead. For example neither one of us have issues driving rather spiritedly with passengers, including taking corners quickly, and having anyone grab for the dash or want dramamine (and I am always quick to get car sick, yet as a passenger often I've never had an issue in the Smart - yet for comparison was made horribly ill by a squishy surging Audi we had on loan awhile back).
We've taken it on the highways a bunch and the engine doesn't "thrash" for all that word implies, and as for the hands on the wheel comment, yes, you need to keep both hands on the wheel mostly, no biggie - has the guy ever driven a sports car with sensitive steering? Have had several cars with touchy steering inputs and prone to following road grooves, etc, I know that it's not some Smart fault it is simply the difference between being accustomed to a car with numb disconnected steering and no feedback vs one where you can't move the wheel around without actually steering the car.
A good automotive reviewer would, of course, take the car in context and consider the weight/size, but no, he clearly wanted find issue with using the car for 'extended freeway trips' even though that is clearly not the primary design objective for the Smart. Even his stinky mpgs is more of a poor reflection on him then the car, and he'd have known that had he cared to look into it.
In any case it is clear that some people are more able to learn and adjust to new ways of doing things better then others, and many reviewers are not up to the task - and frankly if they can't even understand the "point" of the Smart, see beyond their narrow environment and personal issues, and see advantages the car offers then they really need to reevaluate their old dog ways and whether they are truly qualified to pass judgement about vehicles under the guise of reviews in these times.
By the by, to some posters on this thread - if you don't own a Smart and spend time posting negative reviews and/or supporting inflammatory remarks about them on a Smart forum you are officially a troll. Knowing and recognizing your problem is the first step towards recovery, maybe find out what this need for attention stems from and do something productive instead
We do have an official good troll here as well "openmindedness" is not an issue for most of the folks here.
karl
Folks that can only take cheap shots from ignorance can go pound sand
So Tipo your neggotiating skills still haven't gotten you one and you still need to spread venom whenever you can. how sad
karl
You're right. Not only that, but I paid them to write negative reviews!
Shoot the messenger.
If you are not feeling confident enough in your purchase that you can't take criticism of the car, maybe you should reconsider whether you should buy the car. Every car that I have purchased has had negative reviews, but that didn't matter; the reviewer isn't me or in my situation.
FWIW, I had not read the articles when I posted the links. Was just scanning the NY Times web site and saw links to not one, but two, reviews and saw that they weren't posted on this forum.
Also, FWIW, I have pretty much decided that I am not getting the smart or I will be flipping it soon after I get it. Once I get my "we are building your car" e-mail, I will contact smart Center Seattle and see what works best for them. I want to make sure that my car ends up in Seattle rather than get allocated to some other dealer.
Note that, before I posted the links, I have not posted anything here for weeks. Being called a 'troll' because I posted links to reviews that ended up being negative and posting that I am not happy with smart USA's broken reservation system has confirmed that the smart community is a group that I don't want to be involved with.
At 1100 miles I am getting 40 mpg without really trying. I do not drive hard but no 'old lady'. Mine is a pure with only the alarm so it is lighter by a few hunderd pounds I am sure (over a full loaded cabrio) I do not care very much what the 'experts' say...I love it and am having fun (cheap fun!)
By the by, to some posters on this thread - if you don't own a Smart and spend time posting negative reviews and/or supporting inflammatory remarks about them on a Smart forum you are officially a troll.
There is nothing more negative than this kind of post. I used the term "objectivity" several times in my posts regarding staying with the subject and the facts. In this case, these NY Times critics do this for a living. If they were bad at it they wouldn't have a job. I don't support everything they say as I said in the above post but some points can't be denied. Some people who continue to see me as a threat or "troll" just aren't really reading everything I post and don't know me. I'm here because I still like this car and a lot of people here. There will always be people pointing out things you don't like in life. Get used to it...get over it.
Look at the two biggest gripes the NYT reviewers had: the transmission and poor fuel economy. Then look at the two biggest gripes on this site: the transmission and poor fuel economy.
You and the car (adaptive gearbox) can learn to shift quickly and smoothly, but it can take weeks and hundreds of miles. It took passing 1000 miles and the lifting of the 4000 RPM break-in limit for the transmissions on ours to learn to adapt to the new parameters, since then they have been fine. If they haden't improved I would have rated the cars about the same as they did.
Fuel economy is a disappointment and has been since day one, but then again, I drive "normally" and not like I'm on an Economy Run. By "normally" I mean that I keep up with everyone else on the road like I was driving any other car that I might own or rent. It really surprises me that after all the progress of the past 50 years, the smart gets about the same gas mileage as my old VW Beetle: high 20's to low 40's with the average about 36 MPG. Granted the Beetle was a rolling deathtrap and spewed hydrocarbons, but still......and the old Bug took regular gas!
We still love the smarts and will probably always have a car in this class, but I can't wait for the other manufacturers to compete in this segment in America. As consumers we can only win as competition will force improvement in quality and features. Diesels, hybrids and electrics are in our futures once the rest of the industry joins in.
Right now after driving it a full week. I really don't care what any reviewer say. I usually drive alone. If I need space I got plenty other cars I can use. It beats any of the Audi's gas mileage so I'm still saving money, I get more smiles than if I was driving a boring Yaris. Parking really isn't an issue for where I live. To me it's a disposable toy. And when I'm done playing with it, I can move on to a different car knowing I didn't pay over 30 something dollars for my fun.
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