Overview & Reviews

Usually, Italian exotic sports cars are best at getting other motorists' attention when driving down the road. But the diminutive "Smart car," as many people refer to it, turns just as many heads. But in this case, a Smart is about fuel economy and efficiency, not performance.

Smart began in 1993 as a joint venture between Daimler-Benz and Swiss watchmaker Swatch, creating a company known as Micro Compact Car AG headquartered in Biel, Switzerland. (It would later move to Germany and be known simply as Smart.) Its "city cars" would feature the build quality and engineering expertise of Mercedes-Benz, while Swatch would contribute its funky design philosophy. The resulting two-passenger Smart City-Coupe was designed for a European urban environment, with a specific emphasis placed on fuel economy and parking ease. The City-Coupe could theoretically be able to park perpendicular in a parallel-parking spot. (The wheelbase is the width of most other cars, after all.)

Because it was such a tiny car, Smart created the "tridion" safety cell (the silver or black portion of the body) to assure the City-Coupe could withstand impacts from exponentially bigger vehicles. Made from three layers of steel reinforced at strategic points, the cell was designed to absorb and redistribute crash energy away from the vehicle's occupants. Side impacts are shielded by steel door beams and reinforced axles.

Daimler-Benz bought Swatch out shortly after the City-Coupe's introduction just as the Smart started to generate hype around the world for its revolutionary take on personal transportation. Initial sales began in nine continental European countries in 1998, and the car proved popular with consumers.

This success led to an eventual expansion of the Smart car brand with the introduction of additional Smart models, including the Roadster and Roadster-Coupe in 2003 and the Forfour sedan in 2004. Reaction to these model lines was lukewarm at best, however, as consumers found them to be overpriced. This failure led to a dramatic downturn in Smart's fortunes, eventually putting it on DaimlerChrysler's chopping block before CEO Dieter Zetsche saved it with a new business model built exclusively around the City-Coupe, which had been renamed Fortwo.

More than 770,000 units and 36 countries later, the second-generation Fortwo debuted in 2006. With only a slight size increase, the general look of the iconic city car remained, but the interior and often-criticized automanual transmission received significant changes and safety was improved. The biggest news, however, was that Smart would be expanding into the United States, where rising gas prices had shifted the market toward smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. While there is no mainstream vehicle that embodies those two criteria better than the Fortwo, only time will tell if Americans who once laughed at Smart will embrace it the way Europeans and others around the world have.

User Reviews:

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  not so smart - 2009 Smart fortwo
  By Beata - March 13 - 3:46 am

  The transmission slipps, only one year warranty,very uneven ride, no handbook for the car, car makes a lot of noise,car is not good on Gas

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  Words Cannot Describe How Much I hate this car - 2008 Smart fortwo
  By ihatemysmart - June 26 - 2:16 am

  Since I have owned this car, the battery died within the first year, random pieces of plastic have fallen off, it has had numerous transmission "software" problems that have left me stranded and ready to walk away from it, the engine blew at 23,000 miles, AND NOW it has yet ANOTHER transmission problem that the service department cant figure out -- I cant get it to shift out of Park when it is cold! THIS IS A PROBLEM! I tell everyone I see when I am at the dealership, I tell everyone that ever asks me about it. The guy in the parts department even agreed with me: "Yeah, I have never heard of a car having that many problems in that combination."

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  PAINT IS COMING OFF MY ENTIRE CAR CLEAR COAT - 2009 Smart fortwo
  By RUTH DUMONT - July 14 - 2:20 pm

  2008 and 2009 smart cars have had many issues with the paint peeling off their cars within a few years in spite of impeccable care. I saved 3 years to purchase my car. Im a senior and the paint is peeling off like crazy. It looks like a car someone got off a wrecking sight. I have taken impeccable care of my car, garage kept, washed with water only, no accident. I brought this to the attention of Mercedes and the smart headquarters to apply for their "goodwill out of warranty process." thats a joke. I was denied twice. I did nothing to cause the paint to peel off and they have denied my requests for them to paint the car or replace the panels as was recommended by their approved place to obtain an estimate to fix the problem. I am heartbroken about this. Yes, its just a car, but as mentioned i saved a long time to get my car new, and in no way should the clear coat be peeling off the whole car. I have contacted Mercedes and smart and they clearly will not do what is ethical and right and that is to take care of the deficient paint job that was initially put on the car. So, i am using my first amendment rights and i have posted 2 signs on my smart "buy a smart and watch the paint peel off in front of your eyes. smart/Mercedes will not fix this." these people know darn well that the paint job on those cars were crappy at best, and i dont know how they can sleep knowing that the ethical and morale things to do is make it right. Paint my car. I am heart broken. A car i wanted so badly and saved so long for and it looks like crap. People who see my car are appalled but mostly shocked that smart/Mercedes wont make it right. Be careful when buying these cars. Maybe youll be lucky with a good paint job. I woudlnt risk it. It will cost $2800 to fix my car. Im a senior on social security and i cant afford this, nor can i sell the car the way it looks. Be careful, and dont waste your time dealing with the dealership or headquarters. They just dont give a rats behind. Their pat answer is, "im sorry. The team has denied your request." the goodwill out of warrant process is a joke. So, my only way to get people to be careful when purchasing their smarts is for me to ride around with my signs and get the word out there. Dont know how these people sleep at night. They need to do what is right!

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  WE WERE STUPID TO BUY A SMART!!! - 2015 Smart fortwo
  By RB - June 16 - 9:13 am

  We purchased the Smart fortwo thinking we will save money on gas and save on maintenance as the car is relatively simple compared with todays sophisticated vehicle standard. WRONG! The MPG is okay not comparable to other vehicles in the same or larger size range. The battery which is located under the passenger carpet died twice within the first 8K miles and by the time we accumulated 20K, we had to have the Smart towed to the dealer because it abruptly died in the middle of traffic and would not restart. The BIG SHOCK was the dealers $15,000.00 estimate of repair... If youre thinking that the engine or transmission failed, youd be wrong. According to the dealer, whoever replaced the battery the second time failed to properly ensure that a condensation hose that runs from the AC over the top on the battery and through the floor was reconnected properly. The condensation accumulated between the foam under the carpet and the metal floor, and shorted out the transmission module under the drivers seat and wiring harness. The carpet above never got wet so we had no clue this was occurring underneath. After further inspection, it was evident that the hose actually pops off by itself and it was more of a design failure than a battery installation error. Besides, is it SMART german engineering to run an AC condensation line with a pop off break directly over the battery? The $15,000.00 was a joke since you can almost buy a new Smart for that. So we called Mercedes/Smart customer service for assistance and after a one month run-around, they offered nothing! Not even an acknowledgement that they have a design problem even though its well documented on Smart Blogs. It is no wonder that the Smart Car made it on both Consumer Reports Worst new cars of 2014 list and Edmunds The 17 Worst Cars You Can Buy. In fact, Its No.1 on Edmunds list with the subcaption "Friends Dont Let Friends Buy These Vehicles" Save your money, dont be so dumb as to buy a Smart!