2009 smart fortwo passion

Pros

I get 40+ miles to the gallon and have a long commute, 110 total miles a day to and from work.

Cons

None

I have owned many cars over the years. including corvettes (3), Mercedes SUV ML450, Scion XB (2), Mercedes SL230, etc. However, with the fuel up swing in CA to over $4 a gallon, I decided I needed a fuel effecient car to get me to and from work, 55 miles each way.

I am 6'2" and I looked at a Prius first, but it was too small in the cabin to fit comfortably. So...after a vacation in Europe for 5 weeks, I saw the Smart car everywhere (along with small american cars on the lots for sale that you don't see in America...makes me wonder about all this talk about our U.S. companies not retooling their fleets).

I was taken with the look, I researched and found out they were available in America through Mercedes Dealerships upon my return. I went to check them out. Although they look tiny from the outside, once inside, the cabin was very good size and had more room for a tall person then the prisus. Not to mention the advantage of being able to park in such small places that I solved the parking issue where I live in San Francisco. It is a great car, opens up a whole new world of possibilities for parking in cities (plus great gas mileage). If you use the manual shift paddles on the wheel, the car is actually quite zippy. Don't get me wrong, it does not compete with a corvette on the highway, but...a corvette does not compete with a smart car on the highway for mileage. It comes down to practicality and performance.

It is the smartest car (pun intended) I have purchased in a long time.