Smart ForTwo a Hoot to Drive

Smart mania has begun, as the Smart brand finally has committed to importing its sub-subcompact (micro?) cars to the U.S. in the first quarter of 2008, with prices ranging from $12,000 to $17,000. Stoking the mania this past weekend in Cars.com’s hometown of Chicago was the Street Smart Road Show, which is appearing in more than 50 cities this summer. The event gives people a chance to drive the ForTwo, a two-seat model that’s the only one currently destined for our country. Smart gave media (that would be us) some time in the coupe and cabrio (convertible) before letting in the people who had begun to line up a couple hours before the official start time.

The cars I checked out (see gallery below) were those sold in Europe, which Smart representatives say are pretty close to what we’ll have here. Due to U.S. regulations, and how they differ from those in the roughly 25 other countries in which Smarts are sold — including Canada for the past few years — ours might have different headlights or other safety-related modifications. We’ll have nine-spoke wheels, and all models will have glove compartments instead of the cubby that occupied the same location in some of these samples.

Oh, and the drivetrains will be different. That might sound major, but the Smarties said we’ll get the same 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that I tested. It might be tuned differently, however, which could change its characteristics. Now, I’ll say this: The car I drove wasn’t wanting for power, and it’s highly unlikely that the U.S. would get a less powerful version of an economy car sold overseas. The gear selector will also have the traditional PRND settings instead of the Euro’s plus/minus/N/R. Their version has sequential shifting as the default, but you can activate an automatic mode by pushing a button. The transmission is actually an automated manual, which is less complex than what we think of as an automatic. It’s basically a manual that operates the clutch so you don’t have to with a third pedal. These cars worked reasonably well, but I’m anxious to see how the U.S. version does. Other transmissions of this design (from the other major German automakers: VW and BMW) have received mixed reviews.

The rear-wheel-drive ForTwo is a hoot to drive, and I adjusted to it so quickly that it really felt like any other car — except for all the people gawking at it and stopping me at traffic lights. Many people have driven this little booger as a rental in other countries, and all of them seem to love it. It’s 106 inches long and 61 inches wide. For perspective, the Mini Cooper is 146 by 66 inches, the Mazda MX-5 Miata is 157 by 68 inches and the Honda Fit is 167 by 66 inches. Smart held this event at a street fair in Lincoln Park, the neighborhood best known as a parking nightmare. (This was not happenstance.) As you might expect, it was a breeze to parallel park; the size obviously was key, but I also liked the way it maneuvered with its wheels so close to each corner of the car’s plastic-paneled body.

If city driving and parking are the main draw, then gas mileage is certainly the second. Smart is predicting 40 mpg in mixed driving, which doesn’t sound so great. Know that this is based on the tougher (and likely more accurate) 2008 rating method. By the more-familiar previous calculation it would probably be around 45 mpg or above. With a cargo volume of 7.7 cubic feet behind the seats, the ForTwo’s cargo space is larger than the Miata’s trunk, at 5.3 cubic feet. The Mini Cooper, though, has three times as much space.

People are sure to be concerned about safety — understandably so. Standard are antilock brakes, a stability system and airbags, including side-impact with head protection. None of that changes the fact that the ForTwo is small and exceptionally light, at 1,653 pounds. The Cooper, Miata and Fit are all around 2,500 pounds.

Not long ago it seemed that Smart — after a lot of talk — would never come to the U.S. Two things changed: fuel prices here and Smart’s racking up financial losses as large as their cars are small. In times of crisis, sell to the Americans. They’ll buy anything.

Joe’s Smart ForTwo Photo Gallery

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