Road Test
Full Test: 2003 ZAP Smart Fortwo
Clown car or contender?
The Smart Fortwo is like driving a smiley face down the road. When you're in it, everyone is your best friend and you're always the center of attention — whether you like it or not.
More to the point, the Smart car, built by Mercedes-Benz and imported to the U.S. by ZAP, is a barometer of the public's interest in alternative solutions to the trio of problems facing our country: oil addiction, air pollution and clogged inner-city arteries. This becomes obvious from the host of questions machine-gunned at anyone driving this car. "Is it electric?" people ask. "A hybrid?" they inquire. "Fuel cell?" They have to believe a car this different in looks is also different under the skin.
A thrifty combination
No, we explain to onlookers, the Smart's thriftiness is not due to Star Wars technology. The designers at Smart (owned by Mercedes) just reworked the power-to-weight ratio for economy. The car is little more than a passenger compartment 8 feet long and weighing 1,588 pounds. Then they powered it with a turbocharged 61-horsepower rear-mounted three-cylinder gas engine that makes 70 pound-feet of torque and delivers more than 40 miles per gallon. The result is a "city car" that is perfect for tucking into small parking spaces and threading through clogged urban roadways.
While the little Smart car is mind-blowing in the U.S., it's old news in Europe, where it's been scooting about since 1998. In fact, the Smart is already available both north and south of our borders, in Canada and Mexico. But with the recent growth of the small-car market, DaimlerChrysler has decided that Americans are ready for the next step — a "microcar."
Sales have reportedly been strong overseas and in Canada, but the brand has failed to break even. DaimlerChrysler hopes to reverse that trend and has tapped racing legend Roger Penske to sell a redesigned Smart Fortwo through 30-50 United Auto Group dealerships in densely populated areas of the U.S.
We contacted Mercedes to find out what the redesigned Fortwo will be like, but few details were available. The new Fortwo will debut in Europe in 2007, and will be sold Stateside in 2008, making it the first factory-backed Smart sold in the U.S.
If the look of the Smart car has caught your fancy and you feel you must have one now, you can go to ZAP in Santa Rosa, California, which is currently the only authorized dealer in the U.S. ZAP, which also sells electric cars and scooters, "Americanizes" the Smart to meet EPA and U.S. Department of Transportation standards, and has put more than 200 Fortwos on our roads so far. (Note: DaimlerChrysler has said it will sell the Smart car in the U.S. for $15,000; the Smart Passion we tested, sells in the U.K. for $15,595; ZAP sells the Smart car through dealers who get over $28,000 for the cars after importing and "Americanizing" them.)
A Smart journey
The folks at ZAP were kind enough to loan us a 2003 Smart Fortwo Passion (the top trim level) so we could get a taste of what it will be like to live life on a smaller scale. Is the Smart practical? Safe? Economical? These were all questions we were invited to discover for ourselves over a seven-day, 1,500-mile test-drive from Northern California to Los Angeles and back.
We quickly learned that to evaluate the Smart Fortwo properly you have to view it in its native habitat, the congested inner city. On a busy street in Santa Monica, we were boxed in by larger vehicles. We put the Fortwo into stunt mode and it performed such acrobatics — U-turns, swerves and zigzags — that someone cued the circus music. You get the picture. Some people think it's a clown car.
But underneath the carnival exterior lurks a capable little coupe. Yes, it is choppy on rough roads, and a bit noisy, but it eats up the asphalt with a surprisingly large appetite for a bantam two-seater. It cruises at 75 mph (with a governor capping the speed at 84 mph), holds two tall people comfortably, and carries two suitcases, while cutting emissions and saving gas.
The Smart proved controversial among our staff. It scored high on looks and novelty, but its practicality and performance were questioned. While one editor said, "It's less of a toy than I expected," another termed it the worst car he has recently driven.
Real-world specs
At the test track, the Fortwo buzzed its way to a very slow (by American standards) 15 seconds from zero to 60 mph on a hot and humid day. It took 130 feet to haul it down from 60 mph to a full stop using front-disc/rear-drum brakes with ABS. There was, however, some good news in the handling department: Despite the Smart's top-heavy feeling, it slalomed with alacrity, threading the cones at almost 58 mph thanks to nonintrusive, but judicious, electronic stability control.
