Test Drive: 2009 smart ForTwo Passion Coupe

The smart ForTwo Coupe sticks out in the traffic around Cary, NC like the mole on Cindy Crawford's face. Cary is the location of the Raleigh area's only smart (no caps) dealership, and it makes perfect sense for it to be here.  Affectionately known to the locals of the Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill North Carolina) as the "Containment Area for Relocated Yankees," Cary is the swanky, hip upper class locale that people who get good jobs in Research Triangle move to.  They then buy their wives an Escalade while they drive around in their Porsche Cayenne/ Lexus GX470/ Range Rover.

Among these massive mastodons on wheels, the smart car is... rather noticeable.  Even in my test car's non-metallic black, the ForTwo pretty much goes over like a pork chop in a mosque in Cary.  People point, stare, and probably say "why didn't he get a real car?" to themselves.

With that in mind, if that's not the kind of attention you're comfortable getting (at least here in the 'states) then perhaps a smart car isn't for you.  However, if you embrace the whole concept of a different solution to an old problem, and have an open mind, there are lots of things to like about the smart.

When the smart was first introduced to the European market in 1998, the intention was to provide economical, efficient, safe and comfortable transportation where space was at a premium - sort of a modern interpretation (taking into account the challenges of congested city driving) of the original Beetle or Citroen 2CV.  Today, the intention of the Smart is still the same - but it's markets have broadened to finally (in 2008) include the United States.

Here in the US, the Smart plays a decidedly different role in the market compared to in Europe and Asia.  In Europe, the Smart competes with the Toyota iQ and other minicars for people who live in the city but want a car anyway.  We don't really have so many places like that here (except perhaps some cities like New York) so the smart ends up appealing to A) Cary housewives who think it's cute, and B) people who want a small, nifty, fuel efficient car.

I won't pull any punches on this: the smart is small.  Well yes, and water is wet.  The ForTwo has an overall length of 106.1", with a wheelbase of 73.5".  Compare this to the overall length of a Toyota Corolla at 178.3" with a wheelbase of 102.4", and you realize just how small the smart really is - it can almost fit in the wheelbase of the Corolla, which isn't exactly a large car.  The numbers don't tell the whole story about how small the smart really is compared to most cars in America.  This is a car that can disappear between a Mazda 3 hatchback and a CR-V at the grocery store parking lot.

While it is compact, it's not cramped.  Your author is 6'2" and a bit broad-shouldered, and the smart fits me like an old pair of jeans.  There's plenty of shoulder space and knee room, although the footwell is slightly pinched in.  There's also more than enough headroom, and I didn't even need to slide the seat all the way back to get a comfortable driving position.  The seats are surprisingly supportive, and the cabin feels quite airy and cheerful.  There are numerous storage spaces in the smart, and the dashboard actually has a full-length carpeted "shelf" that runs across it, below the steering wheel.  Useful.

The smart might be tiny, but it's well equipped.  My test car came with heated leather seats, a 6-disc changer with a subwoofer and an auxiliary input jack, rain sensing wipers, automatic headlights, power windows and locks, air conditioning and power steering, and some other small goodies.  You can get a whole lot of goodies for your smart: in addition to the aforementioned, there is an integrated satellite-navigation system, body addendum and performance parts from both BRABUS and Carllson Design, and other various practical and aesthetic upgrades.

In fact, the only (frankly surprising) thing you can't get in a ForTwo is... cruise control!  Seriously!  It's understandable in an Evo, but in a little tiny commuter-mobile, that seems like a drastic oversight on smart's part.  Hopefully this will be rectified soon.

So, enough about the goodies.  How does it drive?  Well, not quite how you'd expect.  Obviously, the smart handles a bit like a go-kart: it has near-instant response to steering inputs thanks to a lack of weight over the front wheels (the engine's in the back) as well as the super-short wheelbase.  The power steering (standard in the comfort package) is nice, but it really isn't necessary.  The smart weighs just over 1800 lbs dripping wet and loaded with all options, and about 60% of that is over the rear end.

