Road and Track review

[jonnysan]

[QUOTE=Part of the problem is, I think, that the US motoring press is so far removed from reality, they can't recover from the shock of the new (even the 10 year-old "new") or the queasy feeling of not knowing what to say in proper context.[/QUOTE]

Glad to hear that what you have read will not influence your decision to get a Smart for reasons I have stated earlier above.

I guarantee that you will have an absolute BLAST in the city with your car once you get it. If you like driving in the manual mode as I do, lean towards using the floor shifter rather than the paddles...ESPECIALLY driving in and around the city. I personally feel I have better control of the cars shifting doing it that way but you have to find your own method of driving that suites you best.

How much longer do you have to wait until you get yours?

Not too long I hope...but the wait is worth it!

Be well

John

[dennyrex]

I'm sure I'll be fine with the smart, having spent many many hours and hundreds of thousands of miles over the years in small cars ranging from subaru 360, crosley hotshot, sunbeam alpine to renault r5 & r11.

I'm getting a pure so the floor is the only option for shifting ;-). as far as the wait time, somewhere between 30 - 100 days I am guessing but it's only a guess. confirmed late last year. have not heard more since.

[SmartBob]

It's a good review over all. The tranny will always be a thorn for those with no experience. I laugh it off and still can't wait to get my car. Guess what? You have to get used to any car.All different cars feel odd at first and take some getting used to.

[SmartnGreen]

I just picked up the issue yesterday...and I agree that overall, we have to be pleased with the review.

As you know, there ALWAYS has to be something wrong in a review...I think it's a little crappy to pick on something that really isn't a design flaw at all...

[Smart_ABQ]

I also hate the comparisons with the Yaris. It's ugly with the speedo in the middle of the dash Yuk! They never say anything negative about all those 4-seat vehicles regarding family usefulness when the rear 2 seats aren't going to be used beyond your children's 5th year. New car, new segment period. There are no real comparisons so they should stop trying to make them. Blah!

[Carnut]

What he said was to check out the Yaris, but that if the smart had a better tranny he would never recommend to do so.

Surprised me that smart had the lowest slalom and g force readings of any R&T test in modern times. I guess the smiles we get are from seat of the pants feelings rather than cold hard instruments.

"More smiles per gallon!"

[smarTIKI]

Originally Posted by Carnut

What he said was to check out the Yaris, but that if the smart had a better tranny he would never recommend to do so.

That's not what he said at all. The words "never recommend" don't appear in his closing paragraph. What he said is that, right now, he'd probably choose the 3-door Toyota Yaris over the smart. But, should smarts end up with a real manual or a better automatic transmission, "the scales could very easily tip the other way." At that point, he might actually prefer the smart, but you cannot extrapolate that to mean that he would never recommend a Yaris.

[Carnut]

Originally Posted by smarTIKI

That's not what he said at all. The words "never recommend" don't appear in his closing paragraph. What he said is that, right now, he'd probably choose the 3-door Toyota Yaris over the smart. But, should smarts end up with a real manual or a better automatic transmission, "the scales could very easily tip the other way." At that point, he might actually prefer the smart, but you cannot extrapolate that to mean that he would never recommend a Yaris.

Yes Tiki, but you do know that I am all knowing and all seeing, don't you?