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| Ratings |
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| Comments |
Favorite feature: |
Mileage |
Least favorite feature: |
Ride |
Advice to buyer: |
Be a SMART kind of person or buy a Porsche |
Detailed review: |
Most Americans, used to giant waster-mobiles, are going to find the ride and gears of the SMART quaint, inadequate, what have you. I, for one, do not care about these people, because they will not buy a SMART. This problem of discontent takes care of itself through a kind of natural selection.
But there are those people, like myself, who delight in the SMART. I find the ride a bit stiff, to say the least. Rides about like an old MORGAN. Minimal suspension. But I have to say I positively like the transmission, which is an 'automatic manual'. You can feel the gear changes, just as you could if you were driving a manual transmission. I like this. I also think the transmission will have a longer life than a normal automatic transmission.
As for the size of the car. Once you get used to it, all other cars seem too big. One feels and is safe in the car. My wife's Mercury Milan, not a large car as the world goes, now seems clumsy, too big. No accounting for attitudes, but this is mine.
On the ratings above, I'm frankly surprised that the little car did as well as it did. Not because it isn't a good car. But because of conventional attitudes. Most people regard the car as a toy, I wager. It is not. It is simply smart. On good runs, I get 40 mpg in in-town and suburban driving. No other non-hybrid car gets this kind of mileage. On the highway, the mileage creeps up to over 50 mpg.
With all of the funky electric vehicles coming out soon (by Nissan, for example), the SMART will seem conventional. I, for one, am very glad about this. It is high time we become rational about transportation. To have a giant SUV to pick up a gallon of milk is lunacy. But many Americans will change slowly. They will cling to the 'Edsels' as long as possible. |
Also considered: |
2009 Nissan Versa
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| About This Reviewer... |
Name: |
Stephen Gatlin |
Email address: |
sgatlin@eastern.edu |
Location: |
Haverford, Pennsylvania |
Other vehicles owned: |
2007 Mercury Milan
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Review submitted: |
October 29, 2009 |
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