Okay. I don't know if this will work or not, but... One of the drawbacks to the Smart is the wind buffeting. However, now that the weather's warming up and I can open one or both windows, it seems to me like the wind effect isn't as bad with the driver's window down, and with both windows down the wind buffeting is even more reduced. This makes sense since, instead of slamming into the windows and rocking the car off-course, the wind is passing right through the car. In my opinion it's a dramatic difference, and driving with both windows down on a windy day is a far less scary experience than doing it with the windows up.
However, I'm wondering what kind of an effect it has on gas mileage when you drive with one or both windows down. Since the Smart is shaped like a little brick, I'm thinking maybe not that much. My question is: would a Scangauge register this?
If so, an experiment you Scangauge owners can do, and give us the results: next time you're on a nice stretch of sparsely-traveled highway, on a nice day, maintain a speed (say, around 60MPH) and see what your Scangauge is telling you for MPG. Then, drop the driver's window all the way and see what happens to the Scangauge numbers, and then drop both windows all the way and see again what happens. I would be willing to trade, say, a few MPG for the pleasure of driving with one or both windows down and not being blown off course as much. (Of course, this only works if you also have your hat securely on your head, your long hair ponytailed, and no loose papers in the car to get sucked out the window, LOL...)
I've tried to tell with my Cabrio and just using my tank estimates, but I can't leave the top down for more than a day or two without rain here in the NE.
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