CORRECTION: To date, there's no record of a Smart being tested with the "Elk Through The Windshield". There is, however, a real test of that nature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_test In truth, most vehicles would fail that test anyway; the animals legs get chopped out from underneath it, and the core of the body would be a projectile at windshield/head height. The Smart *did* do the more-standardized "Obstacle Avoidance" tests, and ended up with a slightly wider rear track and Mercedes-Benz's uber-trick stability control system. Steve- The Smart is about 1700 lbs. sans driver.
Haven't seen too many of these so called Smart cars. Kevan what do you think the chances of your friend and his wife surviving after you had an accident with your Srt-10 at 50mph? I would say they would be in big trouble but could you imagine a Box truck or a Semi hitting the Smart car? They would be scaping them of the road. These would be great if we all had them and but 45mpg is not that good because in my Mercedes I can get almost 28-30mpg/hwy. just toooo small for me. Sam
In all honesty, I think they'd be fine. Well, Darren would be pissed because I jacked up his Smart. He loves that thing! :grin: 1. Darren's smart enough (pun intended) not to take his into the left lane on the highway. That's where my truck LIVES. :grin: 2. With that said, the accident would probably take place inside a major city. With speeds under the 40 mph level, I think he'd be fine. Maybe a few bumps and bruises, but intact. The Smart cars have this thing called a Tridion Safety Cell. It's like a big metal egg that is great at absorbing impacts on all sides: It's something that's been used in F1 cars for years, and MB engineers adapted it to the Smart. MB doesn't jack around when it comes to occupant safety. They top the list with more safety 'firsts' than any other auto maker (ABS, air bags, ESC). At 50 mph, I think *ALL* parties involved would sustain some type of injury. That's some decent speed, no matter what vehicle you're in. Check out some of the REAL tests from IIHS. Not the hyped-up, over-the-top, will-probably-never-happen clips from UK driving shows. I DO NOT think the Smart is for everyone. For Darren, it works great: he's got great MPG (courtesy of the TDI in his), and can park it in a teeny-tiny spot in downtown Toronto where he works. Plus, he can haul a guitar and a combo amp to band gigs. For me, I haul lots of stuff around all the time, and do long road trips with that stuff, so a truck is more suitable. Also, there are LONG stretches of road between places I need to go. No- I don't get his MPG, but since I work from home, I put less daily miles on the truck. If we did time vs. MPG, I'll bet we'd be pretty close. So, depending on your lifestyle and location, the Smart may be smart.
