Is it the “Smart” purchase?
Thursday, June 5th, 2008With gas prices all over the country near or exceeding $4 per gallon, the big question on the minds of many is how can I save money on gas? I read that many companies are moving to 4-day work weeks, working 10 hour days instead of the previous standard of 8. Though this may be idyllic for some, others do not have this as an option. Working at home has its appeal, yet this too is not an option for everyone. The average person can only rely on driving less to save a buck. There is always the option of trading in for something more fuel efficient. Europe’s SmartCar is now for sale in the US, but it has me questioning, “How smart is this car?”
I started by comparing the SmartCar to something similar in size, the Mini Cooper. Though the automatic SmartCar does get 33 MPG city and 41 mpg highway versus a similarly equipped Mini which gets 22 mpg city and 30 mpg highway, the one thing that the Mini has over the SmartCar is a back seat. My mother-in-law has owned a Mini for two years, and I have ridden in the back seat. It’s surely not the largest back seat, but it isn’t as small and uncomfortable as one might think. And at least it exists. My husband and I drove 200+ miles to Orlando this weekend in his two-seater Honda 2000. The biggest problem was the finding room in his trunk to fit the gadgets and gizmos we purchased while on our trip. Had we been in my car, a Toyota Rav4, we not only would have had room in the backseat, but also in the “trunk”, and in the hidden trunk below. We thought that taking his car would save us on gas; however, I believe that those times when he revved his engine above 100 mph may have had some effect on this. So be it. My point is, you don’t miss the backseat until you don’t have it. And once you don’t have it, you miss it. A lot. How smart is it to trade in a car for one without a backseat?
I then wanted to compare the SmartCar to something else, but still similar in size. I found that the Honda Civic not only gets 40 mpg city and 45 mpg highway, beating the SmartCar on both counts, but the Civic has a beloved back seat! I’ve owned a Civic before. It drove well, and it was comfortable, though my Civic did not get the 40 mpg it now claims. Regardless, a Civic gets reasonably high gas mileage, it has a backseat, and it in general is more spacious. It has more cylinders, more horsepower, and it holds 3 more people than a SmartCar ever can.
I’m not implying that people should never buy a SmartCar. Small cars such as these are essential in Europe where parking spaces are invaluable and hard to come by. But I don’t live in Europe, and I don’t plan on moving there anytime soon. Until I do move to an area where it would be advantageous to drive a car which is only 106 inches long, I’ll stay in my current 181 inches. And my 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. And I may even sit in my backseat, just because I can.
Smart Car specs
Mini Cooper specs
Toyota Rav4 specs
Honda Civic specs
This article was contributed by A.J. Silberman
