My Smart 2012 Fortwo Review

Driving a Smart can be very similar to any other car, but due to its size and type of engine it has some particularities.

The driver seat can also be very different from other small cars. Due to the particularity of having only two seat, the car is very spacious inside, and the driver can seat very comfortably.

Driving a Smart can be very funny, since it is a light car that always accelerate quickly and turns really fast due to its size. It is perfect for city driving, when you have to stop several times due to red lights and make turns to other streets.

Your driving can also start to be more "nervous", since you are focused on your small car, you can make things quicker, and you will end up driving a little more aggressive. At least this is what I feel when I drive the Smart when compared to our other car.

The standard radio is very simple, it is just to hear music with the standard configuration.

The upgraded version is very different. It is only a touch screen, with only three buttons. The buttons are for On/Off, Insert CD and Menu.

The upgraded version has Bluetooth, USB entry and allows you to see movies (while the car is parked), loudspeaker for your phone and music from several points of entry. It also has a GPS incorporated that may help you with the several points of interest.

It may have a tiny engine but in the summer days when the temperatures can get to 40ºC/104ºF, it is great to have a good AC that works just fine. If you are driving in the city, you will also not notice the AC consumption and the loss of power when driving.

Since the car interior is small, you will notice that there will be a change in the temperature rather quickly.

This may sound strange for Americans but in Europe, a typical manual transmission market, the Smart is sold with only automatic transmission.

The transmission is a bit slow and just changes with high rpm, specially when you are going up, but that helps to be fast and never losing speed.

You have also the option to be sequential and you can influence when it changes, which is good to reduce the gas consumption. The sequential is not manual since the car will continue to shift down when it should.

Although it is a car produced with high standards you can hear the road noise. This happens because the car is so availed to have space, it is difficult to have a soundproof interior.

Still, when compared to same segment cars, you will notice the sound is not as loud as a Pegeuot 107 or similar.

You can choose three different speeds for the windshield wipers, but the funny thing is that they are not linear, the speed changes whether you are at a red light or over 50 Km/h(30M/h).

This detail, that probably exists on other cars, can be a simple detail but very useful on the rainy days.

The car has small hangers to put your coat when you are entering the car, and it is located on the back of your seat, so they aren't in your field of vision.

It has plenty stowage near the steering wheel, so you can put your business cards, your cellphone or whatever you want.

The trunk is made in order to be easy to transform it. It is not fixed material between the trunk and the seats, so you can put bigger baggage there.

The trunk door that goes down allows you to sit there, for at least 100 Kg. Which is perfect to sit and remove the sand from your feet after a day at the beach.

We are a young couple with the need for a second car, and we wanted an economical and city car. So we did our research for several cars, and we compared.

Disadvantages

• Only Two Seats
• Small engine for Highway and Long Trips (1.0 L, 70 HP, 3 cylinder engine)
• Price (Higher than the competitors.)

Advantages

• Quality by German Standards (Can be Biased)
• Security (when driving and if an accident happens)
• Trunk Space (compared to similar cars)
• Seat Comfort