Winter weather...No problem for the Smart

[SmartCenterGermantown]

Hello friends...I wanted to share a customers experience with his Smart in our last winter storm. On March 2, 2009 some of our local customers got about 8-10 inches of snow drift. He is a Volvo technician and has had his Smart car a year this month. He can tell you first hand how well the car did. He recalls watching other four wheel drive cars stuck in their tracks. He eased thru sidestreets and had complete control the whole drive to work. These cars are great in the snow. He now is a believer!!

[Karl Roth]

What I like best is scraping the windshield. Standing right in front of it makes it so easy.
karl

[GordonD]

Originally Posted by SmartCenterGermantown

Hello friends...I wanted to share a customers experience with his Smart in our last winter storm. On March 2, 2009 some of our local customers got about 8-10 inches of snow drift. He is a Volvo technician and has had his Smart car a year this month. He can tell you first hand how well the car did. He recalls watching other four wheel drive cars stuck in their tracks. He eased thru sidestreets and had complete control the whole drive to work. These cars are great in the snow. He now is a believer!!

Now maybe Volvo technicians get some special Nordic snow driving powers conferred on them but I must question - in the most polite way - the possibility of a Smart actually having "complete control" in 8" to 10" of snow.

With no way to disable the nanny traction control/light weight/narrow track width my experience up here in the Great White North is that while it does well in snow it is what it is and a snow plow is not it. I drive a MINI Cooper S (the Smart is my wife's) and am well versed in small cars in snow and can tell you that the Smart is only about 50% as effective as my MINI in deep snow.

[markitect]

I have to agree with Gordon, the traction control is as bad as it is good. If only there was an off switch.

Also I think by complete control they must mean that the car has complete control, as it is ignoring driver input.

[PerryA]

Originally Posted by Karl Roth

What I like best is scraping the windshield. Standing right in front of it makes it so easy.
karl

OK, you're just sick No one likes scraping the windshield. But, like you, I love the easy access. I usually put the wipers out and do the "attack of the giant ant" routine while I'm washing the windows. Alright, maybe we're all a little sick.

[jwight]

Yeah, I think 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, and that's with winter tires. The car does well at slower speeds. Driving faster than 30 or so just overcomes the tires' grip and the front end slides off to the outside in turns. Slow and steady works well, but don't get into a situation where you need to rock the car to get unstuck - the traction control won't allow it.

[106Sekels]

Drove my Smart for the first time in terrible weather. I was white knuckled and very tense. Had ice and snow covered roads with 50 MPH winds. I drove very slow since I am still unsure of the car with the real wheel drive. The traction control never went off today so I am a little unsure of what to expect if it does. Will it slow the car down? Does it lock up the steering or cut out the power? I hope it doesn't freak me out when it happens.

[markitect]

It basically does 2 things in addition to regular ABS. If your going around a corner and the the tail starts to swing around it will brake the appropriate wheel to correct that. (this is good).

If you are trying to accelerate and it detects wheel spin it cuts the throttle for 2 seconds. It will seem like your gas pedal broke. Even after you have reached dry pavement it will not reapply throttle right away, you have to sit there waiting for the car to decide that you can go.(this is good until you pull from a slippery road onto a clean one, or try going up a slippery hill)

[GordonD]

Originally Posted by jwight

Yeah, I think 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, and that's with winter tires. The car does well at slower speeds. Driving faster than 30 or so just overcomes the tires' grip and the front end slides off to the outside in turns. Slow and steady works well, but don't get into a situation where you need to rock the car to get unstuck - the traction control won't allow it.

The best way to drive the Smart in slippery conditions is to go into manual and shift up as quickly as you can. You need to get the torque off the wheels and the D setting doesn't do it very well. Funnily I find better control if you stay in 4th rather than the 5th.

As to the front end sliding that really does mean you are going too fast for the conditions. remember that despite being rear wheel drive it is engineered to understeer so the front will wash out given any excuse.