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A smart car test drive in the park
On Wednesday, October 3, the smart car tour visited Forest Park in St. Louis. Before it’s over, this tour will showcase the Smart car in 50 cities across the nation. The visit in Forest Park had several of the cars available for test drive.
smart USA is a new company, based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. With the initial U.S. release due in the first quarter of 2008, these vehicles have a near-decade long history overseas. The launch in the U.S. will make the car available in 37 countries.
The smart fortwo models are assembled in Hambach, France. The engine comes from a Stuttgart, Germany factory. The development of this car was done by DaimlerChrysler prior to the recent sale of the Chrysler division. While smart is a vital member of DaimlerAG, smartUSA is a divison of the exclusive distributor in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Penske Automotive Group.
A dealership network will be announced December 1st. Some smart dealerships will appear, but some sales may be done through current Mercedes dealerships. Currently, a reservation for a smart can be made through smartusa.com.
This small, stylish two-seater is designed as a commuter car. At first glance, besides being small, you’ll notice a band that starts at the base of the windshield and wraps around the entire passenger compartment. This is the tridion safety cell. This reinforced steel cage provides the first line of safety for the occupants.
The smart also comes standard with dual airbags, and side/neck airbags. To round out the safety features, the car has anti-lock brakes along with an electronic stability program.
Final federal safety test results should be completed by the end of the year.
The rear-mounted three cylinder engine 1.0 liter engine produces just 71 horsepower. This is matched to a 5 speed automated manual transmission. The transmission has both manual and automatic modes to get the power to the rear wheels.
The car sits low, but getting into it was surprisingly easy for the outer dimensions. For it’s miniature size, the car was shockingly roomy. After adjusting the seat with an easy to find hand lever, I was ready to go. Moving the shift level to the left engaged the automatic mode transmission. To begin moving it took more foot on the pedal than I expected. This was to engage the automatic clutch, but after that the car moved along well.
The instrument cluster in front of the driver indicates speed and transmission status. In automatic mode it displays a large ‘A’. With a quick flick of the paddle shifters on the steering wheel, the transmission was switched to manual mode. With no clutch pedal the shifting will be a breeze, even for a novice. An optional tach was mounted on the dash to help monitor the engine.
The car accelerated and shifted smoothly, but had a lag in automatic mode with each shift that may take a bit of getting used to. Over the course laid out on the streets in Forest Park, the car had ample chance to test bumps and rough surfaces. For such a small car, it was surprisingly smooth ride. The shifting with the paddles was simple and can also be done with the conventional shift lever.
The car handled well for what it was and gave a fun drive through the park. The available convertible would enhance that even more. While power steering is available, this one didn’t have it- but performed well enough without it. Some road noise was to be expected in a car this small, but was not overwhelming. One surprise was the configuration of the tires. The front wheels are mounted with 155/60 R15’s, the rear with 175/55 R15’s.
The fuel economy of this car is good at about 40 miles per gallon. With a tank that holds 8.7 gallons of gas the smart can travel over 320 miles between refueling. For those looking at this car for its environmental impact, the car is not E85 capable and does not come as a hybrid.
The exterior paint is available in six colors including black, white and yellow as standard colors. Metallic blue, metallic red and metallic silver are available at a small premium. The tridium cell is available in either black of metallic silver paint.
Interior trim choices are black, tan and red and leather upgrades.
The smart fortwo has a price range from $11,590 for the basic model, up to $18,900 for the smart passion Cabrio convertible with all options. Paired with the high fuel mileage, this low price makes the smart fortwo an interesting entry into the market.
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