The biggest complaint from drivers was the six-speed automatic/manual transmission, what Smart calls the "Softip" transmission. In manual mode, the car shuddered briefly during startup from a dead stop. In the full automatic mode, the transmission shifts prematurely and floats between gears; it actually feels like you're riding in a manual-shift car driven by an inexperienced driver. We found it easiest to upshift through the gears manually and then let the car automatically downshift when we came to a stop. An indicator on the speedometer shows what gear you're in and recommends a shift point.
Interior comfort
Perhaps the most startling thing about the Smart is the amount of space that's been created inside a very small-looking box. A 6-foot, 5-inch driver reported that he still had headroom, and said the legroom was just fine. There is more space in front of the driver in the Smart than in most normal-sized cars. This is because the seats are pushed nearly to the back of this car instead of positioning the driver in the middle of the vehicle.
Another factor holding claustrophobia at bay is that the seating position is higher than in many cars. Although this gives the Smart a top-heavy feeling, it also provides additional visibility and a feeling of confidence. The only time confidence is compromised is after you park the Fortwo, look back and say, "I was going 75 in that?"
The Fortwo's interior is as different as the outside would make you expect. The high, cloth-covered dash sweeps around the interior like a Vegas lounge. Billiard-ball-sized vents pop up at the corners and allow for easy airflow adjustment. Yes, it has an air conditioner and it worked adequately in the middle of California's record heat wave.
But is it safe?
In the mind of most American drivers, size equals safety. But this car was built for very different countries, places with lots of traffic, limited parking and expensive gas. We have none of those conditions here, right? Oh, wait a second, that might just fit the bill in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. So maybe there is a market, albeit very narrow, for a new breed of car. Still, our blog photo of the Smart car drew this response from a reader: "You'd have to be suicidal to get into that roller skate."
Obviously, Smart knew safety was a major hurdle to clear. Enter the "tridion safety cell." This is an aluminum safety cage with steel reinforcements that takes a chapter from the design of racecars. The egg-shaped cage, and the wheels at the corner, are designed to keep the passenger compartment safe and earned it a three-star crash test, out of a possible five, from NCAP, the European New Car Assessment Programme. (ZAP had the Fortwo crash tested to meet DOT standards and, although a star rating was not issued, it passed all U.S. tests.) The Smart also has an assortment of airbags, hard-backed safety seats (also very comfortable), skid control and electronic stability control. If you'd like to see how these features work in a crash test with an S-Class Mercedes, check this German video clip.
Fuel economy revisited
A big reason people might consider this car is the fuel economy it offers. The EPA has rated it at 40/40 mpg city/highway, although a ZAP spokesman said he had documented 58 mpg on the highway. One problem with accurate testing is that the 8.7-gallon tank is difficult to fill to the top without the nozzle shutting off early. Once we got the knack of filling it up, we averaged the mileage over multiple tanks of gas and a variety of driving. On the trip south to Los Angeles we sometimes averaged better than 50 mpg. But when we averaged the readings for all our driving (including track testing), our real-world average was 40 mpg.
While the Smart's mileage is nothing to sneeze at (diesel and electric Fortwos are available in the U.K.), other options may be more enticing. The Edmunds.com long-term Toyota Prius (selling for about $25,000) has a lifetime average of 43 mpg. The 2007 Honda Fit Sport, which stickers for $15,720 with a manual transmission, has an EPA estimated mileage of 33/38 mpg and will provide a backseat and much more storage capacity.
Wrapping up
Is there a place in the U.S. market — or your lifestyle — for the Smart Fortwo? In the cute category it certainly pegs the needle. At a proposed price of $15,000, however, we have to wonder about its value for consumers. What will lure buyers? Probably a combination of factors topped by novelty, the cute-as-a-bug's-ear design, and the assumption that it gets great fuel economy. For a city dweller it could be just the ticket. In the suburbs, it might be a nice second car, playing backup to a larger vehicle, for trips to the store and around-town errands.
