Smart - "is one of the worst cars CR tested" + CTV

[Commander Cody 1]

Harsh and fidgety ride with clumsy handling and slow, unassisted steering combined with the worst shift quality coupled to painfully slow acceleration. Whew. Please.

Anyhooo - I pass on this unappreciative review done by this December's Consumers Report.

God help us when they get hold of the "08.

Cmdr. Cody

[ValgardForkbeard 2]

Doesn't sound much like the car I am driving; I wonder if they acidently got hold of one of those Chinese smart-ripoffs :-)

MG

[RichHelms 1]

Old news. Anything not middle of the road doesn't appeal to them

[SCHMART 0]

i think consumer reports are biased

[Awesys 4]

We could modify this statement made in Who Killed The Electric Car?:

"The electric vehicle is not for everybody. It can only meet the needs of 90% of the population."

[MikeT 744]

CR hated the Peugeot 405, which had "dangerous handling".

It's the best-handling FWD car I've ever driven, being set up for keen drivers and with neutral roadholding behaviour, not the gobs of massive understeeer that CR loves so.

The ride of the smart is harsh, and the shift quality is an acquired taste. I find there to be too many turns from lock to lock on the steering as well. But is it really all that bad?

Enough said?

[smartie yank 0]

I agree the steering is lots of turns but with the short wheelbase that is probably a good thing, otherwise it could get interesting.

[Swordsman 0]

Consumer Reports apparently dogged the new Toyota Yaris as well, which of course has won all kinds of awards in Europe (last gen). The guys over at yarisworld.com don't have much faith in CR right now either. I'll be reserving judgement on the smart until I get to try one for myself.

~SM

[Duck 16]

The Yaris (hatch) is pretty awesome, great deal for the money.

I don't have much faith in reviews anymore; you really have to follow the same reviewer and know their background opinions before you can really listen to them.

-Iain

[RichHelms 1]

I agree. As a reviewer, I try to not bring my own bias but reality is I do. There are some vehicles that I can't stand before I even get it them. I tend to avoid reviewing them if I can.

[smart142 605]

Can anyone post a link to the report?

[SCHMART 0]

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/ne...o-406/index.htm

[Little Max 0]

Although CR is a great resource for the purchase of appliances, instant mashed potatoes, and humidifiers amongst other dreadfully boring household items, they just don't have a clue about consumer items that fall outside the realm of objective data based comparisons. They never get it right with any sort of item that requires a bit of work, or has a bit of a learning curve because their point of reference is the average American consumer. Their system doesn't allow for the fringe groups that look a little deeper into purchases and product use. In other words they almost always test for and approve the dumbed down versions of products. They also sometimes compare apples to mangos. Whenever they look at computers they usually compare top shelf PCs with mid level Apples. If they put a top shelf G5 in the mix Dell, IBM, HP, and all the Wintell machine makers would look stupid. CR also never buys or tests Hi End Audio or Video products either. These fringe products (in their estimation) are just too much work for the Homer Simpsons of the world - which is true.

Our little gems have character and some quirks that at first puzzle, become a fascination, challenge us to do research and experiment, and ultimately develop work arounds that help to hold our interest. We develop a relationships with our cars and fellow owners that is uncommon in our "mass produced product" world. CR's quick take on the fortwo is typical of the "go in completely uninformed - then complain that the product doesn't work or live up to our expectations - go and buy another inferior product" consumer cycle.

I think that they will get a great deal of mail on this story but it's not likely to change their methods the Homer Simpsons of the world just don't want to learn anything or scratch below the surface - they just want to move on to the next product with more lights and geewiz features that they'll never learn to use. Just think of all the VCR clocks that flashed 12:00 . . 12:00 . . . 12:00 all of their far too short lives.

[2seatragtop 3]

It's funny. Some of their first impressions I agree with, the nodding head syndrom being one, but I managed to learn to shift without loosing my head. Sometimes I mess it up but it just reminds me of the pleasure of being in a unique vehicle. I have always believed that if you are not learning you are clinically dead and I am proud to be learning in my Smart and having a ball with her even after a year of ownership.

[Albertaaw 6]

We get Consumer Reports at home and have sometimes used it to evaluate products to purchase. However, we were shocked to read its “first look” at the Smart in the December 2006 issue on p. 7. The online version noted previously is curiously different and somewhat less negative than that in the magazine, at least from my first reading. I've attached an image of what was written in the magazine:

It is extremely negative and unfair! For example, the noise factor that is mentioned is not compared to the Prius which allows a lot of road and wind noise when riding in the back seat, from personal experience. It seemed as though the reviewer expected the Smart to perform like a sedan. What a disappointment from this magazine.

