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Smart EV (or ED)
- Thread starter malcolm
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you sure about that? the smart is one tough little car
example: this smart was clipped from the side forcing it into oncoming traffic, it was then hit head on by an F-250 going 30+, the driver walked away with a minor knee injury from his knees hitting the lower dash on impact
when a smart gets hit it actually absorbs the pressure (up to 9000lbs) with its tridion cell and then disperses most of it onto the object that made contact (pretty unsafe for the other car huh), but the smart is incredibly safe, being the size it is with barely no crumple zone and taking a head on hit by a truck like that is pretty amazing, the smart holds up very well.
i drive a smart everyday and i have never felt unsafe.... EVER
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therealmach3
Member
Kipernicus
Model S Res#P1440
I test drove a Smart EV last weekend. I couldn't help but notice that it had a hill-brake assist. No roll back at all.
Overall seemed pretty cheap inside, but drove well. And a WHOLE lot better than the gasoline Smart. Those things are rough and underpowered.
Overall seemed pretty cheap inside, but drove well. And a WHOLE lot better than the gasoline Smart. Those things are rough and underpowered.
Why yes i have, i even wear my smart watch when i drive. :wink:
While the interior is "cheap" its still befetting, and a lot nicer than other cheap cars interiors, i mean its Mercedes so it has to have top quality plastic :biggrin:
But i get compliments all the time from people about the interior, its very nice for what it is, obviously cheap compared to a Model S's interior. And yes thousands of times better than the gas smart.
And after 3 months of waiting my (dads) order of the smart ED is finally arriving this weekend!, but wont be able to pick it up until the following week. We have $500 off coupons from the test drive so we'll see if both can be used to knock off a little off the purchase price.
This is what it will look like :smile: and i think that it will be the first smart ed with regen paddles in the US (no one has reported they have them)
anyone else on here have a smart ED?
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that looks smart
now if you are smart you can drive one for $10k with $80 for battery swap per month... sounds good for lazy or people who don't have access to charging port at work or home.
http://reviews.cnet.com/coupe-hatchback/2013-smart-fortwo-electric/4505-10867_7-35823648.html
now if you are smart you can drive one for $10k with $80 for battery swap per month... sounds good for lazy or people who don't have access to charging port at work or home.
http://reviews.cnet.com/coupe-hatchback/2013-smart-fortwo-electric/4505-10867_7-35823648.html
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I response to JRP's question about battery swap, there is none per se. The above remark is not correct as far as swap is concerned. If you take the Battery Assurance you can replace the battery if it goes bad. You don't own the battery, you lease it and as explained above the residual is lower and the lease costs are lower.
I don't know of the circumstances of the above nor of the crash performance of an F-250 (which IS a very heavy truck) but the ~1800 lb. ICE Smart didn't do so well against a COMPACT (per EPA size classification) ~3000-3300 lb. Mercedes C-Class at IIHS news release (video at http://www.iihs.org/news/2009/iihs_news_041409.pdf).
I've posted about this a bunch of times before like at My Nissan Leaf Forum View topic - Prius or Smart car, Considering a smart car? | PriusChat, Considering a smart car? | Page 2 | PriusChat
For those who aren't familiar w/typical curb weights of "light" vehicles in the US, see Editorial: A Blind Squirrel Finds His Nut | Page 4 | PriusChat.
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smart just announced a new $2,000 rebate (called and confirmed with Oxnard Smart Center).......... $139 a month for the coupe and $199 a month for the cabriolet with the battery assurance plan! what a deal
Smart Fortwo Electric Drive drive review - Autoweek
seriously if you own more than 1 car and are looking for an affordable and cool EV look no further
what a time to be alive
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JRP3
Hyperactive Member
yeah that make sense i.e. price of both car without any battery assistance program remain same.
Good question. The Spark is a lot more car than the Smart, but I can think of two reasons:
1) The Smart is available nationwide, So it trumps the non-available Spark outside CA and OR.
