Reader Review of the Week: 2008 Smart ForTwo

“Ordered my Smart Passion in October ’07 and still haven’t gotten that one, but was able to pick up an ‘orphan’ (a car ordered but not taken by a customer). Drove it home 67 miles on the interstate and was very surprised at how it held 80 mph, as I did not buy the car for anything other than city driving. Now I have about 2,000 miles on the car and my wife has kept detailed mileage records. We are getting 42 miles to the gallon in town!

“Typical commute is about 10 miles at about 45 mph. We have parked our other cars whenever we are running errands. Between the gas savings and the insurance savings we are paying for the car, the other Smart is to be delivered in late December or early January, and we are taking it. I changed the order to the Cabriolet. It’s a great car if you don’t need to spend more than 15 to 30 minutes per drive at speeds lower than 60 mph. It’s adequate if you occasionally need to get on the interstate. I did drive it at 75 mph for over 150 miles twice in one week, and it got about 36 mpg, but the seats are a bit hard for two hours. It’s a fun car to drive and it gets lots of attention.”