Here’s what my husband and I wrote to the magazine:

We were extremely disappointed with the “first look” item in the December 2006 issue of the magazine. It is extremely negative and unfair. We have owned a Smart For Two Cabriolet since April of this year. From the very start, we got better diesel mileage than reported and are now getting about 60 mpg. The poor mileage reported by the reviewer seems to be at odds with that ascertained by owners we know, as well as noted by Transport Canada. How many kilometres did the vehicle have on it when it was test driven? Our experience is that the mpg increases as the engine is broken in. For a short wheel base car (it is not a “land yacht”!) the ride is quite acceptable and not unexpectedly a bit “fidgety” on rough roads. If it turned any more quickly, it would probably be in danger of doing something that none of us want to experience! The reviewer was obviously basing the description on an expectation of a ride similar to an ordinary sedan. While the ride is different from a sedan, it is not unpleasant as your reviewer made it sound. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you have to adjust your driving methods to the car, such as shifting down on a hill to maintain speed. Noise levels from the road and wind are not much above that of sitting in the back seat of a Prius, based upon personal experience. It is a car that is different and engenders fascination and comradery. Your reviewer would have benefited (and could still do so) from reading some of the FAQs and postings on the over 1400 member Club Smart Car web site at http://www.clubsmartcar.ca/.

[smart142 605]

Well done!!! Good for you!!!

[smartzuuk 167]

Thanks for having posted a copy of the article here.

I've invited some of the Green Car Congress readers to come here to for more info. (Hi Patrick!)

You can read the Green Car Congress article on the 2008 smart here.

BTW - Consumer Reports is well known for their sleazy take-down of the Suzuki Samurai where senior officials demanded that testers FORCE the vehicle to tip onto two wheels, so they could publish a story that was pre-conceived with malignant bias. I suggest everyone go here and write a truthful review of their smart. And I do mean truthful - if there is something you didn't like, say so...

As a further evidence of their sleaze - look at the way they try to align the price of the smart against the Prius...

First by showing the smart in USD after tax, and then comparing it against the US pre-tax MSRP of the Prius. And this for a 'Canadian' issue of the magazine? WTF?

Here's the real facts:

Base price of smart in Canada: $16,700

Base price of Prius in Canada: $31,280

I think DCX should sue CR...

[danno 0]

CR just doesn't get it. Not everyone in the world wants to drive a Camry, and 0-60mph isn't the main statistic for someone interested in a car like the smart.US$22,000 for their test car? Doesn't that seem high? I'm assuming that's before tax, as taxes vary in every jurisdiction so it would be meaningless otherwise. I paid $22,010 (Cdn) for my Passion, with leather seats & a few other options.

[Albertaaw 6]

I hope that others will write to CR as smartzuuk suggested. I don't want to be a "lone voice in the wilderness"! I didn't think to include the link to the CR comments page, so I'm glad that he did. We thought of it again as we were going up a hill without any difficulty today. Perhaps it is to do with getting used to the car and its capabilities which the tester didn't do for whatever reason. Alberta

[spinner 0]

Regarding shift quality: It's annoying to the passengers. If you're a lone driver you won't mind. So this should be a non-issue for all those single-passenger vehicles on the road today.Regarding transmission quality: It's fine in the higher gears and at speed, but I find the most annoying thing about this car is doing the traffic jam crawl. The smart fortwo's engagement of gears at low speed, especially where engine speed is low, is just too darn rough. After 15 minutes of the shuddering, my temper is red hot, particularly when there is an anxious passenger.

[danno 0]

So far the only thing that really bugs me is the car's propensity to shift into 1st automatically when I slow down for a sharp corner, just as I'm about to speed up. So instead of accelerating I get a period of nothing while it shifts, and then I'm down in 1st gear. This happens regularly on my way to work & may way home, where I have a couple of turns greater than 120 degrees. Otherwise I'm a happy camper.

[bilgladstone 13]

So far the only thing that really bugs me is the car's propensity to shift into 1st automatically when I slow down for a sharp corner, just as I'm about to speed up. So instead of accelerating I get a period of nothing while it shifts, and then I'm down in 1st gear. This happens regularly on my way to work & may way home, where I have a couple of turns greater than 120 degrees. Otherwise I'm a happy camper.

Dan,As you add miles, your ECU will adjust itself through the break-in period and I think you'll find this issue flattens out. Meantime, anticipatory manual shifting prior to the auto-downshift point will let you maintain power through the turn.Other small mods like de-lipping the air inlet will also help the shift intervals and turbo 'agility' as the ECU matures.Cheers,Bil

[Awesys 4]

I've gotten that a few times - one time when turning into a busy intersection, but luckily no one was oncoming.

[topsy1970 0]

Just saw a clip on Toronto local news regarding the smart. Consumer Reports reported it was the worst car they have ever reviewed.Whats up with that?

[Steve C. 0]

just saw the news on ctv, their consumer report bit at 6 30 ripped our cars, saying they were slow, overpriced, clunky shifting, and sold 4000 units here, and daim/chry hopes to sell 40000 units in the usa. they said 0 to 100 took 22 secs whereas a mini can do it in under 10, the fuel is similar to a prius, but that car seats 5...yikes (no mention that a prius is 10 grand more or anything, though) not a good review, with some hard truths.