The Mileage Effect

I had noticed this before but never given it much thought until reading a similarly themed thread in the Smart Car of America forums. There seems to be a unique phenomenon, which I’m dubbing here The Mileage Effect, whereby the increase in gas prices is causing everyone’s mileage to increase.

Here’s how it works. I (or other smart owners) are filling up the tank at the local gas station, gauging in their heads the mileage on this most recent tank. Every other person at the station comes over to ask, of course, how much mileage it gets. When told upper 30s and low 40s, they express enthusiasm. Then, and here’s the good part, they tell you how they’re getting in the mid-30s in their Volkswagen Jetta or Toyota Camry, or whatever other car they’re driving.

The base Jetta is rated at 21 city, 29 highway (very respectable!), and the Camry is rated at 21 city, 31 highway (also good!). The EPA ratings were lowered recently to represent more realistic mileage, so if you drive the highway at lower speeds and with few hills, you can certainly exceed the EPA ratings by a few miles. It’s possible you can even get 35 or more. But if you tell me you’re averaging that kind of mileage, you’re certainly embellishing. And if you start to tout the mileage of your Ford F150, you have a problem.

What is causing everyone’s mileage to exceed EPA expectations suddenly? I’m convinced that people are so stressed about the ever-rising cost of gasoline that it preys heavily on their minds. In any conversation about mileage, they want to make themselves feel better by over-inflating their current situation. Rather than be judged for still driving an F150, for example, they will tell you that their mileage is pretty good. It makes them feel better. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But the feeling is that people are comparing their car to the smart and belittling the smart’s gas consumption. This seems rather silly to me. If you buy a minivan, I am not going to brag about how many people my car fits in comparison to yours. If you buy an F150, I am not going to brag about how much my car can tow. If you buy a Ferrari, I am not going to brag about how fast my car can go. It is not fast, it can tow very little, and it holds one person and some groceries or a bag of golf clubs. It’s not made for any of those things. It is, however, made to drive around town and get best-in-class mileage. That is, in fact, why many people bought the car!

So you can try to make yourself feel better by over-inflating your mileage if you choose. I’ll just smile and nod and maybe say “that’s great” so that you feel even better when you climb up into your GM Suburban and drive away. Then I’ll calculate the mileage on my last tank and think of how much gas I’m saving driving the smart instead of my SUV. I know the truth.

Smart vs Golfcart

I didn't get the make and model of this particular golfcart, and since the carts come in various shapes and sizes, this isn't a real comparison. But on a Sunday afternoon drive, I came across this golfcart store, and the red one was sitting all by itself just begging for a comparison picture. It looks to me they're about the same size!

Smart vs Volkswagen Beetle

The Volkswagen Beetle looks like a small car, but how does it compare to the smart? Compared to the smart's 8 feet, 8 inches, the Beetle is just under 13.5 feet.



The Beetle's EPA mileage is 20 city, 28 highway (versus 33/41 for the smart), and the Beetle starts at $17,475 (versus $11,500 for the smart). (That's a VW Passat in the background.)

Smart vs Toyota Yaris

Some folks think the Toyota Yaris is a small car. Although similarly priced to the smart and with estimated EPA mileage of 29 city / 35 highway (versus 33/41 for the smart), it is surprisingly bigger than a smart.

The smart measures 8 feet, 8 inches. The Yaris measures a whopping 12.5 feet!

Smart Roadtrip

With the odometer finally topping 1,000 miles, I was due to head three hours to my parents' house for a weekend wedding. I had to load the car with clothes for a four-day trip, plus several things my parents left behind the last time they visited, and one 50-pound dog to be taken to the kennel. So of course, I passed up using my roomy SUV and took the smart!

First of all, the dog clearly doesn't care too much for riding in the smart. In the back, he seemed to feel too constrained (despite being right at home in his crate), and he kept trying to jump into the front seats. But he survived the half hour drive to the kennel, and from there I headed out to the New York State thruway.

