Smart Cars

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Comments

  • Actually K8, I also learned what inconsiderate tw@ts some Audi/BMW drivers can be... and mended my ways accordingly image
  • I have a smart car and love it. It has no problem keeping up on motorways image and is a bit like driving a go-kart. The later ones have Mitsubishi engines, mine has air-con, powered steering and a soft top that can be operated when you are doing 70 down the motorway.

    I can fit a weeks shopping in the boot and use it to transport all my kit for work, as well as overnight bags when needed. The big advantage is parking, it fits in the smallest spaces, insurance is cheap and it only seats 2 people.

    Take one for a test drive, you'll either love it or hate it image
  • My mate Floyd's brother had one.

    One night some chavs turned it over.

  • My MIL has a Fourfour (or whatever it's called) and she likes it. Prior to that she had the little two seater thing which I drove occasionally. She liked them both, they don't seem to have given any trouble. She's also got an MB SLK.

    I don't really like them and reckon for the mileage I'd rather have a small diesel or a hybrid. Just how desparate for the last few MPG can you be ?

    Try checking this link for mpg figures.

  • i once seen a smart car in a head on collision when when a 2007 transit came over the brow of a hill on the wrong side of the road at speed. the only damage to the smart was all the plastic and the windscreen smashed and air bag deployed both occupants walked away with minor cuts/bruises. the transit was written off driver stretched away with broken bones.

    id have a smart any day
  • My next door neighbours daughter has a smart car, she loves it and her husband sells cars so she could have any other she wanted.... Test drive the Fiat, its great fun, mine is the 1.2 lounge so a bit higher spec'd than the pop version (alloys, blue tooth connectivity for hands free phone, mp3 hook up and AC). Feels chunky, etc. I took a bit of getting used to as my last car was a 2 litre Alfa. I did it for the same reasons you are... fuel/insurance/road tax costs.

  • We have a smart car and it's fab!  We bought it last year using the scrappage scheme, so it ended up not being too expensive and it is a great little car for the two of us.  I think that the newer models - 2008(?) onwards - are far superior to the early ones, performing much better in crash tests etc.  We get around 300 miles from a tank, which still costs under £30 even if it's gasping and most of our driving is London-traffic-jam stuff.  We bought the petrol passion which has aircon, European sat nav and start/stop technology - all of which are fairly useful!

    The insurance is really cheap and it costs £20 to tax for a year.  The diesel model, and I believe the new petrol, also come in under 100 wotsits per mile of CO2 and are therefore exempt from the Congestion Charge.

    It's great fun to drive too - as it weighs practically nothing it can really move, and whilst I thought I'd have issues with an automatic it's just so easy!  They're also a lot more comfortable than you'd think.  We drove ours down to the Dordogne last year and it was far more pleasant than similar journeys were in our Volvo.  They've also got capacity for loads of luggage.  We had a little disaster on the way back as the fuckwit who fitted our (smart) bikerack (at considerable expense) had failed to fit the brackets properly and it fell off.  Breakdown cover (even from smart) doesn't cover your bike rack failing, so we managed to get 2 bikes, clothing for 2 people for a fortnight and 2 people in the car. 

    Honestly, I absolutely love it - it's a great car!  We have a new (properly fitted) bike rack and we manage perfectly happily as a one car family with it.  

  • MrsK8MrsK8 ✭✭✭

    Thanks for everyone's advice. I think a test drive of a few of the cars mentioned will make up my mind. It's good to hear to the good & bad points though.

  • We've got a Hyundai i10, being one of the few really economical small cars that has rear doors (which in fairness doesn't seem like a requirement here). £35 tax, quoted 62mpg which is good for a petrol engine, cheap to buy and five year warranty. We've had ours for nearly three years now and I'm very happy with it for what it is.

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