Although did not see one other smart (other than a local car I've seen before) either coming or going. The smart drove well and both my son and I were amazed that it had passing power at 65 to 70 - the trans will kick down a gear or more when floored and we had it up to 80 -85 on some highway stretches (wind buffeting from tractor trailers was probably the most annoying - you have to hold on with both hands firmly when following them at highway speed, hence the passing manuever). Other things were minor, but again the 'mission' of this car isn't really long distance. First would be no cruise control - would be a welcome addition but only on long trips like this. Second is the very flat front (a BIG bug attraction, but a liberal spray of Rain-X pre-bug spray and Rain-X on the windshield made clean-up easy). Third are the seats - great for short trips but both our butts ached after the longest stints with no break. From our home in the NW 'burbs of Chicago to Houghton, MI (home of MTU) it's a 404 mile ride and unfortunately, that route has very few rest stops. Our overall mileage was about 43 mpg - not bad considering our average speed (according to my Garmin GPS) was 70. Round trip we used just under 19 gals (808 mile round trip) and half the trip with two people and a full load of college stuff (it actually does have room for quite a bit of stuff). Overall, we're pleased with it but it won't be our primary car for future trips like this - my Mazda3 GT 5-door is far more comfortable, carrys more stuff and gets 32 mpg on trips like this. As always, others have made comparisons with the likes of the Honda Fit, etc. and as long as the mission of the smart is understood, it's actually a great little car. Lastly, the reason for the higher average speed versus something slower was due to tight schedule (had to be at MTU by 4PM to pick-up his dorm key - found out later we could have picked it up elsewhere if we were late and on the return trip - - - well, I guess I was having too much fun going fast and of course the looks on other drivers being passed by such a small car was priceless!). As far as the harsh (snowy) U.P. winters - our smart won't contend with that but we'll see how it handles Chicago ones. With this trip we just passed 3K miles. Car has been flawless so far, no problems to report at all.
Today
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