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I'm in Atlanta, home of the "Alpharetta Autobahn" where people fly on the roads all the time. I don't have a problem merging or getting up to highway speed - BUT - I use the paddles and keep myself in a lower gear when merging/accelerating. The automatic mode seems to take some coaxing to kick down.
Keep in mind its a 3 cylinder city car built for economy not a 6 cyl. sports coupe or Japanese tuner car... you're not going to break any land speed records with it...
I think that youtube video is a turbo charged Smart. I love my car, but it's a bit of a dog uphill and during starts. For this reason, I use the manual mode and let the tach climb a bit more when getting up to freeway speeds. It's decent, but I haven't seen mine get up like the one in the video.
I think that youtube video is a turbo charged Smart. I love my car, but it's a bit of a dog uphill and during starts. For this reason, I use the manual mode and let the tach climb a bit more when getting up to freeway speeds. It's decent, but I haven't seen mine get up like the one in the video.
The description says 52KW... 52KW translates to roughly 69.75HP, so who knows for sure.
The cabrio I drove a few weeks ago would move like it - the 1-2 shift didn't drag like some of the others I have driven.
I'd be curious to know how much you can hear the turbo in the 84HP though.
Yea, I dont care for how that ramp is "engineered". I have yet to have to use it in my smart tho...
As long as I don't have someone afraid of their right pedal in front of me, I like that merge. It gives me a chance to let my 143 wild horses run free in the VUE...
I agree with Shosh and Bobbi. The Merge uphill can be interesting in a Smart.
I like to arrive on the freeway at around 70 +, than slow if I must. A couple times I have been caught behind the power curve in "D" while the trans decided to do a gear change.
Nowadays I just use the stick and wind her out. Works perfect every time. (High time L.A. driver here with 10.1 k on Smartie's ode.) A2Jack.
I'm still waiting for mine (1225). I drive a '84 Civic Wagon and enter the freeway on an uphill ramp. Rarely can I achieve more than 40 miles per hour at merge time. I find that if I have my signal on and use a little patience, I have never had a problem with someone letting me in. Of course, this is the Seattle area and most are somewhat laid back. I anticipate the Smart to be a veritable rocket in comparison.
(High time L.A. driver here with 10.1 k on Smartie's ode.) A2Jack.
Linear Mode