The smart did remarkably well on the highway. It was slower getting up to full speed when entering the highway, but it's certainly faster than the big rigs, and there wasn't so much traffic that I worried. It did fine at 70 mph in 65 mph speed limits. There's no cruise control, and this became evident quickly as I found myself constantly checking the speed. But on the reasonably flat thruway, I was able to lock my foot against the side and keep the gas at a pretty consistent speed.

I'm not a hypermiler, and although I consistently check my mileage, it's not my primary concern when driving the smart. Still, I thought it would be fun to try my hand at drafting. For those unaware, drafting is a racing technique in which you reduce drag (and thus increase mileage) by getting very close to a vehicle of similar size or larger and do a consistent speed. On the highway, this is usually done behind big rigs, which can, as Mythbusters proved improve mileage 39%. Of course, it's very dangerous, since these rigs won't see you and don't stop particularly quickly. I tried about 150 feet, which felt safe, and felt the car literally being shaken from side to side by the winds from the truck. It was absolutely not worth it.

There are a few big hills on the way home, and one of them proved a bit of a challenge for the little smart's (and smart's little) engine. It was interesting to note that, as the speed dropped below 60 and the engine downshifted, the hazard lights came on automatically. That smart really is smart!

Otherwise, the trip was fairly insignificant. On the way home, I noticed the reactions of the other drivers more significantly. A convoy of bikers would pass me, one at a time, and ride alongside me as they checked out the car, then wave and pass on. Another driver in his car drove alongside me for a few minutes, then passed ahead, adjusted his rear-view mirror, and gave me a big thumbs up. Kids, especially, seemed to enjoy watching the car as I drove by.

On Sunday, I spent two or three hours driving around town with a friend, mostly on small roads but some highway as well. I decided to fill up the tank, which resulted in every person at the station stopping over to ask me about the car. The result for that tank was 44 mpg. Everywhere we stopped, people came over to ask about the car. At one place, an older woman actually asked me to go up to her car and tell her husband, who didn't seem to care much, about the car. That was awkward.

The next day, I drove home. I didn't notice the reactions of other drivers too much this time, but the trip was easier, and mileage seemed to be even better on the trip back. I drove with the windows down the whole way, and the wind buffeted me throughout the drive so much that, when I stopped, the left side of my face was tingling. It was an odd sensation. I got to enjoy my iPod on shuffle for the entire time (not a feature of my SUV) and had more than enough space for my luggage.

The entire trip, including an extra three hours to the New York city area for the wedding itself in my family's minivan, I did not see one other smart. And I was looking! I got the sense that most of the people in my hometown had never seen one, while I suspect the folks in my town have seen a few here or there. The current tank of gas, made up of the drive home and Tuesday commuting to work, is on pace for my best tank yet, quite possibly nearing 400 miles.

The car does fine on the highway, really. The weather was fine, with no winds to speak of, and it cruised along at 65 to 75 consistently with no problem. I didn't feel any effect of even the biggest trucks passing by or me passing them, and I kept up with traffic just fine. The mileage of more than 40 mpg compared to less than 20 mpg with my SUV, and the reactions of other drivers was priceless. Some folks on the SCOA forums term the experience of smiles per gallon, and I can relate to that.

The only things I missed were cruise control to keep the speed consistent and save mileage and an armrest for long trips. The seat was comfortable enough, and I didn't notice any rough ride except for some side streets in around-time driving. It was a fun trip, made more fun by the experience of driving the smart!

Smart FAQ

Smart USA has its own FAQ. This one is based on my questions and reactions I've received, and I back up my personal thoughts and experiences with some technical details.

What is it?

It's a smart ForTwo (Get it? For two people. They used to make a ForFour for four people.) Some folks call it a smart car. That is sort of like calling a Toyota a Toyota car. But no one knows what you mean when you say ForTwo, so smart car is easier.

Who makes it?

