North American Smart Car

Not to mention our roads. Though Vancouver's road surface is excellent compared to the east coast.

cp

There is a Smart NG: de.alt.auto.smart

but

- it is in German and

- very dull {maybe because (i) there isn't a lot to discuss, (ii) the participants don't like to discuss life, the universe and Everything very much and (iii) and the participants don't tolerate sarcasm etc very much}.

DAS

I'd be rather surprised if Mercedes would sell a car that couldn't stand up to the conditions. I'm sure other parts of the world have pot-holes. The only concern that I would have about the durability of the body and frame is how well the under-carriage would survive going into 2 feet of snow in the ditch or impacting with a ground-hog.

One other concern is with how durable the engine and drive train will be as well. I've always been a big believer in doing my maintenance by the book and don't normally drive over 95km/hr - I avoid the traffic on the expressways and most of my commute is on 80km/hr limit roads. With that said though, I drive 333km / day - currently with a

Finally, I worry about how much heat I can get out of the vehicle too. I still remember the old VW beetle with no heat at all.

I'm currently investigating insurance rates and accumulating numbers and hope to find a dealer in the Toronto area who will train their mechanics and will have an inventory of parts.

Andrew Butchart snipped-for-privacy@floatingbear.ca

snipped-for-privacy@floatingbear.ca (Andrew Butchart) haute in die Tasten:

Do they sell quite normal passenger cars in Canada, such as Toyota Corolla, VW Golf or Mitsubishi Colt? If so, you can also drive a smart in canada. The car does not have extraordinary low ground clearance, and all technical standards are those of plain small passenger cars.

Of course the smart is no Ford F150. But it also is no toy. And from my limited knowledge about Canada I assume that most Canadians live in city areas like Toronto or Vancouver. I doubt that the streets in Toronto are worse than the streets in Munich. For guys who have to commute hundreds of miles regularily the smart definitely is the wrong car. OTOH for a three mile trip from home to office, an F150 is the wrong car.

Frank

snipped-for-privacy@floatingbear.ca (Andrew Butchart) haute in die Tasten:

The heating system of the smart definitely is far better than those of air cooled VWs. OTOH the smart cdi (Diesel Engine) does not produce very much heat. I would rate the heating of the gas model "okay".

Frank

For guys who have to commute hundreds of miles regularily the smart definitely is the wrong car. OTOH for a three mile trip from home to office, an F150 is the wrong car.

Frank

Frank:

Why would you say that the Smart isn't the right car for a long commute? In my particular circumstance, I commute 333km/day - never on high speed highways though. The maximum posted velocity is 80km/hr although I usually do a bit faster than that just to keep from being run over. It's really the savings in fuel cost that have me looking at the Smart FourTwo. It would cut my fuel costs to at least 1/3 of what they are now. I can then keep my gas guzzler for weekends and have a clearer environmental consience.

Andrew Butchart snipped-for-privacy@floatingbear.ca

snipped-for-privacy@floatingbear.ca (Andrew Butchart) haute in die Tasten:

I have driven several smarts over several hundred miles. Compared to a compact car like the VW Golf the smart has some disadvantages:

- considerably less ride comfort (stiff suspension)

- slightly more noise

- less width of cabin

- slightly nervous ride stability due to extremely short wheelbase

If you compare the highway mileage of a Golf SDI to a smart city coupé, you will find out that the smart is not extremely economic. Its advantages are most visible in city traffic.

If I were you, I would try to hire one for two days and try it on your own.

Frank