One thing's for sure: If DaimlerChrysler has read the market correctly and the Smart Fortwo is a success, it will signal an openness to change and the dawn of a new era in American transportation.
ZAP provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
More to the point, the Smart car, built by Mercedes-Benz and imported to the U.S. by ZAP, is a barometer of the public's interest in alternative solutions to the trio of problems facing our country: oil addiction, air pollution and clogged inner-city arteries. This becomes obvious from the host of questions machine-gunned at anyone driving this car. "Is it electric?" people ask. "A hybrid?" they inquire. "Fuel cell?" They have to believe a car this different in looks is also different under the skin.
A thrifty combination
No, we explain to onlookers, the Smart's thriftiness is not due to Star Wars technology. The designers at Smart (owned by Mercedes) just reworked the power-to-weight ratio for economy. The car is little more than a passenger compartment 8 feet long and weighing 1,588 pounds. Then they powered it with a turbocharged 61-horsepower rear-mounted three-cylinder gas engine that makes 70 pound-feet of torque and delivers more than 40 miles per gallon. The result is a "city car" that is perfect for tucking into small parking spaces and threading through clogged urban roadways.
While the little Smart car is mind-blowing in the U.S., it's old news in Europe, where it's been scooting about since 1998. In fact, the Smart is already available both north and south of our borders, in Canada and Mexico. But with the recent growth of the small-car market, DaimlerChrysler has decided that Americans are ready for the next step — a "microcar."
Sales have reportedly been strong overseas and in Canada, but the brand has failed to break even. DaimlerChrysler hopes to reverse that trend and has tapped racing legend Roger Penske to sell a redesigned Smart Fortwo through 30-50 United Auto Group dealerships in densely populated areas of the U.S.
We contacted Mercedes to find out what the redesigned Fortwo will be like, but few details were available. The new Fortwo will debut in Europe in 2007, and will be sold Stateside in 2008, making it the first factory-backed Smart sold in the U.S.
If the look of the Smart car has caught your fancy and you feel you must have one now, you can go to ZAP in Santa Rosa, California, which is currently the only authorized dealer in the U.S. ZAP, which also sells electric cars and scooters, "Americanizes" the Smart to meet EPA and U.S. Department of Transportation standards, and has put more than 200 Fortwos on our roads so far. (Note: DaimlerChrysler has said it will sell the Smart car in the U.S. for $15,000; the Smart Passion we tested, sells in the U.K. for $15,595; ZAP sells the Smart car through dealers who get over $28,000 for the cars after importing and "Americanizing" them.)
A Smart journey
The folks at ZAP were kind enough to loan us a 2003 Smart Fortwo Passion (the top trim level) so we could get a taste of what it will be like to live life on a smaller scale. Is the Smart practical? Safe? Economical? These were all questions we were invited to discover for ourselves over a seven-day, 1,500-mile test-drive from Northern California to Los Angeles and back.
We quickly learned that to evaluate the Smart Fortwo properly you have to view it in its native habitat, the congested inner city. On a busy street in Santa Monica, we were boxed in by larger vehicles. We put the Fortwo into stunt mode and it performed such acrobatics — U-turns, swerves and zigzags — that someone cued the circus music. You get the picture. Some people think it's a clown car.
But underneath the carnival exterior lurks a capable little coupe. Yes, it is choppy on rough roads, and a bit noisy, but it eats up the asphalt with a surprisingly large appetite for a bantam two-seater. It cruises at 75 mph (with a governor capping the speed at 84 mph), holds two tall people comfortably, and carries two suitcases, while cutting emissions and saving gas.
The Smart proved controversial among our staff. It scored high on looks and novelty, but its practicality and performance were questioned. While one editor said, "It's less of a toy than I expected," another termed it the worst car he has recently driven.
Real-world specs
At the test track, the Fortwo buzzed its way to a very slow (by American standards) 15 seconds from zero to 60 mph on a hot and humid day. It took 130 feet to haul it down from 60 mph to a full stop using front-disc/rear-drum brakes with ABS. There was, however, some good news in the handling department: Despite the Smart's top-heavy feeling, it slalomed with alacrity, threading the cones at almost 58 mph thanks to nonintrusive, but judicious, electronic stability control.