The company is smart, and it is owned by Mercedes Benz. Does that make it a Mercedes? No, it's a smart.

Is it smart, Smart, SMART?

The company always spells it with a lowercase “s”, so I will too, unless it's the first word in a sentence, because that would look too weird.

Where did "smart" come from?

I'm told, it originally stood for Swatch Mercedes art. The car was originally designed as a partnership between Daimler-Benz and Swatch, but Swatch later pulled out. As for the "art," the smart and the original Volkswagen Beetle are the only two cars ever to be included in the Museum of Modern Art.

What does the C> logo mean?

According to the Wikipedia site, "The current Smart brand logo denotes part of a circle representing the wheel and an arrow for 'forward thinking'." Other sites say the "C" stands for "compact" and the arrow for forward thinking.

Is it gas/electric/hybrid?

It's gas, believe it or not. It has a three-cylinder, one-liter gasoline-powered engine.

What kind of mileage does it get?

According to 2008 EPA standards, the smart is rated at 33 mpg city / 41 mpg highway. That's lowered from 2007 standards of 40/45. In my personal experience, mileage has varied from about 30 mpg (mostly city driving, all with the AC on) to 43 mpg (mostly highway driving). Some folks have managed near or even over 50 mpg on the highway.

How big is it?

The smart is small, at about 8 feet 8 inches. Believe it or not, the US version (the 451) is bigger than the version sold previously in Europe and Canada (the 450). You can fit two smarts in a single parking space, and it's 5.1 feet wide. Surprisingly, it's taller than most other regular cars on the road at 5.1 feet tall.

Is it safe?

Most cars use a crumple zone for safety. The smart clearly has no crumple zone, with no hood and the engine just behind the driver. So it was built from the ground up based around a solid steel safety cell, called the tridion cell. If it gets hit by another car, that “roll cage” will just shove the smart out of the way. On the Smart Car of America forums, a smart owner was hit by a car, bounced off the guard rail, and flipped over several times across the road into the other guard rail. The car was totaled, but the driver opened the door and walked away perfectly fine.

In addition to the tridion cell, the smart has front and side airbags, Electronic Stability Program (ESP), brake assist, and anti-lock brakes. It received the highest ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for front and side crashworthiness.

How fast will it go?

The smart is governed at 90 mph. I drive mine on the highway all the time at 65 mph and have had it around 75 with no problem.

But how does it drive?

It feels a little like a sports car, to be honest. It has an extremely responsive suspension, and you feel connected to the road without feeling every bump and dip. It takes the turns well and doesn't feel off balance despite a higher center of gravity. Even at high speeds, it drives just fine and feels perfectly safe. The only time I notice how small it is while driving is during high winds. It is pretty light, after all.

Some reviews have complained about the transmission, noting a serious lag that's especially evident at low speeds/gears. This is pretty obvious the first time you drive it. By shifting manually, it's far less noticeable, and some very simple techniques make it negligible.

Is it manual or automatic?

Sort of both. Smart calls it an automated manual transmission. This means it's a manual transmission, but there's no clutch. You can drive it in automatic mode and it will shift for you. Or you can use the paddle shifters or gear shift to shift manually if you desire. And you can switch from one method to the other at any speed. The car will kick down one or two gears if you really need a burst of speed on the highway.

Where did you get it?

I got it from Smart Center Buffalo. Penske Automotive Group won the rights to sell the cars in the United States, and Mercedes dealerships in various regions applied to be an official dealership. They tried to space the dealerships out by demand and population. There are only three that I'm aware of in New York, with one in the city and one in Albany.

But you can't walk into a dealership and walk away with a car. Smart limited production for 2008 (I heard 30,000, but I'm not positive about that), so you have to put $99 down to reserve a car. You get that money back if you don't buy the car, or it's applied to the price. The wait is at least a year, and some dealerships are telling prospective buyers that it's more like 18 months due to demand. If you reserve one, you will receive an e-mail to confirm the make, model, and options.

