Overview & Reviews
The concept of the Smart car emerged in the early 1990s when the Swiss company Swatch, best known for its kitschy watches, sought to build an affordable city car that would fit into the smallest of parking spots and go easy on fuel. Not too long after, the company paired up with Mercedes-Benz to make the idea a reality. The car was later christened "Smart," an acronym for Swatch Mercedes Art.
The Smart Fortwo, originally dubbed the City Coupe, debuted at the 1997 Frankfurt Auto Show. Although the first generation never made it to the U.S., the tiny two-seater, which persevered through its parent company's financial troubles and an eventual buyout by Daimler-Benz, was later replaced by the slightly larger second-generation Fortwo. Not only is the reworked Fortwo newly available in the States, but an ambitious plan to launch several stand-alone dealerships in the U.S. makes it clear that the Smart brand is serious about competing in the American subcompact market. While its diminutive size and power entail certain on-road limitations, the Fortwo is a worthy candidate for urban commuters who want to maneuver through city congestion and save on gas without giving up the creature comforts of a car.
Current Smart Fortwo
At 8 feet, 10 inches long, the Smart Fortwo is a two-seat subcompact city car and is the smallest production car currently sold in North America. It comes in two body styles: the hatchback Coupe and the convertible Cabrio. The standard trim levels are Pure and the more well-equipped Passion. The Fortwo is powered by a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine that produces 71 horsepower and 68 pound-feet of torque and sends its power to the rear wheels through an automated sequential-shift manual transmission.
There's also a limited-edition model from German tuner Brabus that upgrades the Smart with sportier wheels, a stiffer suspension, aerodynamic and cosmetic body cladding, a higher-performing exhaust and heated leather seats.
Because of its Lilliputian proportions (it's more than 3 feet shorter than a Mini Cooper), safety is at the core of the Fortwo design. The engine is in the rear of the car to increase front crumple-zone space, and the car is built around a cage of high-strength steel known as the Tridion safety cell, which helps the Fortwo post passable if unimpressive frontal crash-test scores. Side impact protection is enhanced by the closer placement of axles to the passenger compartment, and the Smart's scores in side-impact crash testing are top-notch. And although the car might look something like a golf cart, standard safety features like side airbags, antilock brakes, stability control and traction control combine to put that comparison to rest.
Fuel economy is another welcome asset of the Smart Fortwo; its EPA rating is 33 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway. With its 8.7-gallon gas tank, that makes for a lot of driving between fill-ups, though it's worth noting that premium gasoline is recommended.
In our initial reviews, we found the Smart Fortwo surprisingly comfortable. The interior is roomier than it might appear from the outside -- especially in the passenger seat, which is set back 6 inches for increased legroom. (It also folds flat for extra cargo space.) On the road, however, the Smart's manner is less than graceful over rough pavement. Moreover, while the car is admirably stable at high speeds for such a small vehicle, its slablike side panels and upright posture conspire to make it unsettlingly vulnerable to crosswinds.
We aren't fans of the automated manual transmission either. Gearchanges are sluggish and somewhat jerky. The Fortwo is also one of the slowest vehicles for sale today (zero to 60 mph takes 14.1 seconds) and it has a particularly hard time keeping up with traffic on the highway. Still, the Smart Fortwo is great for tooling around city streets. Buyers who aren't looking to do much more than that will probably be quite satisfied with the Smart car.
Used Smart Fortwo Models
The current (second) generation Fortwo debuted for 2008 and was the first Smart model to go on sale in the U.S. There have been no major changes since, though the Brabus trim level wasn't available for its first year.
Designed primarily for urban cities in Europe, the first-generation Smart Fortwo was originally known as the City Coupe and not sold in North America. It debuted for the 1998 model year and it came with a turbocharged three-cylinder engine that was either gasoline-fueled (initially 599cc of displacement and later 698cc) or diesel-fueled (799cc). The first-generation Smart Fortwo was discontinued after the 2007 model year.
User Reviews:
Showing 1 through 10 of 264.00-
Disapointed Owner - 2008 Smart fortwo
By Rob - July 18 - 12:13 pmThe car is fun to drive with the exception of the transmission. You never know when it is going to hesitate, sometimes it take 3 to 5 seconds for the computer operated clutch to decide what it wants to do. This is dangerous when trying to pull out into traffic. The gas mileage in the city is only 25 to 30. The car has not lived up to my expectations.