The biggest complaint from drivers was the six-speed automatic/manual transmission, what Smart calls the "Softip" transmission. In manual mode, the car shuddered briefly during startup from a dead stop. In the full automatic mode, the transmission shifts prematurely and floats between gears; it actually feels like you're riding in a manual-shift car driven by an inexperienced driver. We found it easiest to upshift through the gears manually and then let the car automatically downshift when we came to a stop. An indicator on the speedometer shows what gear you're in and recommends a shift point.
Interior comfort
Perhaps the most startling thing about the Smart is the amount of space that's been created inside a very small-looking box. A 6-foot, 5-inch driver reported that he still had headroom, and said the legroom was just fine. There is more space in front of the driver in the Smart than in most normal-sized cars. This is because the seats are pushed nearly to the back of this car instead of positioning the driver in the middle of the vehicle.
Another factor holding claustrophobia at bay is that the seating position is higher than in many cars. Although this gives the Smart a top-heavy feeling, it also provides additional visibility and a feeling of confidence. The only time confidence is compromised is after you park the Fortwo, look back and say, "I was going 75 in that?"
The Fortwo's interior is as different as the outside would make you expect. The high, cloth-covered dash sweeps around the interior like a Vegas lounge. Billiard-ball-sized vents pop up at the corners and allow for easy airflow adjustment. Yes, it has an air conditioner and it worked adequately in the middle of California's record heat wave.
But is it safe?
In the mind of most American drivers, size equals safety. But this car was built for very different countries, places with lots of traffic, limited parking and expensive gas. We have none of those conditions here, right? Oh, wait a second, that might just fit the bill in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. So maybe there is a market, albeit very narrow, for a new breed of car. Still, our blog photo of the Smart car drew this response from a reader: "You'd have to be suicidal to get into that roller skate."
Obviously, Smart knew safety was a major hurdle to clear. Enter the "tridion safety cell." This is an aluminum safety cage with steel reinforcements that takes a chapter from the design of racecars. The egg-shaped cage, and the wheels at the corner, are designed to keep the passenger compartment safe and earned it a three-star crash test, out of a possible five, from NCAP, the European New Car Assessment Programme. (ZAP had the Fortwo crash tested to meet DOT standards and, although a star rating was not issued, it passed all U.S. tests.) The Smart also has an assortment of airbags, hard-backed safety seats (also very comfortable), skid control and electronic stability control. If you'd like to see how these features work in a crash test with an S-Class Mercedes, check this German video clip.
Fuel economy revisited
A big reason people might consider this car is the fuel economy it offers. The EPA has rated it at 40/40 mpg city/highway, although a ZAP spokesman said he had documented 58 mpg on the highway. One problem with accurate testing is that the 8.7-gallon tank is difficult to fill to the top without the nozzle shutting off early. Once we got the knack of filling it up, we averaged the mileage over multiple tanks of gas and a variety of driving. On the trip south to Los Angeles we sometimes averaged better than 50 mpg. But when we averaged the readings for all our driving (including track testing), our real-world average was 40 mpg.
While the Smart's mileage is nothing to sneeze at (diesel and electric Fortwos are available in the U.K.), other options may be more enticing. The Edmunds.com long-term Toyota Prius (selling for about $25,000) has a lifetime average of 43 mpg. The 2007 Honda Fit Sport, which stickers for $15,720 with a manual transmission, has an EPA estimated mileage of 33/38 mpg and will provide a backseat and much more storage capacity.
Wrapping up
Is there a place in the U.S. market — or your lifestyle — for the Smart Fortwo? In the cute category it certainly pegs the needle. At a proposed price of $15,000, however, we have to wonder about its value for consumers. What will lure buyers? Probably a combination of factors topped by novelty, the cute-as-a-bug's-ear design, and the assumption that it gets great fuel economy. For a city dweller it could be just the ticket. In the suburbs, it might be a nice second car, playing backup to a larger vehicle, for trips to the store and around-town errands.
One thing's for sure: If DaimlerChrysler has read the market correctly and the Smart Fortwo is a success, it will signal an openness to change and the dawn of a new era in American transportation.
ZAP provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
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