2) The Smart is the only convertible EV on the market.
I still would consider having a Spark shipped from a CA dealer before buying a Smart. Service could be an issue however.
GSP
Is that really a question? everyone has different needs and preferences
Some people don't need 4 seats and 4 doors, me being a smart owner i love the smart and its absolutely perfect for me right now, it suits all my needs, i don't need a lot of cargo space (smart has plenty) and i only need 1 seat so having an extra is even better, but whats with people that complain about the smart having only 2 seats? Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, Bugatti's and McLaren's have 2 seats so im not understanding the point trying to be made, the smart is a great second or third or fourth car, its the ultimate city car and its very fun to drive being the smallest legal car in the U.S.
The smart and spark can roughly get about the same range (smart ed owner in canada got 103 miles on a charge all city driving and on average gets between 80-90 all city driving)
Now lets compare looks which is a key factor, spark is butt ugly/odd looking, how would you feel comfortable driving it? Because i sure didnt, i test drove it and did not feel comfortable in it at all, regardless of the 400 lbs of smile inducing torque, and when you accelerate in the spark the wheel shakes, not enough torque steer so its kind of scary if your not careful, just like the fiat, smart on the other hand has a proper drive, it drives smoothly, no shakey wheel when accelerating out of a turn, everything is controlled and it feels great, also the seats in this car have to be some of the most comfortable seats in the world.
The smart basically has a perfect design, nothing looks out of place, no ginormous bug eyed headlights, no odd shape, everything lines up proportionally... its just a great looking little car, and the new facelift makes it look even better and sort of makes it more suitable for a guy to drive by losing a little of its "cuteness" from the front and giving it a more sporty front end, its kind of funny looking being super small but thats what makes it unique, i test drove the ED 3 times and have been fiending for it ever since, its a head turner and with my gas smart i get many compliments from people all the time, a lady even tried to hug my car
its always interesting to see how non smart owners sort of try to talk negative about smarts but the actual smart owners are always praising them and have nothing but good things to say about them... weird huh? :biggrin:
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ChadS
Last tank of gas: March 2009
About 3 years ago, I met the director of the US Smart EV program at an event. They had just announced a $600/month lease for one of their early Smart EV programs. Of course, the Leaf was available for far less. That version of the Smart was MUCH slower. And there was no convertible at the time. So somebody I was with asked the same question - why would anybody choose the Smart?
His answer was that some people - especially businesses that wanted to put advertising on the car - want a unique look; the extra bit of the lease payment looks pretty small as a marketing expense. Plus they didn't need to move many to meet their program goals.
As GSP said, those of us living outside CA or OR can't get a Spark anyway, so the Smart would be something I'd consider if I was in the market. Especially since I like convertibles. Though frankly I'd probably end up getting a Leaf given that its AC charging is faster AND it has CHAdeMO; there is plenty of CHAdeMO around here but no plans for SAE.
I agree that in markets where the Spark is available, the Spark is likely to move significantly more units than the Smart. I would probably take the Spark over the Smart if GM made it available here.
His answer was that some people - especially businesses that wanted to put advertising on the car - want a unique look; the extra bit of the lease payment looks pretty small as a marketing expense. Plus they didn't need to move many to meet their program goals.
As GSP said, those of us living outside CA or OR can't get a Spark anyway, so the Smart would be something I'd consider if I was in the market. Especially since I like convertibles. Though frankly I'd probably end up getting a Leaf given that its AC charging is faster AND it has CHAdeMO; there is plenty of CHAdeMO around here but no plans for SAE.
I agree that in markets where the Spark is available, the Spark is likely to move significantly more units than the Smart. I would probably take the Spark over the Smart if GM made it available here.
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smart just announced a new $2,000 rebate (called and confirmed with Oxnard Smart Center).......... $139 a month for the coupe and $199 a month for the cabriolet with the battery assurance plan! what a deal
Smart Fortwo Electric Drive drive review - Autoweek
seriously if you own more than 1 car and are looking for an affordable and cool EV look no further
what a time to be alive
Yes I have been following the smart for a month and this deal is hard to pass up. I got married recently and i need another car for local errands and other stuff. This is less than $10 per day. I get free parking in my little beach town if I have an electric vehicle.
