Colorado trip

[jediknight36]

My wife and I are planning a trip this spring to Colorado and wanted to know if any body has taken their smart into the mountians and how it handles. We want to go up Pikes peak and into Ft Collins to the highest paved road in america. Any advice from ppl in CO?

[RVGRINGO]

Our 2007 450 Passion lives at 5000' and frequently visits at 8000' in the Sierras. It loves violently winding roads with a cliff on one side and no guard rails on the other. It is a car that likes to be driven.

[jediknight36]

Really, or are you being sarcastic?

[RVGRINGO]

No sarcasm; it is the unvarnished truth. We are at Lake Chapala at 5200 feet above sea level and the mountains above us are some 3000 feet higher. We even have a volcano not too far away in Colima. There are mountain villages a couple of hours away that would make you think you were in the Alps; nice pine forests, dairy farming, good cheeses and bakeries, etc. Our Smart makes visiting such places even more fun on the narrow cobblestone streets and crowded parking on weekends, when the Tapatios like to get out of Guadalajara and into the countryside. Life is good!

[blackbeagle]

Originally Posted by RVGRINGO

Our 2007 450 Passion lives at 5000' and frequently visits at 8000' in the Sierras. It loves violently winding roads with a cliff on one side and no guard rails on the other. It is a car that likes to be driven.

I hope you're joking about the winding roads. I've driven on some of these same roads years ago when I was out in that part of the country. It is NOT a fun drive, especially if you're scared of heights.

As for the Smart in that condition, many on here seems to think that this thing is a go-cart made for winding roads. I don't know where people got that impression. It may look like a go-cart but it definitely does not drive like one. The center of gravity is high and the tires are narrow. It does NOT handle great around curves.

If you want to have fun on the roads your fore mentioned, I would take nothing short of a Porsche 911 and other high performance sports cars.

Leave the Smart at home. If you drive one, I would imagine you drive it like you would drive a minivan-carefully and slow.

[RVGRINGO]

The 450 has pretty good camber and squats obediently on curves, holding the road very nicely. I've never driven a 451, so maybe there is a difference that I'm not aware of. I also have slightly wider (185) Bridgestone tires on the rear.

[blackbeagle]

Originally Posted by RVGRINGO

The 450 has pretty good camber and squats obediently on curves, holding the road very nicely. I've never driven a 451, so maybe there is a difference that I'm not aware of. I also have slightly wider (185) Bridgestone tires on the rear.

That's the stock size we have for the 451.

Like I said before, you want to take the Smart for a leisure spin on the winding mountain roads, it should be fine, as long as you take it easy. This car is not to be confused with the handling capabilities of a 911, Mini, 350Z, or an BMW M3.

[RVGRINGO]

Stock rears on the 450 were Continental 175 55 R15 but we blew one in Alabama at 70 MPH in the tunnel entering Mobile. Replaced it with a Bridgestone Potenza 185 55 R15 and finally found a mate when we got back to Mexico. Now the other Continental is in the closet as an emergency spare.

[jediknight36]

Well, we were going to take our Toyota matrix, but we would save over $200 on gas taking our smart when it gets here. What about the climb and descents? And you would really take a porsche up the mountains?

[RVGRINGO]

Ours climbs and descends just fine. We travel in 'automatic' but occasionally bump it down manually on steep descents to avoid over-use of the brakes. Don't underestimate your Smart. (Note: The 450 has a 6-speed transmission plus reverse and is a smaller engine than the 451).