Of course, if you want one sooner, you can go to your local dealership and ask to be put on the orphan list. Orphans are cars that are built for a buyer who then decides not to take the car. Most dealerships have long orphan lists, but they get to decide how they choose people from the list if an orphan is available. Some dealerships have been adding on dealer add-ons to jack up the price and bring them more profit. This is because there is no haggling over price. The price is set, and dealerships make a set profit for each car.

I ordered mine May 29, 2007. I picked my car up May 20, 2008. That's a wait of 356 days.

How much does it cost?

There are three models. The base model is $11,500, the middle model is $13,500, and the convertible stars at $16,500. There are a number of available packages and options available as well.

What did you get?

I bought the Passion, which is the middle model. The Passion has paddle shifters, a translucent roof, and some other features standard. I also chose the fog lights, power steering, extra instruments, radio upgrade, and alarm. From the dealership, I bought these OEM add-ons: rubber floormats, built-in CD case, and built-in ashtray (for change).

You also have a choice of colors, and some colors cost more. My color choice did cost more. I chose the red panels with black tridion cell. The color panels are replaceable too. You can trade your panels in for a new set in a new color for only about $400. Try getting your car completely painted professionally for that price!

So for that price, is it a bare-bones car?

No, not at all. I have a good stereo with 6-disc changer and sub woofer. There's air conditioning, power steering, anti-lock brakes, alarm, power windows and locks, and more. You can even get leather interior with heated seats, although I did not.

How much storage space is there?

There's 8 cubic feet of storage. They tell me you can fit 12 or so bags of groceries, two bags of golf clubs, or various other things. It's more space than you think, especially since you can fold down the passenger seat for extra storage. I can fit my 50-pound dog in the back, although he doesn't seem to like it much and wants to hop into the passenger seat.

Speaking of more space than you think – you'd be surprised if you sat in the car. I like to tell people it's bigger on the inside than the outside. I'm about 6 feet tall, and I have more than enough head room and can't even push the seat all the way back. There's more than enough room in the two seats.

How does it do in the snow?

That's a pretty important question since I live in upstate New York. It's a rear-wheel drive car with a rear engine, so it should do as well as a front-wheel drive car with a front engine. It also has ESP, traction control, cornering brake control, anti-lock brakes, brake assist, and other safety devices. So it should do pretty well, and others have said it works fine in small amounts of snow and ice.

But it is light, and I imagine it would have a hard time finding traction in serious snow. So I kept my SUV, which has four-wheel drive. I expect I'll drive the truck when it snows.

Why did you buy a smart?

I'll answer this in another post.

Are there any problems with the smart?

This is the first year of essentially a whole new car, even though it's based on the older 450 model. There are always problems with a first-year car. The smart has had recurring problems with the shifting mechanism, and mine had to be replaced after only 300 miles. This was discouraging, to say the least, but since it was replaced, it's driven fine with no problems. Only a small percentage of owners have had these problems.

Do you like it?

Yes, I love this car! It's a joy to drive! I look for excuses to drive it. The uniqueness draws a lot of attention, and I'm generally a pretty introspective person, but I enjoy answering questions about it. And I have to admit, it's fun to see people smile and wave just because they enjoy the car.

What's so smart about it?

The smart has very low emissions and is built in an extremely environmentally friendly factory and production process. It gets great mileage, takes up very little space, and is quite economical. And it's smart mechanically. It has rain sensors that will adjust the speed of your intermittent wipers for you, and if you have them on and put the car in reverse, it will run the rear wiper. If you stop extraordinarily quickly, it will turn the hazard lights on for you. You must lock the car from the outside with the keyfob alarm, so it's impossible to lock the keys in the car. There's a sunshade if you have the translucent roof, and the convertible can be lowered part way for a sunroof effect or all the way even at high speed. There's no room for a spare tire, of course, but there's a tire inflation kit.

Want more information about the smart? Check out the official website at www.smartusa.com.