Smart Car: Smart Buy?

By Heather Reese

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Story Published: Jul 4, 2008 at 3:08 PM PST

In this era of high gas prices, the Smart ForTwo is creating quite a stir. It made its debut in the U.S. this spring, although it has been buzzing around Europe for 10 years. It’s made by Daimler Benz.

The Smart ForTwo looks like no other car on Consumer Reports’ test track and it can park where no other car can find a spot. But the inside seems bigger than you might expect. The cabin is very airy. There’s a lot of light coming in from the sunroof, and the windows are nice and big.

The tiny two-seater gets great mileage. Consumer Reports has been averaging 38 miles per gallon. But a big negative—it only takes premium gas.

In crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Smart car did quite well. It received the highest rating in the 40 mile an hour front-crash test, as well as in the side-impact crash test.

But out on the road, Consumer Reports found the Smart car abysmal to drive. The ride quality is very stiff and jiggly. The bumps really come through. And you’re never really comfortable in it. Acceleration isn’t very quick either and the transmission isn’t smooth. It takes an awful long time and makes the car almost nod back and forth in between gear changes.

All in all, Consumer Reports says paying more than $15,000 for a Smart car doesn’t add up to a smart move.

If you’re in the market for a small car, Consumer Reports says a much better choice is the Honda Fit. It costs about the same as the Smart car, but seats five and still gets excellent mileage—32 miles per gallon overall for the automatic and 34 for the manual.