Author Topic: Smart Car (Read 220 times)

alembic76407 · « **on:** June 01, 2007, 02:07:13 PM »

does anyone own or have driven a Smart Car, tell me what you think

David T

keith_h · « **Reply #1 on:** June 01, 2007, 02:35:19 PM »

I believe Jazzyvee drives one. It came up when we were discussing what gear you could pack in your car.

Keith

dadabass2001 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 02, 2007, 08:06:08 AM »

Yeah it was Jazzy...
I'd still like to see pix of his car loaded with gear...

Mike

David Houck · « **Reply #3 on:** June 04, 2007, 06:43:53 PM »

It looks like they are close to marketing an all electric version.

811952 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 04, 2007, 07:21:39 PM »

I think he said he was able to get his entire bass and rig into it and still have room to drive...

jazzyvee · « **Reply #5 on:** June 04, 2007, 11:58:39 PM »

Yes I do drive a lovely red and black smart car.
When doing gigs this is what I am able to get in the car.
1 2x10 Mesa power house cab
1, 1x15 mesa ppwerhouse cab
1, mesa walkabout amp in a 3U rack case on the front passenger seat
1 alembic SC bass in case wedged in the footwell with the seatbelt on.
Music stand behind the seat, bass stand, behind the seat.

Me in the driving seat.
I haven't had the chance to take a photo of it loaded up but if I get chance this weekend I will do that for you.

The drivers seat has to come forward a bit but 1'm 5'11 and can still drive reasonably comfortable, albeit with a bit less leg room. I wouldn't want to drive it a long distance loaded like that.

As for comfort I recently took it on a drive from Birmingham, England to Amsterdam, Holland a distance of around 900 miles.
The car performed perfectly, no problems at all and it only took two tanks of petrol, one there and one back.

I have to say though that I probably wouldn't drive it that far again as when I got back home my calves were as tight as hell for about a week. So I guess the seating position is not really suited for long drives. But in its defence it is really a town car and on the motor ways I would like a bit more power to get away from the trucks and get up hills faster.

Great little car. Perfect for the job it was designed for.
Jazzyvee

(Message edited by jazzyvee on June 05, 2007)

bracheen · « **Reply #6 on:** June 05, 2007, 03:03:51 AM »

Jazzy
How does it do with wind buffeting? I drive a MR2 Spyder and it's a handful when the wind blows. Great gas mileage and a lot of fun though.

Sam

alembic76407 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 05, 2007, 09:53:14 AM »

Jazzy, How much fuel will it hold, what kind of gas (or deisel) mileage do you get, and is it fun to drive, will it do hiway speed, do you feel like it's a safe car to drive? and I want to see how you cram your rig in a Smart Car.

I think I can move the Porsche to the front of the garage and still get a Smart Car behind and still close the garage door, and that will be cheaper than building on to the garage

David T

PS; if loud suits are safer on bikes then a lime green Smart Car will be just the ticket !!!!!

jazzyvee · « **Reply #8 on:** June 05, 2007, 11:16:22 AM »

Ok here we go.
I think the car holds 7 imperial gallons of unleaded petrol. I think on a run I can get about 360 miles on the highway at about 70mph.
Round town last time I calculated it was around the mid 50's.

The car is speed limited at 84mph and to be honest it is pretty stable at that speed for a small car and I certainly wouldn't want to go any faster or have to do an emergency stop at that speed.

It does feel a safe car to drive, more so with two people or with more weight in it.

Wind buffeting is certainly an issue as is passing lorries too closely. Sometimes if there are strong crosswinds, I have had to open both windows to reduce the effect and make the car more stable on the road.

The car does have traction control and if you try to go too fast round corners it certainly does noiceably drop the power to the back wheels.

If you are tall you will find the rear view mirror does affect your view of the sidewalk and people approaching the kerb so you have to be careful to look carefully when approaching crossings.

I'm considering of having the engine management re-mapped to get more power on pull off as sometimes the gearbox can get confused when pulling off at very slow speeds and many times it has changed to the wrong gear when pulling off and when you put your foot down, the traction control kicks in and the car doesn't move. Very scary when you have pulled out of a junction for a small gap in the traffic. Many times i've felt my luck was out. lol

For all its quirks, its a town car and for that it suits me fine. I'm really glad i bought it. very reliable, economical, low service costs. Cool. For times when I need to carry more stuff i take the beema.

As for the porsche driver. Watch this and cry....!!!! lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pxs-dWwxaE

And for sheer fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gseTGwppbg

And for the safety aspect: here is a review of safety by a UK motoring programme.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02eghIfyHP0

Enjoy
Jazzyvee

811952 · « **Reply #9 on:** June 05, 2007, 11:20:09 AM »

PS; if loud suits are safer on bikes then a lime green Smart Car will be just the ticket !!!!!

That would be awesome!

My wife drove a lime green Eagle Summit for several years, and finally got rid of it because it was so easily spotted. Hundreds of miles from home on the interstate we'd still get waves from people who knew that car. It was pretty funny.

John

alembic76407 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 05, 2007, 01:51:09 PM »

John, they do sell the Smart car in Lime green,

Jazzy, the 2008 will have a 1000cc engine, a tad quicker than last years model.

as for the Smart Diablo, I want one or two if the doors open like a Lambo

my friend had 2 R5 Turbo2 Renaults and they were just stupid fast

David T

811952 · « **Reply #11 on:** June 05, 2007, 05:12:05 PM »

On teh Internets is a video of a smart car with Suzuki Hayabusa engine. It smokes the tires like you would not believe.

Found it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPQIizRp9ck

John

jack · « **Reply #12 on:** June 06, 2007, 11:21:43 AM »

John, that made my day. I could tear up NYC with one of those.

bsee · « **Reply #13 on:** June 07, 2007, 09:50:24 AM »

They have them in Canada and I spent a few hours with a woman at one of the wineries in the Niagara area who had one.

She was a college student and about 6' tall. It was very comfortable for her and a passenger with an upright, crossover-like seating position. Hers was a diesel and I think she said it got about 60 MPG. The big down side was price. I think she said it was just over $30K Canadian when she got it, though the prices look to be lower today.