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Mercedes Should be embarrassed! - 2008 Smart fortwo
By scott - September 6 - 1:43 amWhat a shame! Great concept - horrible car to drive. I have 5 drivers in my house and after the initial novelty period passed, no one wants to take this car. It drives so poorly. I wont drive it anymore as its jerky ride makes me wish I has an air sickness bag in the car. Gas mileage is disappointing, car is woefully underpowered and the silly transmission should cause me to get my money back under the lemon law, the dealer keeps saying that it is supposed to work the way it works. Shame on Mercedes. I feel bad that a company like them has to be affiliated with such a joke of an overpriced car. I cant wait to sell it to some hyped up fool who falls for this scam of a car!
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horn & door problems lies on extended warranty - 2008 Smart fortwo
By kulumao - April 27 - 4:14 amI love my 2008 Smart passiion. I have less than 12000 miles on it. The first time i had to use the horn, it does not work, the plastic part on the door hinge is missing. I bought a platinum ext warranty at the time and was told it covered bumper to bumper for 5 years. Now they told me the horn problem is not covered and the door hinge missing part is not covered either. what a rip off, never buy any ext warranty from mercedes benz again. I wont touch any MB either, Lexus gave much better service and had no problems.
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Not What I Was Expecting - 2008 Smart fortwo
By bikerchick3 - September 1 - 6:56 pmRides horribly. Faulty transmission has left me stranded a couple of times and the dealership wont do anything about it. original battery was "bad" and left me stranded, but they replaced it. Gas mileage in the city is only ~25 mpg., much less than I was expecting.
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Dont buy a 2008 dealer buyback = LEMON - 2008 Smart fortwo
By Cindy - June 16 - 2:00 amReally disappointed with this car. Yes its fun to drive, great to put the top down, and yes its cute- however when I went to trade it in- it turns out that a dealer buy back = LEMON in the car world. Thus- hideous trade in value. Shame on you Annapolis Smart- Mercedes. Buy back = Lemon- run dont walk from the 2008- check the title history, if you see dealer buy back look elsewhere unless you plan on keeping it forever.
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Not a smart decision - 2008 Smart fortwo
By Steven Sound - April 17 - 12:33 pmYes this car will get you attention but once this fad wears out, it will be nothing but a joke. After driving this car for 4k miles I have gotten mixed reviews, some laughs and some positive remarks. I average 31 MPG but when I drive on the highway at 70 MPH it drops to about 26 and it has zero power for passing. The transmission shifts very hard and abruptly from 1st to 2nd gear. The ride is rough but it is fun to drive a small car. The 2 year warranty is a joke. Every trip to the dealer costs $100 just to look at the car. As I said the car is fun to drive for a few weeks but exhausting to own and no worth buying if you need a reliable, fuel efficient car. A Honda Fit is a better value.
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2008 Piece of Junk - 2008 Smart fortwo
By dispshannon - July 1 - 9:26 pmI purchased this vehicle new and within 1 year was having trouble with the transmission ...Wont go into reverse. Dealership says nothing wrong. 1 year later..NO WARRANTY and now it wont go into reverse or forward. How do you drive a car that wont do forward or reverse..YOU DONT...
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smart EV - 2013 Smart fortwo
By luvmysp23 - July 1 - 7:54 amI would only recommend this as a strictly commuter car if your commute is 5-10 mi each way. Parking is a breeze in NYC where parking in anything larger than a smart is a nightmare. However, when the weather is below 35 degrees, the cabin is always cold (even with heated seats) and the heat robs 20-40% of your range if you use it consistently. The 70hp boost they claim rarely kicks in when you step on the pedal. Ive had the car for 4 mo now (since Nov 13) and range anxiety has been a major problem during the polar vortex days. My commute is only 15 mi each way and I always get home with just 20% of power from a 100% charge. If the range would be 100 mi with heat/AC on, this would be perfect
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Ideal Key West Car! - 2008 Smart fortwo
By Tom Lavender - February 27 - 10:00 amI have a very early 2008 Passion Cabrio. Really enjoy the car, but its 150 miles to the dealer. Have had many driveability problems. It took Smart 2 1/2 years to figure what the backup problem was. I had cruise control installed, the dealer blamed the backup problem on the cruise. I had the cruise uninstalled still had the problem. I truly love the car but just dont understand Smarts logic as to marketing and service. Im out of warranty and ready to trade cars Smart Weston acts like they dont want my car back. It is a wonderful car, would be even better if the dealer wasnt 150 miles away. They need better warranty and better service centers.
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Cant get out of its own way ! - 2009 Smart fortwo
By TriCounty - March 4 - 9:46 amHas no power. Has a hard time getting up a hill. If you live in an area with hills and mountains dont even think about this car .
