Smart vs. Yaris hatch: brand new off the lot, which and why.

Let's hear it patrons!

7/28/2008 10:48:01 AM

The Smart should get better MPG for something that tiny. It's marginally better than a Civic and much smaller. Only good if you specifically want a golf cart sized vehicle.

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 10:52 AM. Reason : l]

7/28/2008 10:52:09 AM

If you live in a city where you'll never really get on the highway but will ride around town going 35 tops and need to park on the street a lot, then the Smart.

otherwise, Yaris.

7/28/2008 10:55:19 AM

yaris has more functional space. parts/service are cheaper. better gas mileage. i prefer the a/c in the yaris too.

the smart is more for city driving, like nacstate said.

7/28/2008 11:00:36 AM

ac is $600 option, thankye

7/28/2008 11:01:11 AM

Consider getting rearended in traffic and the possibility of being sandwiched between two vehicles. Any two vehicles, other than two other subcompact cars would be pretty bad for you.

Consider getting broadsided by someone who runs a red light or stop sign. Or that someone could pull out in front of you, leaving you nowhere to go except into them broadside.

Consider you should fall asleep and run off the road, or have a blowout on the highway at speed, will a coke can on wheels suffer a little jaunt off the shoulder without disentegrating in a horrific rollover?

7/28/2008 11:01:43 AM

^want to go research the crash test ratings for the Smart?

7/28/2008 11:08:44 AM

sounds like you've already made up your mind.

based on price, usefulness, and fuel economy the yaris wins hands down.

it doesnt make quite as much of a "statement" as the smart... if that's what you're going for.

7/28/2008 11:12:57 AM

smart:

http://tinyurl.com/2wawr8

yaris:

http://tinyurl.com/yaris

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 11:17 AM. Reason : daw goddamn links]

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 8:21 PM. Reason : psi]

7/28/2008 11:15:54 AM

Quote :

"ac is $600 option, thankye"

what does that mean? i said "i prefer the a/c in the yaris". i didn't say anything about the cost of a/c in a smart.

also the engine is anemic, so by adding a/c you are lessening whatever power it does have making it even more dangerous in traffic.

you've already made up your mind. you're just wasting time here.

7/28/2008 11:20:41 AM

Quote :

"sounds like you've already made up your mind."

Actually he is not at all convinced about the smart, i think he made this thread due to my babbling about how i would get one.

To my knowledge he is pretty happy with his civic for the time being.

7/28/2008 11:21:29 AM

the Yaris is way less embarassing

7/28/2008 11:31:59 AM

you goddamn right im proud of my civic 1596xx miles and counting!!


on a serious note, i thought this thread would be fun and entertaining, but you guys fucked it 3 ways from sunday.

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 11:34 AM. Reason : WE CANT HAVE ANYTHING NICE]

does anyone realize this is an opinion thread, and not "I'm-about-to-buy-a-car-someone-make-my-decisions-for-me"

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 11:36 AM. Reason : --]

7/28/2008 11:32:20 AM

isn't yaris like birth control or something?

7/28/2008 11:53:09 AM

???

7/28/2008 11:54:49 AM

yeah, any man driving his date around in one isnt getting laid.

7/28/2008 12:07:29 PM

^^^yaz

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 12:07 PM. Reason : ]

7/28/2008 12:07:37 PM

ahaha but my gf likes the yarii


hell I'm so small i could get laid IN a Smart

7/28/2008 12:09:14 PM

Quote :

"but you guys fucked it 3 ways from sunday."

actually it was you, the one defending the smart at every turn.

7/28/2008 1:04:42 PM

nah man, i was just throwing stuff out there

7/28/2008 1:10:38 PM

I prefer this car.


BTW you'd have to be crazy not to pay for the $600 AC option living in Raleigh for the car u mentioned above.

Quote :

"my civic 1596xx"

1750xx here. But i'm upgrading to a new car soon. Mine will not be green but a high revving V6 or turbo charged I4

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 1:18 PM. Reason : l]

7/28/2008 1:15:57 PM

unless it makes economic sense, going green means buying a larger car with wood accents. at least for me anyway.

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 1:31 PM. Reason : my fav. the 4 door m3. the m5 is good too.]

7/28/2008 1:30:43 PM

I think that the Smart is a great concept for urban areas...with this exception: The damn thing should get MUCH better fuel mileage than it does. European models do. Interesting?

It would really be nice if they offered the diesel here, as well as a smaller gasoline engine.

