2008 smart fortwo passion cabriolet

Purchased As New

I love my smart cabriolet! It is soo much fun to drive easy to park and surprisingly has a good ammount of storage for when I go to the grocery store! I save soo much money in gas! Plus the convertable is a lot of fun and easy to use!

Pros

Fuel economy, ECO friendly.

Cons

Rough ride, weird transmission, too much attention.

Had mine 7K miles now. Rides rough, worry about damage on poor roads. Worst problem is transmission. The auto-manual just doesn't work. Car lugs way too much. Needs a new chip or something. I switch to manual but often forget and over rev gears.

Otherwise, this car gets AWSOME MPG and certainly points to the future. I can cruise aimlessly without sweating out fuel use. I use it as my commuting car.......read morehide

Pros

42mpg, unique, fun to drive, decent stereo system, cool colors

Cons

No cruise control, no arm rest, no tilt steering wheel, quirky tranny

I've driven my Smart for over 10,000 miles in four months. Even though I have an Audi and a Harley Deuce, I prefer driving the Smart. It's a blast to drive with the paddle shifters. You can park in anywhere. It gets a lot of attention (too much at times!!!). For the money, I don't think you can find another car with the same combination of "fun-to-drive" and fuel ecomony. It also has suprisingly good storage capacity behind the seats....read morehide

Pros

Easy to park, center of attention, I've received more invitations to go out on a date.

Cons

Have to get use to the transmission. Insurance is high for this car.

Happy to report that I still love my Smart Car. I finally took it to a hand wash car wash. Got a lot of laughs and whoo hoos. Parking attendants have told me No Charge!!
So I'm saving on parking. I've been asked by several people where they can get one. When passing trucks on the Fwy the trucks shake. LOL. I have no problem with the wind. You get use to it. This car is not for everybody and you will find pros and cons on any car....read morehide

Pros

Very stable at cruising speed (60-70), surprising comfort

Cons

A little sluggish when merging, don't take on any BMWs at the entrance ramp to the freeway

We got our Smarty in August. We get 42 mpg, have switched back to regular gas from premium and have kept the same mileage. A great commuter car. Don't try to go to Home Depot to haul sheet rock but perfect for the daily trip to work, quick stop at the grocery store, etc. We take it downtown for events for the obvious parking convenience. We are happy to have it, will keep it until the wheels fall off....read morehide

Pros

Great fuel, easy to manipulate through heavy traffic and great for finding difficult parking places

Cons

no cruise control and uses high test gas, cabriolet is noisy

It's a great car to get around in, very comfortable. Perfect for a second car and necessary for one who has long commutes. The audio/stereo system sounds awesome and holds 6 dvds. The front seat is large/high so you never feel dwarfed by other cars. In fact I totally forget there is no second seat behind me. It is easy to get in and out of, especially for older people. I never feel like I'm riding close to the ground or sitting in a hole....read morehide

Pros

Appearance, MPG, cost

Cons

TBD

In reading the other reviews, I wonder how many of these folks actually have a Smart ForTwo? I'm guessing not that many. I will take delivery of mine in a couple of months. Therefore, my review is based solely on a couple test drives, and a few other chance viewings.

From that data, I am excited about the car. I like its looks, maneuverability, mileage and cost. I am not concerned about my safety, since it gets impressive crash test scores and I'm using it as strictly a local traffic commuter car.

If you have alreadt taken delivery of a ForTwo, I 'd love to hear your opinion. If not, please don't waste your rants here. If you don't like the car, don't buy it, buy something else....read morehide

Pros

Attention-getter, easy to park on the street

Cons

Gas mileage is not good enough to justify the small size, no power, transmission, storage

I had seen Smarts for many years in Europe on trips, particularly in Rome and other places in Italy. Since I live in an urban area, my reaction was, why don't they have that in the States?

When it was finally announced, my instinct was that I would get one. Then, I noticed that the car didn't look quite as good as the Smarts I had remembered. It was bigger, taller, more slab-sided, the sexy curves and fender flares that made it look a bit sporty were gone. Sure enough, the car had been modified to meet US crash standards and the addition of the 5 mph bumpers and other changes had compromised the looks. Oh well.

Second, I was aghast at the gas mileage. 35 mpg was all the Smart was promising, for a car that weighs well under a ton. I have a Mini Cooper S that averages 26 mpg in real world driving that includes a ton of stop-and-go city driving and gets well over 30 on the open highway. Also a Lotus Elise that was terrific on gas and a lot of fun to drive. I was shocked that 35 was all they claimed, and now I've heard that it really doesn't get much over 30 and, in fact, under that in the city. Not good enough.

Third, I realized that one of the big advantages of a Smart -- the ability to park it in ridiculously small spaces -- was much more of an issue for European city drivers than it is for typical US drivers, including me. And the Smart's fiberglass trim tends to get creamed if you do park in those tight spaces -- just walk down any street in Rome if you want to see what a Smart looks like that's been on the road for a while. So even if you needed to, and could, park in those tiny spaces, would you? Probably not.

Finally, the test drive scared me. I felt that the car simply did not have enough power to enable safe navigation in real-life road conditions, particularly in US highway driving where, unfortunately, the de facto speed limit is between 75 and 80 mph.

As others have mentioned, the requirement of premium unleaded defeats the purpose of fuel efficiency (although I can't imagine that you couldn't safely use regular unleaded, engine light or no, but of course then you'd have even less power on tap, which is a real safety issue in this car).

The Lotus Elise shows how an extremely light and small car can be done well. The Smart, sadly, does not.

If you drive exclusively in the city and street parking is an issue to you and you don't mind some dings and dents, then the Smart could well be the utility car for you....read morehide

Pros

Fun to Drive, easy to park, don't have to pay a lot to fill up with gas, easy to wash.

Cons

I have a convertible and when you have the top down your rear view mirror is covered half way.

I love my Smart Car regardsless of the small defects it may have. I thought it was little expensive for such a small car. I figured this is probably the last car I will have before I die and that I can use as a coffin as well.

Pros

Just what we have been waiting for

Cons

ride is a little hard,

Well we wish we could have picked up this car 7 years ago. Travel to France often and have spent money (99) to get on list early and so happy we did. We see no truoble with this little car and we feel so much smarter when we fill it up.
The ride can be hard, but traffic is no trouble and cruise at 70 very quick.
If only I was single and half my age I would be PICK up city. But as are just happy to drive a car we love for the first time.
I guess mini, that PT will just have take a back seat to the SMART. they get no where near the mileage and the price is....well not worth it...but then again we did just spend 18000 on this SMART car......read morehide