Driver reviews at the tours

[Anita-In-KC 0]

Well, I had my test drive today. It was the 'invitation' only event; tomorrow & Monday are at the Mall. I think I'll go to that one, too. Here's my experience:Started out, the email I received said it started at 11:00, but when we pulled up at about 20 till, it was obviously already in swing - people doing test drives. Which is fine with me. The line wasn't too long; waited about an hour. I have a little side story about my wait in line, but I'll save that till later. Finally got up there to test-drive...Finally!! It was really great. If the 'smart' attendant, or whoever they are, hadn't been yakking in my ear the whole time! In my excitement, I had forgotten to tell her I was well versed in the car, had 7 months of homework done, and probably knew more about it than she did, so just give me directions & zip it!! So...consequently, I enjoyed my ride, but couldn't concentrate on the things I wanted to. I thought the engine shifting WAS a bit hesitant, but I was in auto mode most of the time. When I got to shift into manual, we were almost back, but I could tell that this is the mode I'd probably use. I drive a 'real' manual now, and I did notice that my brain was having a hard time without my clutch! I was hearing the engine, and when the RPM's would get up there, my leg moved, and my foot came up off the accel. a little! LOL!! I'll have to get used to that, and I'm sure it won't be a big deal. I've been "one" with my current car for several years, and there's always the adjustment period when you get a new vehicle. Generally...I was excited & happy with the experience. Hubby was tired of standing in the sun, so I'll go to the other event alone. I can stay as long as I like!! Now, for the side story about standing in line. This man came up with a small notebook, and started talking asking me questions about how I found out about the car, etc. He was introduced to me, along with his photographer, by a 'smart' person, as a reporter from Playboy - Germany. He's doing a story about how the Americans are receiving this little car that has been available to them in Europefor years. At first, I was flattered, and told him all about how I found out about the car (don't laugh...it was the Ninetendo Wii commercial!!) and how I found the reservation site, and this site as well. Then he started asking my family and me personal info, like how old we were, what we did for a living, how long we've been married, how many kids, etc. Again...all fine. He needs background, right? It was just weird to me, though. There were plenty of attractive people there. Why did he glum onto ME?? I mean, he was stuck to me like glue!! When I finally got up to drive, this photographer is just snapping away, while I'm getting in, getting situated, etc. Then he taps on the window...roll it down so they can get a shot without glare?? Sure...no problem! LOL! Then, when I came back from my drive, he had me pull around the side, the 'smart' person got out, and here comes that dad-blamed photograper again! Good God, I felt like Britney Spears...only I was old, fat & sweaty!! I kept thinking...what are they going to do with photos of ME in Playboy?? Oh, my husband got a hoot out of it, and my son was telling all his friends...it's been the laugh of the house all day! My son gave him his email address, and our home address, and he said he would send us a copy when it came out. Yeah...I'll hold my breath! Anyway...it was an experience, to say the least. I'll have some pics, but gotta have my son re-size them. Sorry for the long post; it was a most interesting time!More later...Anita

[MikeT 744]

Wow, that is bizarre!

[gotwavs 0]

What an odd combination, Playboy and the smart car. What a funny story. Glad you had a good time, well, interesting anyway.

[vlad 0]

I was at the KC event as well today. Unfortunately, I did not arrive until 12:30 PM (it's a 3 hour drive for me). I got in line as soon as I arrived. I was in line 3 1/2 hours!!! Unbelievable! Even though this was an "invitation" only event they were letting anyone drive. I was told that the event was advertised in the paper and on TV ("leaked to the media" as they put it). The Smart staff was apologetic and kept saying "we had no control over this" and "we hate to do this to our reservation holders". But still... I would have expected that they check your reservation at the door and if you don't have one you don't drive. Or at least have two lines with reservation holders having priority. Did find out the dealership (Aristocrat Motors) is a "candidate" for the Smart franchise, but no indication if they were approved or not.With that said the test drive was short but fun. I had maybe 5 minutes in the driver’s seat. Around the block, one exit on the interstate, and then back. Enjoyed the car. Have to agree the transmission did hesitate a bit, but the Smart staff person indicated that there would be a different program for the US version of the car. So overall I'm sold.... can't wait!Vlad

[Anita-In-KC 0]

Vlad: Oh yeah...I forgot to mention that bit about the dealership being a "candidate." The man behind me in line said that a Mercedes dealership on the Missouri side of the state line (in metro KC) told him that Aristocrat Motors was building a new building across the street from him in Missouri, for the smart. So, we'll see what happens. I just love the rumor mill! LOL!!OK...I'm going to try to insert a couple pictures here. Not that anyone would care, but there's one with that photograper in my face...just so you know I wasn't making it all up! Ha-HA!!AnitaEdit...OK...it didn't work. I'll try again tomorrow. Sorry! I've not done this before, so I'm fumbling.