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I am a couple weeks from pulling the trigger on a Smart ED. I'll give you my reasons. It would be a second car that I would only drive locally. I already have a Toyota RAV4EV and a converted VW Cabriolet that continues to need a lot of work. I can't rely on the VW yet and I now need a second car that is reliable but doesn't take up a lot of room. As I mentioned earlier in this post, the new lease is less than $10 per day.
JRP3
Hyperactive Member
I think both vehicles look a bit weird, so for me not much of a difference there. The better performance of the Spark, plus the A123 LiFePO4 battery pack, which should last basically forever, and the more usable interior space, would seem to make the Spark a no brainer, but obviously people have their own tastes. After all some people bought the Aztek :wink: I haven't driven either the Spark or the Smart, so maybe if the Spark is as squirrely as you say I wouldn't like it, though I don't remember other reviews mentioning that.
SwedishAdvocate
Active Member
Here’s that video (mentioned in cwerdna's first paragraph above). The Smart makes appearances at 1:12-1:21 (slow-motion) and at 2:28 (real-time)…
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^^^
Thanks. I haven't looked at the videos myself in awhile, but I spotted 2009 Mercedes C300. From digging around, it looks like its curb weight is ~3500 lbs., which is a bit bloated for a compact car. This again was crashed into an ICE Smart ForTwo which is ~1800 lbs. Average curb weight of recently sold light-duty vehicles in the US is in the 4000 lb. range.
IIRC, in order qualify as a "light" vehicle, its GVWR must be <8500 lbs. So, vehicles like the Hummer H2, Ford Excursion (aka Exxon-Valdez), Ford F-250/350, etc. are NOT considered "light" vehicles" and thus not counted in the ~4000 lb. average.
Here's another video of the Smart ForTwo vs. the Mercedes C300:
Supporting URLs below:
2009 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C300 Luxury Sedan 3.0L V6 FFV 7-speed Automatic Features and Specs
Compare Side-by-Side (see Specs tab for Compact)
2009 Mercedes-Benz C300 - First Drive - Motor Trend
2009 Mercedes-Benz C300 Specifications and Standard Equipment at carmax.com
green mini coupe. passion coupe. smart USA - tech specs on right
Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2012 | OTAQ | US EPA - look at Executive Summary PDF, search for pounds.
Which Vehicles Are Tested
IIHS Small Car Test: Three Gruesome Slow-Motion Crash Videos
Thanks. I haven't looked at the videos myself in awhile, but I spotted 2009 Mercedes C300. From digging around, it looks like its curb weight is ~3500 lbs., which is a bit bloated for a compact car. This again was crashed into an ICE Smart ForTwo which is ~1800 lbs. Average curb weight of recently sold light-duty vehicles in the US is in the 4000 lb. range.
IIRC, in order qualify as a "light" vehicle, its GVWR must be <8500 lbs. So, vehicles like the Hummer H2, Ford Excursion (aka Exxon-Valdez), Ford F-250/350, etc. are NOT considered "light" vehicles" and thus not counted in the ~4000 lb. average.
Here's another video of the Smart ForTwo vs. the Mercedes C300:
Supporting URLs below:
2009 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C300 Luxury Sedan 3.0L V6 FFV 7-speed Automatic Features and Specs
Compare Side-by-Side (see Specs tab for Compact)
2009 Mercedes-Benz C300 - First Drive - Motor Trend
2009 Mercedes-Benz C300 Specifications and Standard Equipment at carmax.com
green mini coupe. passion coupe. smart USA - tech specs on right
Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2012 | OTAQ | US EPA - look at Executive Summary PDF, search for pounds.
Which Vehicles Are Tested
IIHS Small Car Test: Three Gruesome Slow-Motion Crash Videos
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