The key goes into the ignition between the seats like a Saab, behind the stubby little shift lever.  Cranking it to the right causes the engine to catch, sputter, and spring to life with a... noisy thrum.  Hmm.  Maybe there is something to be said for an even cylinder count.  The ForTwo uses a rear-transverse mounted inline-3 cylinder engine, which displaces 1.0L.  The block and head are both aluminum, and a single cam operates the 12-valve head.  This tiny little motor makes 71 horsepower at 5800rpm and 68 ft-lbs at 4500rpms.  So while it's as light as an Elise... it's got a bit more than a third of the power.

Fast, the smart car is not.  Again, this is a proclamation that's as shocking as the Catholic background of the Pope.  The 70-horsepower engine screams and screams to an electronically limited top speed of 90 miles an hour.  I'm sure it can get there eventually; I didn't have the patience.  Nor did I see the point; once you get the smart up to 70 miles an hour and into fifth gear on the highway... it just goes on down the road like a real car.  It doesn't bounce to and fro like you'd think with it's micro wheelbase; in fact, non-power steering cars with bigger wheels would probably feel better on the highway simply because the power assist is too light at highway speed.  It's not tiring to drive on the highway; nor is it intimidating to be around other cars, as you ride relatively high up and have a fantastic view of the road.

What's most fun, though: point the ForTwo down a curvy offramp.  Shift down to third gear.  Floor it and hold your line like your life depends on it.  Rather than rolling over (again, like you'd suspect), the smart... just... sticks.  It almost doesn't matter how fast you're going; the 155-width tires up front have more than enough grip for whatever you can throw at the smart, and when the limit arrives, it's just mild scrubbing understeer.  The smart isn't playful in the corners, it's a leech.  No, you can't get the tail out.  Even if you get all the way off the throttle mid-corner.  Or tap the brake mid corner.  Or use a voodoo curse.   You point, the smart goes, like a well-trained Labrador.

It doesn't have much power, but wind that little three banger out and that thrum becomes a shriek.  It's not boomy but it's got an interesting note to it; it sounds like half of an old air-cooled 911.  Which is hardly surprising.  So you keep your foot down, and you get up near 6,000rpm (the changeover point) and you pull the right paddle for the next gear.  And then...

...you wait... and there's the next gear.  Whoa, smart.  That's one slow shift.  The car jerks forward like you're "new to this," and you stumble into the next gear if you're lucky.  Besides the lack of cruise control, the single worst thing about the smart is that hateful, hateful transmission.  It's not the 70 horsepower engine (why doesn't America get the gas-turbo ForTwo, smart?) or the tiny wheels...  the smart uses a 5-speed "automated" manual, which basically takes care of all the clutch work for you.  Poorly.  Engagement into first from a stop is significantly slower than a real human using a real stick shift who knows what they're doing.  Upchanges are slow, and it helps to actually let off the gas pedal during the change to help the computer compensate for the revs.  Downshifts are glacial, as using the throttle doesn't do anything during gear changes.  Of course, the smart has both paddle shifters (attached to the wheel, not the steering column where they're supposed to be) and the shift lever can be used to pick gears as well.

This bothers me.  The smart would be a lot more fun, and probably a bit cheaper, with a clutch pedal and a real transmission.  I guess I just don't understand why that isn't even an option on the smart; a small, basic car should have a stick shift.  This seems natural.

Step on the brakes, and your eyeballs promptly pop out.  The smart has 11.0" ventilated disc brakes in the front and cooled drums in the back; it's probably a bit excessive on this vehicle, but I am not going to complain about overkill brakes.  No worries there.  All smarts, regardless of trim level, come with a heavy list of standard safety equipment.  Airbags?  4 of 'em.  The entire frame (which is visible through the body) is designed to disperse energy in a crash around the cabin, and is exceptionally strong.  Alphabet soup of electronic safety nannies?  Yup.  Electronic Stability Program (ESP), emergency Brake Assist (BAS), anti-lock brakes, corner brake control (CBC), and two different forms of traction control - ASC and ETC.  Because the smart has so much power, it needs two traction control systems.  All of this adds up to 4 out of 5 possible stars in NCAP crash testing, which is reassuring.