BTW, for those concerned about crash ratings and results, the Smart has some amazingly good engineering, with the passengers actually riding in a "pod" of sorts that is suspended within the body of the car, and absorbs a lot of force from a crash.

Still, I've read that the ride sucks, and performance as us Americans would view it is pretty anemic.

I think, personally, that the US driving style as a whole could use a serious amount of revamping.

As John Muir, hippie/engineer extraordinaire and author of the "Compleat Idiot" Volkswagen repair books, would say...if we all drove like we were Aztec sacrifices strapped to the front of our cars, then things would be a helluva lot better. The man had a lot of great points.

All this said, as of this reply, I'd go with a Yaris. More useable room, more affordable, easier to get parts and service for. Hands down. The Smart for the US market is just not my bag, and if I'm gonna make sacrifices in performance, comfort, and still possibly even safety, I'd like to reap some tangible, quantifiable results...other than "it looks cute."

7/28/2008 1:35:11 PM

the smart car requires premium gasoline, so keep that in mind.

I wouldn't go for either of those. If I wanted a small car with good gas mileage and utility the winner is the Honda Fit.

7/28/2008 2:32:50 PM

ill keep the mileage and utility winner to being my 1991 civic sedan.

thankye.


(i do like the fit... a little.)


nothing says mileage and utility like a

7/28/2008 3:01:31 PM

Hurley I WOULD KILL YOU FOR A DIESEL RABBIT PICK'EM-UP

7/28/2008 3:38:29 PM

kill for a rabbit truck

wait what?

7/28/2008 3:47:21 PM

someone post that video of the Smart car nailing a barricade at 60 mph

7/28/2008 5:08:41 PM

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 8:22 PM. Reason : psi]

7/28/2008 5:17:37 PM

Smart. Yaris is a CHUD.

7/28/2008 6:31:10 PM

i get better mileage in my civic then the smart!

7/28/2008 6:42:21 PM

anybody remember that episode of Family Matters when Urkel had a smart car, and that was the entire punchline of the episode?

7/28/2008 9:01:02 PM

That was a BMW Isetta.

7/28/2008 9:13:48 PM

Hmmm choosing between a Yaris and a Smart... If I wanted a small city car I would probably chuck them both and go for a Honda Fit. Slightly worse mileage for a whole lot more space.

7/28/2008 10:51:54 PM

^yeah, I've always seen the Fit as a minature van... I'd still rock one. I guess I like the tiny-ness of a Yaris b/c it reminds me of an EF9 civic.

7/29/2008 8:07:05 AM

so a smart gets 45 mpg, has an engine made by Mitsubishi, is sold at Benz dealerships and runs on premium fuel?

What is smart about it again? The fact that women can park it?

7/29/2008 8:14:22 AM

the smarts i see driving around scare me honestly i mean they can build up some speed but they look like a strong gust of wind could blow them over.

7/29/2008 8:17:40 AM

Quote :

"someone post that video of the Smart car nailing a barricade at 60 mph"

thank you. space age super pod frame or not, thats exactly what id imagined would happen.

7/29/2008 8:24:19 AM

I would drive one ... but only as the suped up golf cart that it is ...

Hey will they let you drive them @ a golfcourse?

7/29/2008 8:28:44 AM

OH if they would let you drive them in walmart or sams club id have to have one

7/29/2008 8:34:15 AM

you would have to have that little blue thing that jeremy was driving in the topgear offices.

7/29/2008 12:58:54 PM

Yaris, Mini Cooper, Honda Fit are all much better alternatives to the lackluster smart

unless you include the Roadster:


[Edited on July 29, 2008 at 1:11 PM. Reason : . ]

7/29/2008 1:10:59 PM

i love mini's, but fuck the purchase price.


yarii, ftw

7/29/2008 1:12:10 PM

yeah...the smart seems to be a huge disappointment...for driving something so tiny with such lackluster performance, you should AT LEAST get amazing fuel economy out of it...and you don't

7/29/2008 1:12:29 PM

I don't think the mini counts either really it should be the small... its not quite mini

7/29/2008 1:31:45 PM

Can't speak for the Smart, but Yaris is decent. My mom owns one. Drives, feels, and acts like a cheaper Corolla.

7/29/2008 1:33:47 PM

smart with a turbo busa, r1, zx14, etc. motor (ala smartdiablo).

[/thread]

7/29/2008 1:55:50 PM

Quote :

"Yaris, Mini Cooper, Honda Fit are all much better alternatives to the lackluster smart unless you include the Roadster:"

Roadster not available in the US.

7/29/2008 2:42:04 PM