Woo... 2008 is looking better and better.

[wolfwings]

At least for me as a rather quirky piston-head that loves super-tiny cars. =^.^=

Edmunds.com has listings for the Smart ForTwo prices and stats starting to bubble in, and Toyota's Aygo has been announced... between those two, and the existing Toyota Yaris, I'll have quite a few choices for what car to get over the next year and change come the 2008 rotation. :-)

Comments

[alaskawolf.livejournal.com]

i just saw two smart cars last nigth driving around up here, i didnt even know they were in the states yet.

back before they originaly came out they winter tested them up here, that was quite awhile ago

They're not 'for sale' yet...

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

...but yeah, the plant here in the US is producing them in tiny batches for testing purposes and gearing up for full-scale production shortly.

Mmm... RWD w/ 40+ MPG!

[nolly.livejournal.com]

I was a bit underwhelmed by the Sart I got to test-drive recently. Very rough ride. I'm not completely decided against it yet, though. Do you know the expected pricing on the Aygo?

Well...

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

...considering the Yaris starts around $11k, I'd imagine the Aygo'd be under that. The Smart's coming out at around $12k base though, so it's possible they wouldn't try to undercut the price of the Yaris, nobody's really sure yet on the Aygo pricing.

The Yaris is an odd duck... the Liftback and Sedan were designed by two totally seperate teams, so it's really strange what parts will and won't interchange between the two models. Most of the powertrain and electrical can be traded across (but not the radio stuff!) but it's strange what body parts do and don't cross over. The sedan gets standard fold-down rear seats, the liftback gets fully tilt/slide/adjustable split-folding rear seats though.

As for the Smart: Well, one of the reasons it rides so rough is one of the reasons I'm thinking about it: It's a high-tune suspension that favors grip over ride comfort heavilly, very closely related to my Porsche 944's in fact. It's even rear-wheel-drive like my 944, or like a VW Bug since the engine is in the rear as well. Which is why they set up the suspension for grip instead of road comfort, because if it does slip it'll want to spin. :-)

I'm still amazed at how many people are griping at how 'underpowered' the Smart is though: 70hp is all my old 1.3l 1986 Civic made, and it handled I-5 easily up and over the grapevine and back, and my Civic weighed several hundred pounds more than the Smart does. =O.o=

Re: Well...

[nolly.livejournal.com]

Power seemed OK, though I can't say for sure, since they didn't let us take them on the freeway. But if I hadn't been in a cabrio with the top down, I suspect I'd've come close to banging my head going over one rough patch -- and there's a lot of those around here. I'd like an inexpensive, fuel-efficient commuter that can actually keep up with the freeway traffic I commute through. Smart might be it, might not -- but the MPG numbers on Wikipedia for the Aygo are better, so I"d like to know more about it.