Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Mercedes SMART car...it's coming here....

I have seen two of them in Mass.
they look even smaller in person.

They've been selling smart cars up here in Canada for two years now, generally they start at about $24K CDN and go up from there, "loaded" diesel versions sell for over $30K.

If you think they won't sell, think again, they can't keep them on the lots up here, which is retarded as they can barely get up to highway speeds with the diesel in them...

Biggest waste of money ever, but rich doctors' snooty [censored] wives need something to brag about and a $30K piece of crap fits the bill.

Oh yeah, and about the geo metro being able to crush one of these... no. They weigh alot and do really well in crash tests. When I crashed my Focus, there was a smart car in the insurance lot that had been t-boned by a Taurus on the freeway, the doors still opened and closed. The Taurus actually looked worse.

MB is dropping the Roadster due to slow sales and supposedly redesigning the For Four.

And I saw a For Two on an autobahn a couple weeks ago doing about 140km/h... when it hit bumps it bounced around all over the place.

For Two:


For Four (Note that it's NOT built on the For Two chassis):


Roaster:

I have seen a few Roadsters around here. There was one parked on a sidewalk. It is really tiny. The guy came out and raced off, they seem pretty quick.

i alway feel funny when im at a street lamb next to a smart.

if MB brings the SMART here an prices it competitively, I would consider one... a BRABUS tuned one.

I understand the reservations you guys have about this car, and I had the same ones as well till my Dad actually bought and owned one and I've had a lot of opportunity to drive it. So first of all I want to dispell a few myths regarding this car, don't get me wrong, these are the same things I believed when my dad was first looking at purchasing it.

a) The car can't reach highway speeds. It sure can, I personally have had it at 140km/h for a period of time, and even at this speed it still does over 45mpg US.

b) The car isn't safe in an accident. As was referenced by someone else, watch the Top Gear (or maybe fifth gear, can't remember) test on it, they smash head on into a concrete barrier at 70mph, and the crash test people watching it stated that if the human body could survive stopping that fast they would have lived, in fact the passenger door still opened.

c) They're expensive. They top out at 24-25k CDN for the hardtop, this is roughly what my father paid for his car which he told the sales guy to "throw everything they had at it". They can be had for as low as 18k for a stripper model. And at this price like someone said, they can't keep them on the lot, when my dad purchased his there was an 8mth waiting list, he got the 10th one in Manitoba, and I believe the 30th or something in Canada.

d) They're awful on the highway. My parents have taken a road trip in this car from Wpg MB to cuauhtemoc Mexico and back, and had no issues of any kind. As well, they drove 7k and spent roughly $150 on fuel.

With these in mind, these cars are far from anything I've ever driven, the build quality is quite good for a small car, as well because they're a mercedes product, all your servicing is done at the merc. dealership, which we've found gives excellent service, and has a slightly more upscale feel than any standard dealership. Also this car has tons of features that no other small car has, for example you can adjust the tilt of the headlights from inside the vehicle, it has stability control, traction control, electronic brake force distribution, drive by wire, etc.. Even in the dead of winter the car is excellent on snow, ice, etc... The fuel mileage is also astronomical on these cars as well, my dad still gets 70mpg US on the highway.

Also, may I remind you that the fuel mileage this car receives is quite a bit higher than most, if not all hybrid vehicles, especially on the highway. This is the reason I don't understand why more manufacturers haven't sent diesel vehicles over to this side of the pond, even in Canada we only have a few to choose from, and those that are diesel hold their value like no other.

Anyways, sorry for the rant and long read, but I've become passionate about these vehicles.

I was wondering what kind of car I saw this weekend. I was driving on I-26 coming back from Charleston and saw one heading the other way. It looked just like the Smart. It was lime green color. Maybe it was coming from Canada or something.