2009 smart fortwo passion

Pros

Great fuel economy, fun to drive around town, pretty peppy when driving in manuel.

Cons

Miss cruise control & tilt steering wheel

Purchased As New

I own a Tahoe that I only drive on weekends now that I have the Smart Car. It has as much leg room as the Tahoe after you get in and I'm 6' 2". It would be nice if it had a tilt wheel but once you figure out how to get in and out it's not bad. It's not bad zipping around in town and does a pretty good job on the highway. Wouldn't advise driving on a long trip, handles a little rough in the wind. Overall I really enjoy driving the car it's fun...................read morehide

Pros

Wonderful Car

Cons

Not sure if there really are any

Purchased As New

I love this car. This a great car to comute in. The only car my wife and I use on weekends. Gas milage is about 43 MPG. not to shabby.The interior is roomy. I'm 6'2" & almost 300 lbs. and I have plenty of room. This car reminds me of theVW bug of the 1960's but much better appointed and safer. I have heated leather seats and a geat sound system. Yes, tnansmission takes a little getting use to, but I always shift manually and have no problems. 6 days after I got this car a deer struck me while I was going 40 mph. Now it smashed the windshield (it held together) and it did take a month to get another but my wife hit a deer years before in a Taurus and totaled it and she was lucky to be alive. This Smart held up well and was back on the road as soon as a windshield could be found. Remember you are driving in a rollcage. I have almost 16K miles on this car. and hope to have it for many, many years. Seems very easy to repair.
This is a car for one or two people that do mostly comuting (average under 60 miles a day). Enough room in the back for a couple of sets of golf clubs.I've had it up to 80 mph and it handles nice on the hghway. And for the price where can you find a car that you get that much attention....read morehide

Pros

Great MPG and handling.

Cons

Lack of Alaskan sales & service

Purchased As New

I bought my Smart car in Houston and towed it on a trailer to Alaska. I am a large guy and it is so roomy that I have no problems with entry or exit. It is very comfortable even on those 2+ hour trips to the Kenia or Talkeetna. It has to be the most commented on car I have ever seen. I have to discuss the car with at least on person each day. So if you like a nice little car with great MPG and lots of public appeal this car is for you. I have over 8800 miles on mine....read morehide

Pros

Mercedes quality, great fuel mileage, big inside.

Cons

Mercedes service & repair prices.

Purchased As Used

This car is DIFFERENT in a good way. For example, there's room in a one-bay garage for the Smart and two motorcycles (main reason I wanted a Smart). There's also some wack-a-doodle things like "always-on" mirror heaters and a radio that always comes on when the engine is started (I seldom use the radio because it's a dangerous distraction from traffic situations). I have yet to find a way to program the radio to stay OFF unless I press the ON button. Why aren't there 4 wheels of the same size? Why is the engine so badly strangulated? It could easily make 100 HP, maybe more. Could use roll bars to stop the car from "corkscrewing" in turns when wheels fall into a dip. Please note that a number of these things are just personal preferences, although my wife and I have found that Mercedes does things just a little differently from most automakers. She has a 2002 C230K that's a blast to drive, also gets great mileage (as high as 39.8 mpg on a 1200-mile trip), but mostly 22-24 mpg around town. I can't wait to see what kind of mpg the Smart gets when driven for mileage.

The local dealer (Tampa) is great and easy to work with. Where can I get a complete list of options and accessories?...read morehide

Pros

Economy and maneuverability

Cons

None within the scope of what the car is and isn't

Purchased As New

I've had mine since March 09. I drive about 76 miles per day. This car was designed as a "Urban Commuter" in a place where parking is at a premium and parking laws are liberal compared with the USA. When I bought it my insurance cost went down about $100 per six months (compared to previous Hyundai Sonata) -- that wasn't expected. I think there's way too much whining about the transmission; I find it fun to drive; if I need a little extra, the paddles come in handy. I'm a big guy and find the interior to be much more copious that the Yaris, Kit, or other small cars. Also, the seats are not as close to the ground and are easier to get in and out of. To me, the car has more technology per cubic inch that anything. I added a Kenwood head unit that does Sirius/BlueTooth/iPod/iPhone and GPS. The car gets more smiles from pedestrians and passers-bye than any car I've ever driven. The Smart is what it is. You buy it for what it is realizing that it can't be all things. It's not a car for aggressive drivers. If you're a speed limit driver, you want economy, lower carbon footprint, and capacity for two -- you'll probably be happy. If I had it to do all over again -- I'd do it all over again !!...read morehide

Pros

Curb parking is easy!

Cons

Does not like speed bumps (neither do I)

Purchased As New

The car is very comfortable, though it wanders a bit above 65 mph. The air conditioning is powerful and there is plenty of leg room.

Pros

Top quality and amazin MPG

Cons

n/a

Purchased As New

I have owned the car since 15th July 09 and wouldn't swop the car for anything else, cheap to run, no road tax (here in uk that is) fun to drive etc

All i can say to the people who dont like these cars is "what do you expect from a small car?" and if you've never been in 1 you cant comment...read morehide

Pros

Super SAFE car with great gas mileage per gallon. Couldn't be happier

Cons

The only think I might change is the shift points for freeway entry.

Purchased As New

We owned our '08 smart fortwo since May '08 and had we not been in an accident with it this past March we would still be driving it. Now we are the proud owners of the '09 Brabus Coupe and love it just as much as our '08 Passion. We could hardly wait till our new one was being built for us.
This car is beyond safe and we commute 80 miles every day with a mix of highway and heavy city driving to get to work and have never, ever felt unsafe. We took it on a trip last Thanksgiving and put over 1,800 miles on it and only spent $80 in gasoline and will take it on more road trips. We consistently got 43-46 mpg with our '08 Passion.
What a BLAST to drive and own. In our opinion it's the best and safest car you can get in this price range....read morehide

Pros

interior space, fuel economy, ease of driving

Cons

transmission, cargo area

Purchased As New

The Smart actually drives pretty well. You won't notice how small the car is on the outside when you are driving because there is plenty of room for 6 foot drivers. You just think you're in a normal sized car, forgetting there is no hood past your toes or much car behind your head. A telescoping, tilt steering wheel would make it a lot better. AC is good even in the 100+ temperatures of Texas. It does need cargo nets (none come with the car) to keep your stuff in the cargo area and to keep the cargo from flopping around. But there is plenty of room back there for groceries and even a couple of suitcases.

The transmission is a manual with an automatic clutch. That's not what Smart calls it but really, that's what it is. You can really feel the delays between first and second gears. Not as noticeable after that. You can switch between manual and automatic shifting with paddles on the steering wheel, but it's way too easy to accidentally put it in manual shift and then find the engine over-reving. After a week, I'm used to the quirks of the transmission and the paddles, so I don't have any problems with it now. But it drove me nuts for a few days.

In town, it's a great car. It draws a lot of attention and I have it wrapped, so my business gets advertised well. I would not take a long trip in this car, but for most of my daily driving, it works....read morehide

Pros

Price and fuel economy

Cons

Seat belt location

Purchased As New

I love this car its fun to drive and passing the gas station is even more fun.The only thing I don't like is that the seatbelts cut into your neck.They need to make them adjustable.