Some days I only drive downwind at 38.062 mph. I get so many mpg that it bores me to count. The rest of the time I nail it to the wall and get about 33 mph. Upwind no less! Think I will keep mine and no soul-less Prius car will do anyway.
No car is perfect. None. The problem with the Smart is because of it's lack of size people just assume that it get's better mileage. But you should pretty much know what mileage it's going to get before you buy.
No car is perfect. None. The problem with the Smart is because of it's lack of size people just assume that it get's better mileage. But you should pretty much know what mileage it's going to get before you buy.
Frankly the majority of people have unreasonable expectations about size vs efficiency.
People love to quote mileage in older tin cans without all the added weight of the safety gear or emissions equipment, (or just plain old Stuff, like AC/power etc)
And then you have those complaning that it doesnt compete with a far more complicated, more expensive piece of machinery like a hyrbid.
This is a internal combustion engine....thats all folks!
And people (more or less) in general, think that just because its small it achieves 100 mpg. Those people aren't considering the finite efficiency of an internal combustion engine.
People who think otherwise shouldn't have an opinion on something they can't fully understand.
Only time I got near 37 was below 1K. I now typically get either 40 or 41mpg as long as I keep it under 75 on the freeway. if I go faster than that, I get between 36 and 38mpg, but I know exactly why. it's all about how you drive, and what's on the car.
Frankly the majority of people have unreasonable expectations about size vs efficiency.
People love to quote mileage in older tin cans without all the added weight of the safety gear or emissions equipment, (or just plain old Stuff, like AC/power etc)
And then you have those complaning that it doesnt compete with a far more complicated, more expensive piece of machinery like a hyrbid.
This is a internal combustion engine....thats all folks!
And people (more or less) in general, think that just because its small it achieves 100 mpg. Those people aren't considering the finite efficiency of an internal combustion engine.
People who think otherwise shouldn't have an opinion on something they can't fully understand.
Perfectly put, Passion (try saying that 10 times fast). I've had people say the same thing very emphatically, comparing the smart's mileage to both early 1980s Hondas and highly complex hydrids whose enviro creds are being questioned. Bunch of yahoos is what they are.
How true. I find more and more people recently comparing the smart with the "good ol" Geo Metros and what good deal it was. Yet they forget the lack of safety and comfort features lacking in those throwaway cars.
Guess what they say about time is true....
Quote:
Originally Posted by PassionforPassionCT
People love to quote mileage in older tin cans without all the added weight of the safety gear or emissions equipment, (or just plain old Stuff, like AC/power etc)
I'm an avid ScanGuage user and my Smart has been giving me pretty reliable figures. In mixed-style driving (not driving to redline but not babying it either) I get 38-39MPG in the City (avg. speed 30-40) and 45-47MPG highway (avg. speed 65-70). In my drive to Key West I did mostly 80-85 and got 37-40MPG for those high-speed portions. I have no doubt that if I baby it and keep my highway speed at 55-60 that I would be able to hit 50MPG, as several have reported.
What I really like about my smart, is that regardless of what speed or how hard I drive it, I know I'm getting the BEST fuel economy possible at that point of performance for ANY gas powered car, and in some cases (like LONG highway drives) surpassing most hybrids (you take a Prius on a 5 hour highway ride at 85MPH and tell me your fuel economy THEN).
Also worth remembering, the Smart was not designed or sold as a gas saver. It was designed and sold as a urban parking deamon. The great fuel efficiency is a side effect of it being so small, which is now a new thing that Mercedes is capitalizing on due to rising gas prices (hence the introduction of the MHD drive).
When did the smart become just about miles per gallon? Sure, you look at it and think it's so small it must get terrific mileage. But really, is it just about mileage for most folks? If it were just about mileage couldn't you do better on a moped, or a bicycle, or taking the bus? Let's face it, the car is so damned cute we all just had to have one. I had to have one ever since I first saw them in Germany 10 years ago. I was a bit disappointed they decided to redesign for the American market with reduced fuel economy but I still had to have one. I grin ear to ear when I am driving mine. I grin just looking at it in the driveway. I think people are ruining their enjoyment by calculating mpg to 2 decimal places, putting in lighter batteries to save weight, risking life and limb by drafting trucks to save 50 cents, griping about cell phone users, etc. And pining away for that old Datsun that got some imagined fuel economy from your golden years: what does that get you? I've been getting 35 mpg for 19 years in my Honda CRX. It could probably go another 19 years, I still have it. The gas I save with the smart compared to that could never make up the difference for what I paid for the smart. But do I ever think, today I'd rather drive the CRX? No. It gets me there and back; no fun, no waves from bystanders, no safety equipment, no headroom, no AC. I doubt anybody buys a new car to make money. You buy a new car because it gives you pleasure on many levels. So just enjoy your cars, stop perseverating over the mpg, and be happy. Or sell it on E-bay and make a few extra bucks profit and find yourself a Datsun pickup truck.
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