Smart fortwo vs Prius ?

In article


Better to compare it to the proposed Toyota competitor.

Which even has a small back seat.

wrote:

What is the proposed Toyota competitor ?  I saw a new (U.S.) Yaris (?)
on Motorweek with a back seat for 1 adult and 1 child (Toyota's words
not mine) but its not on their website - a link would be nice ...

In article


I just saw it a few minutes ago in Car and Driver--but that's not right
in front of me right now.

In article


well, we don't need my Car and Driver.  A quick Google search on "toyota
smartfortwo" solves the problem in about 0.51 seconds.

In article


http://paultan.org/archives/2008/03/06/production-toyota-iq-showcased-at-
geneva-2008/

In article


Greetings!

Take a look at Toyota's concept car (competitor to Smart) -- the IQ:

http://forums.motortrend.com/70/6529328/the-general-forum/tatas-smart-for
-twos-future-demise/index.html

Use the TinyURL:   http://tinyurl.com/2ha2dj

earle
*

In article


For me personally, the Prius better meets my needs, but I think the
Smart fortwo would be great for seniors who want a basic car to get
around in that's also easy on the environment an economical. It would
also be a great first car for students who need something inexpensive
that is also environmentally friendly and fuel efficient.

I like my Prius more because the gas mileage is about the same as a
Smart for two, and it has a full hatchback with a fold down seat and
with the back seat not folder, it can carry four people easily.

And it costs about 1 1/2 to twice the price of the Smart for Two.  I'd
stick with the Prius myself, but if I knew that I'd never be driving
outside this metropolitan area, I would consider a Smart if I ever were
to replace the Prius.  As it is, as soon as the Plug-in Prius becomes
available, I'll consider trading my 04 for one.

--
Support the troops:  Bring them home ASAP.

Michelle Steiner wrote:

Or you could do as my wife and I are going to do.

We have a 04 Prius that will be used for road trips
We have a 02 F150 for heavy trips and 4 wheel trips
and we are going to get a Smart as a City car and take some of the miles off the
Prius.

George Drum

--
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The
phaonmneal
pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervt isy, it
dseno't
mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht
the frsit
and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses an d you can
sitll
raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
lteter by
istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh! and I awlyas tghuhot
slpeling was
ipmorantt!

Why?  The Smart has lower mileage than the Prius, and it requires
premium gas.

--
Donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society; help send Michelle to the marathon.
<http://www.active.com/donate/tntdms/tntdmsMSteine>

Right. Consumer Reports magazine reviewed the Smart for Two and they
gave it a lousy review. The said it got lower gas mileage then the Prius
and it required Premium gas. If you want to save on gas, getting a Smart
instead of a Prius makes no sense; the OP will end up spending more on
gas.

I saw the Smart in Italy years ago, and at the earliest
opportunity here in the U.S. drove one. Admittedly it
was early-generation (for the U.S.), but it had years of
market time in the EU.

In a word, it's a novelty whose charm wears off very
quickly. The ride is uncomfortable, it doesn't hold
enough, it doesn't generate a feeling of security, and
it's very costly.

There is no reason to keep miles off of our '04 Prius.
There are plenty of them now in package and document
delivery, taxi service, etc. with 300k miles on them and
statistically they're holding up better than their
non-hybrid counterparts. I think it's due to (1) Toyota
spent extra effort on quality for this innovation and
(2) the hybrid system "unloads" the engine during
initial acceleration, when wear and stress are high.

But if you feel compelled to pay registration and
insurance on another car to reduce your Prius mileage,
buy the Honda Fit. My daughter's Fit gets 36mpg on
regular gas, and four people fit comfortably with space
for small baggage. In fact, with the Fit's remarkable
folding seat system, two people plus two bicycles plus
camping gear can be accommodated. Try that in a Smart!

Never, never compare the Smart to the Prius. They're in
different vehicle categories.

Ike

Michelle Steiner wrote:

Let's see the Smart is cute.
The Smart is less expensive than the Prius
I want one

Now none of this makes much sense but that is just the way it is.

George


--
A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to
take
everything you have.
-Thomas Jefferson

George D wrote:

I drove the Smart two years ago, and saw it again at the
Fair on Balboa this Sunday. Cute but uncomfortable! It
costs about the same as the Yaris or Fit, gets worse
mileage, seats only 2, rides like an egg rolling down
the road, and collapses into a briefcase when hit.
No chance... cute simply isn't enough.

Hired a Smart on holiday at the Great Barrier Reef. Drove well but high
winds blew it about on the highway. Just a tad too small to feel safe in.

@registered.motzarella.org:


Do a search on Youtube for a video from a British car show where they crash
a Smart car into a concrete barrier at 50 - 60+ mph.  It evidently has a
great rollcage structure built in because the interior stayed amazingly
intact, even one of the doors still opened.

The engine compartment did fit in a briefcase then though.

And the deceleration forces were probably enough to scramble your brain
quite thoroughly, as it would in most any small car whacking an immovable
object at that speed.  Wearing a helmet would help immensely.

Now they just need to fix the suspension, switch it to regular gas.

At first glance of the specs, I see that they recommend premium gasoline and
the mileage ratings are slightly lower than the Prius.  Strictly from a fuel
cost standpoint, it appears that the Prius has an advantage, but the
significantly lower price makes it truly smart from an overall cost
standpoint, provided you don't need the room.  My biggest concern would be
safety--mainly because of the size of the car compared to 99.9% of the
vehicles on the road that you might "encounter".  I think that is likely to
be a major obstacle to increasing sales in the US, at least in the
short-to-medium term.

 - Doug

It's comparing apples and oranges.  The Prius is a mid-size car with
large front suits, plenty of headroom, room to seat three (two
comfortably) in the rear, and adequate cargo space.  It also happens to
get in the neighborhood of 50 MPG.

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"roadriderob"...

The comparison would be better made versus the coming Toyota IQ.  If the
question is only 'cleaner', then the vehicle that gets more MPG wins as it
is the one that releases the least pollutants and uses the least resources.

As other folks have noted, this is not a fair comparison anyway due to the
vast size differences between the Smart and the Prius.
Tomes