[gotwavs 0]

I for one am definitely interested in the pics. Any smart pics are good pics.

[Anita-In-KC 0]

OK...I think I can post some pix...

[Anita-In-KC 0]

More from KC:

[rrrucke 0]

Anita,I'm glad to hear that you got to test drive the smart. Fun as all hell...isn't it? Well, it was like a surreal moment when you finally got to drive the car but then you forget all your good intentions for being there in the first place. You tell yourself before the event, I'm going to really check out this car, compare it to perceptions noted by other drivers, you plan to down right scrutinize the little guy especially since you have been armed with months of research and forum talk. But what ultimately happens when you find yourself finally behind the wheel of the smart, you find yourself chatting and smiling through the whole thing and just before it's time to exit the vehicle, you remember about your planned analysis. That's when you scream inside your head..."Damn, I forgot to check out this and this". Oh well! I just hope you got back in line and drove it a few more times. Let me know if you did and how was the event the next day?Your smart buddy,Regina:)

[rrrucke 0]

Vlad,Dude you drove all that way for 3.5 hours and only test drove the smart for 5 mins!!! :(Tell me you drove it more than once? I hope so but I'm glad you really liked the car. :)Regina

[Anita-In-KC 0]

Regina: Thanks so much for the reply. Oh, yes...fun as hell! I went back yesterday to the public event. My boss has heard me talk so much about the car, he said, "Let's go...you gotta show me this car." So...off we went! I stood in line for another 1.5 hours...but this time, when I got to drive, I told the girl this: I have a reservation, I drove on Saturday, and I had many distractions. This time, I'd like to concentrate on the car. No problem she said! So, she just answered my questions when I asked, and let me go. I drove in manual mode this time. OMG!! So awesome!! I drive a stick shift now, and this manual mode was MUCH easier on my brain. When I shifted, there was much less hesitation, and I felt more in tune with the car. OOOOO....it was AWESOME!!! Again, a short drive, but I understand that whole concept. Move people thru. It just made me want the car that much more!! I keep thinking 'How can I wait???' But I've waited 7 months so far. Now...I got a fix of actually SEEING the car...TOUCHING the car...DRIVING the car. I think I can wait 3-4 more months. I just need to get my confirmation email, and I'll be a happy camper. Anita

[rrrucke 0]

Anita,You did exactly what I did and some others on here did. You went to both the Invitational and the Road Show. It really helps give you a better perspective on the car.Glad you had fun all around,Regina

[eqwalker 0]

