Quote:
Originally Posted by MB-SV  And how was the test drive?? |
The interior is actually quite spacious and comfortable. Controls are fairly simple but it pays to take the time to get acquainted before you take off just so you know where and how everything works.
The driver’s seat is not adjustable up and down so I was a bit uncomfortable as I am barely 5’4” but a folded towel or small pillow might do the trick. I drove a 2008 Smart in Canada with cloth seats and they were more comfortable than the leather seats. The seat heaters worked very well.
The interior heater worked well. I don’t know how well the AC works as we did not turn it on in either this car or the one in Canada.
The rear view mirror is just about useless. There are two rather large blind spots on either side of the mirror.
The 5-speed automated manual transmissions whiplash shifting can be exhausting. Using the paddle shifters would make it smoother. I did not use the shifter paddles when I got on to the freeway and this made the ride up the ramp quite an experience. It is slow to get going, it seemed like it took forever to get to 65 mph but don’t forget it only has 70 hp. I had it a bit over 65 but the ride is a bit shaky on the freeway. By that I mean that you could feel every big rig driving past you. It was not hard to handle when they drove past but to me it brought back flashbacks of the retched 1960’s VW bug. The faster I drove the more I felt the wind effects of other traffic.
Street driving was comfortable and stable.
The brakes require a hard foot. I don’t know if that makes sense but to me it felt more like driving an older pick-up truck, with a rather heavy feeling to it. It does stop straight and true though.
I drove the hard top in Canada and the cabriolet here. The wind noise was quite noticeable with the cabriolet, almost like it had a window cracked open but neither are very quiet inside.
It’s a tight squeeze in the cargo; I don’t care what the brochure says.
Parking it is a breeze.
The Smart sold in Canada now is the same as the one sold here in the States except that the Canadian one is in kilometers not miles per hour.