It's all these premium features in such a compact package that make the smart feel like a car designed to be small on purpose, not a car designed to be small because it has to be.  It is diminutive, but it doesn't feel-or drive - like a compact torture chamber.  To me, it feels like a little miniature tank.

The smart holds the honor of being the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid gasoline-powered car in America.  It is rated by the EPA at 33 city/41 highway on 91RON gas.  With an 8.7 gallon tank, that means a potential range of 357 miles on the highway... and then you can fill the tank all the way up for $15.92, according to the current prices for premium gas in North Carolina.  Tempting if you really despise watching all your money disappear when you fill up the tank.

So yes, in a weird way, it's quite fun to drive.  It feels rock solid, corners like a roller coaster, howls like an old hot hatch, and it's even got flappy paddles.  But the only truly important question is: does it really make sense for America?  It certainly makes sense in Europe, where it originated.  But we don't have those tiny, narrow streets.  It ISN'T that hard to find a parking spot for your Expedition.  Gas has fallen in price from over $4.00 a gallon down to under $2.00 in the last 6 months.  The smart is limited to 90 miles an hour; there are places in the upper Midwest where that would be absolutely obnoxious.

This means that in America, people will buy the smart for one of two reasons.  1) They live in the city, and it's perfect for them.  This is understandable.  2) It's cute/hip/"green."  People aren't going to buy them just because they're cheap, people will buy them in spite of the fact they're cheap (if they fit into the second category.)  There are a lot of other cheap cars around the smart's base MSRP ($11,990 before destination charges), like the Honda Fit - which may not be able to match the smart's highway MPG rating of 41, but it can also carry 5 people or a lot of stuff.  And you can get one with a clutch pedal.  The Nissan Versa offers plentiful space and good fuel economy with a starting price of below 10 grand.  Basically, anything the smart competes with based on price has a massive advantage in practicality.

But I personally don't care.  I usually only drive myself and sometimes a passenger around (rarely more than one), don't carry big things, and the smart would be perfect for me.  The only problem?  Here in the US, if you want one exactly how you want it, you'll have to wait upwards of a YEAR to take delivery.  So I guess there are quite a few people who've decided the smart isn't that wrong for America.  That, or like me, they just find it charming.

2009 smart ForTwo Coupe

Base MSRP: $11,990Price as tested: $16,010

Body: 2-door hatchback coupeMechanical orientation: transverse rear engined, rear wheel drive

Engine: 1.0L inline-3 cylinder.  Aluminum block and head.  Single overhead camshaft, 4 valves per cylinder (12 total)Power: 71 horsepowerTorque: 68 ft-lbs of torqueTransmission: 5 speed automated manual

Curb Weight: 1,808 lbsWheelbase: 73.5"Length: 106.1"Luggage Capacity: 12.0 ft²

0-60 mph: 12.8s0-100kph: 13.2s0-100mph: n/aTop Speed: 90mph (145kph)EPA Fuel Mileage Estimates: 33 city/ 41 highway

For: easy to park, drives like a go-kart, cute as a button, 41mpg highway, 3 cylinder howl, feels like a bank vaultAgainst: overpriced compared to more practical rivals, 71 horsepower, 3 cylinder howl, clueless automated manual and no stick shift, no cruise control, year-plus waiting list, a Jetta TDI is a real car and gets 45+mpg on the highway.Conclusion: Likeable, but not justifiable for practical reasons.  You have to like it.Recommendation: Smart, do the following things to make the smart a bit more suited to the US.  Gas turbo engine - needs more power to comfortable slice 'n dice in US traffic.  Clutch pedal - stat.  Cruise control.  It can't be that hard.