Well, since I was the original starter of this thread, I thought it would only be right if I post my own experience now that I have FINALLY got to go and drive one of these fantastic cars.I had to drive 5.5 hours from Little Rock, AR to Tulsa, OK to get to my nearest tour stop. Luckily, I have a cousin that lives in Tulsa so I made a visit out of the trip as well. My aunt (which her daughter is the one that lives in Tulsa) went with me and we both got to drive one. She got the blue cabrio and I got the black passion. She had not heard of the Smart until I told her about it so she decided to go just for the heck of it. Now she has to have one. She just loved the cabrio with the top down. She had a nice young lady to ride with her and I had one of the guys with me (wish it was the other way around).Anyway, we arrived at 9:00am and they were just setting up and backing the cars out of the trailer. It was a cool morning (in the 50's), but as the 10:00 hour approached it warmed on up into the 70's. Perfect driving weather. We were able to drive in less than 10 minutes once they started taking names promptly at 10:00. I was suprised how few people were there. My cousin's husband said that he had not seen anywhere in the media or news where they had announced anything about the tour and the few people there backed up that claim. Anyway, we got to take our time and look over the cars and most of the people, if not all, were just passers by that wanted to know what was going on. I did not run into anyone that had already made their reservation. I wound up telling everyone around me that was in line about the car and they they started bombarding me with questions about the car. There was also a stream green/w black tridion cdi car there that had on each side the decal "myStaff". The license plate was red and started with the letter "C" and had 3 numbers after it. I don't know where that car came from or who it belonged to. I never seen anyone get in it.When my time came I purposely told the attendant that I was going to drive it in Auto so as to see the lag that has been talked about. Well guys (and gals), even though I was never able to get up to 55 mph, I thought that it shifted extremely smooth. But I did slightly let up on the gas when I though it should shift and it did. Very smoothly. So I have come to the conclusion, even though I know these are the Euro cars, that I can live with the tranny without any issues. The car rode extremely smooth (and Tulsa's back roads were quite bad) and solid. It had hardly any engine noise that I could speak of. I noticed that once I was in the car driving it. It was just like being in any other car as far as size is concerned. As a matter of fact, it had more room than my 2000 S-10 pickup that I came over to the tour in. My aunt was shocked and was sold on the car. She has put her reservation in. Not bad for someone that was not even interested at first. The transmission to her was not a problem at all. She said that she really didn't even notice it that much. Especially not enough to convince her not to buy one. Some of the cars did have some stains on the seats that I noticed. Probably due to so much tour exposure. This tour leg has only two more stops before completion. I did ask the attendent if he was going to get one and he said yes. He already has a cabrio reserved.So, with that said, I am tickled pink to have made my reservation early and now more than ever ready to get mine as soon as I can.

[MikeT 744]

It's heartwarming to read of all these first encounters. It reminds me of....us, nearly 5.5 years ago! Just had to get one!

[Commander Cody 1]

If I'm not mistaken - what we drove at these tours is the European model. The new 451's outward appearance will be slightly "beefier" - more angular and with a larger snout.

[MikeT 744]

The cars will look the same as what you drive!

[eqwalker 0]

Yes, the body style of the Euro 451 (the tour cars) is the same as we will get in the USA. From what I understand, the only difference will be that the engine and tranny might be "tuned" a little differently so as to be "as close as possible" to regular cars. As I said above, even with the Euro tranny, I did not find it to be of any problem.

[gotwavs 0]

Well, thanks for starting the thread, eqwalker. I've enjoyed it immensely. I love reading people's first impressions of the 451. I agree with you about the tranny. I didn't have any problem with it.

[rrrucke 0]

Egwalker,Glad to read about your experience behind the wheel and how the family got sold on the experience too! The tranny is definitely not an issue for me either and I'm still excited about getting my baby in a few months.Regina:)

[smart142 605]

Comments from someone who drove a 451 in Dallas.....click here.

He wasn't impressed.

''The steering was vague, the shifting was unbelievably bad. The car bogged way down at every shift. The ride was worse than my golf cart. It was roomy though.

I guess I will not be ordering one any time soon.''

[Duck 16]

Unbeliveable that they say it's only for shopping bags and going in cities.Canada I think REALLY proved what the fortwo can do. It's a shame we're ignored.-Iain

[Fowvay 0]

Unbeliveable that they say it's only for shopping bags and going in cities.Canada I think REALLY proved what the fortwo can do. It's a shame we're ignored.-Iain

It's not that we are ignoring Canada we just don't think it exists. It's a nice fairy tale much like the stories of Santa Claus.

[Fowvay 0]

Yeah, I think its main point is simply to move you and carry a few of your shopping bags from point A to point B within a big city with a possibility of parking it at both those points or as close as possible. As long as it moves, AC works, and it fits in whatever parking space you can find, it meets its purpose.

Ok... so how is that not the truth? It is capable of much more but that is it's intended mission in life. Anything above and beyond that is a bonus. We all know it can travel cross country, haul lots of stuff and even pull a trailer. Much in the same way that a Ford F450 can be used to commute to work in rush hour traffic.

Just because it can do it doesn't mean that was or is it's intended purpose.

[Carnut 0]

Give me a break. The comments were from a Miata freak with all kinds of mods to his true love.

[Duck 16]

Just because it can do it doesn't mean that was or is it's intended purpose.

I'd love to see the percentages of SUV drivers who actually go mudbogging. Same kind of argument...

-Iain