brake pedal placement

[retiltxet]

Looking at the pedal, since it originates out of the floor. It seems a little awkward. Does it feel like a normal brake pedal? ive just never seen one like that

[Trena]

I've seen them before in antique cars. I can't tell the difference in the feel. Works just fine/feels normal.

[gstreetcomic]

The brake pedal is very much like that of the original Volkswagen Beetle. I for one don't even have a problem with it at all. It works well for me.

[SloPok]

Has anyone tried out the extra boost that you should get if you do a panic stop? Do you notice any extra stopping power? Did your 4 way flashers come on?

[retiltxet]

Originally Posted by SloPok

Has anyone tried out the extra boost that you should get if you do a panic stop? Do you notice any extra stopping power? Did your 4 way flashers come on?

according to the manual if you do a panic stop your hazards come on until you turn them off, or you exceed like 3 miles an hour or something

[Big Panda]

Originally Posted by retiltxet

according to the manual if you do a panic stop your hazards come on until you turn them off, or you exceed like 3 miles an hour or something

REALLY? hey, this car IS pretty 'smart'.......

[SloPok]

Originally Posted by retiltxet

according to the manual if you do a panic stop your hazards come on until you turn them off, or you exceed like 3 miles an hour or something

I've read that. If you do a panic stop from 43 mph to stop, the flashers will come on and if you then drive over 6 mph they will go off if you don't shut them off.

My question is does this actually work and do you feel the break assistant kick in and do your hazard lights come on?

The two smarts that I test drove stopped very well but I didn't know about the break assistant so I did not press the peddle very quickly or hard as in a panic stop to see if it actually worked and if you felt anything. I know you feel ABS when it kicks in, it kicks you in the peddle, you feel the break peddle vibrating under your foot (for a way to describe the feeling you get).

[mdfortwoguy]

I had to stomp the brakes on mine about a week ago because someone did a U-turn in front of me.

You feel the brake assist a bit, but it's relatively transparent. It's more of the sensation that you feel like you hit the brakes too hard for the given situation - but they are designed to cut out the edge of hesitation that you might have if coming up on something where you need to stop fast.

I didn't reach a complete stop though, so my flashers did not come on.

[bradgarbus]

My concern is I have a wide size 14 shoe and I remember it took a few minutes to figure out how to drive the smart during the test drive so my foot didn't get stuck on the break too. I can't remember but the pedels seemed awfully close together (or was it just me?)

[rfernatt]

Originally Posted by bradgarbus

My concern is I have a wide size 14 shoe and I remember it took a few minutes to figure out how to drive the smart during the test drive so my foot didn't get stuck on the break too. I can't remember but the pedels seemed awfully close together (or was it just me?)

I wear size 13 shoes and I can feel the edge of my shoe clipping the brake pedal at times. I haven't had any problem with accidentally engaging the brake (like some other cars I've driven) when using the gas pedal, but I do wish for a little more clearance between the pedals.