By: walter martin

walter martin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:56:40 +0000

Very dissatisfied with our smart car. The transmission is a joke with very rough head snapping gear shifts, which, because there are five gears, seem to happen all the time in city driving. (At one point our transmission failed to be able to go into reverse. The merecedes dealership fixed this for no charge saying there were “thousands of smart cars with the same problem.” If thats the case mercedes should do a recall and fix them all.) The suspension is rough with even minor bumps being uncomfortable. The car was so uncontrollable on ice that special winter tires had to be purchased for it. With the winter tires it is about the same as any car on ice with summer tires. The purchase of winter tires, (and rims) has more than wiped out any possible financial savings from fuel economy. The car has no spare, making it unsuitable for road trips. Instead of a spare in has a can of tire sealant. If this will work or not in cases of holes caused by nails or screws is a matter of conjecture, – it certainly does not inspire confidence. Also the car doesn’t carry a jack, requiring use of another vehicles jack to switch-out flats or perform season changes to winter tires . It is not very stable in high winds common on the prairies, also making it unsuitable for highway travel.

Comments on: Smart ForTwo Predicted to Sell Less Than 100,000 Units Globally

By: walter martin