I had the opportunity to test drive a Smart Car (made by Mercedes-Benz) over the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it ran and how comfortable it was. I test drove the Smart ForTwo, which has retail price of $11,000 to $16,500. Currently, in my area there is a 1 year wait for a car and in order to get on the list you need to put a $99 deposit down for the car.
All cars come with automatic and a push button standard (I do not know how to drive a stick so I cannot elaborate on how this is different than other cars other than there was no clutch or pedal on the floor). If you drive the car in standard you get better gas mileage.
This is a gas fueled car that is legal to drive on the highway and to my surprise can go as fast as 90 MPH!! When looking at its size you wonder what it can do on the highway.
Once I got into the car I was surprised to see how big the passenger space was. You feel like you are sitting pretty high in the car and there is a huge sunroof so you feel like you have alot of space. The controls on the car felt like they were in the right place and it was easy to see out of. As I started driving the car it had a good start as you step on the gas, my biggest complaint is when you get to about 15 mph you hesitate as you switch gears and you feel this much more than you would in another car. Overall, the car drove well and handled well.
The cargo space was also larger than I thought it would be, although not cavernous. You could easily fit several full grocery bags in the back. There is also a ton leg room space so if you are traveling alone in the car and you bought more than could fit in the back you could easily fit it in the front. I think the obvious caveat is that I would not recommend this car to make a big trip to Ikea or Home Depot for large items.
The car comes in a limited amount of colors white, grey, black, orange (they say red, I am not so sure though), yellow and blue. They also have a convertible version. There are million features you can add on to the car to like heated seats, 5 cd changer, mp3 plug in jack, bike or ski racks, safety plus package (emergency equipment), and lots of others.
So here is what you have been waiting for it is a gas car so what is its mileage… 33 city 40 highway. It has an 8.7 gallon tank so if gas is $4.00 a gallon it would cost $34.80 to fill up and drive anywhere from 287.1 – 348 miles.
Features:
- 4 Start Crash test rating
- Tight turning radius of 28.71 ft.
- Electronic Stability Program
- Anti-lock Brakes
- passive safety systems
- Full-size 2 stage front airbag, head and thorax side airbags, belt tensioners and belt force limiters (the steering column can also retract away when necessary)
- Hill Start assist (which will be helpful in a car this size)
Who is this car perfect for:The commuter (train or public transportation) who needs a ride to the station, someone who works close to home, a second car, or any single person or couple who just needs a car on occasion.
Cons of this car: It is still a completely gas run car so it does not help you get rid of your dependence on oil or gas. Cars are going to have to have equally competitive gas mileage soon anyway.
Environmental Info:Production of these cars takes place in ‘smartville’ where they use a process of painting the cars that uses 40% less energy than conventional painting methods and solvent emissions are low because they use water based lacquers. Their industrial waste water and sewage is purified which reduces waster water contamination to what a population of 50 people would produce rather than a population of 3,000. Some of the components of the car are also made with 100% recycled plastic. They even went so far as designing the car to be recyclable when you are done with it!!! Talk about innovation!!
For more information go to: http://www.smartusa.com
Green4u's Weblog 