[joe-salton]

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/auto...-of-the-2000s/

[Blotassefesek]

Generally wuite agreeable, just the SMart ForTwo is IMO more a "hate it or love it" car than the worst automobile.

Yes, for highway cruising in the states it's crap, but that's not what it was meant for. And asESP is standard, it won't roll over more likely than the average small car in the US typically without ESP.

Personally I think that whoever has driven it in a dense city center, will recognize the genius of it. In this special case. it's perfect. Just think "parking everywhere" (ofcourse as long as it's legal in general)

[joe-salton]

I agree on your view of the Smart ForTwo mick78 but i was surprised that they did not criticize it for its price as well. Are they cheap in NA, compared to other cars? Cause where i live a Smart ForTwo cabrio (yeah, right) costs more than 17,500 euros which is LUDICROUS!

[Blotassefesek]

Absolutely. Actually, I consider price the main criticism on the Smart, of course, considering it's a Mercedes product (even if it doesn't feel like that in many areas) that's no wonder. Even if a naked base model is not really expensive, in best Mercedes tradition, adding a few options (and many of them are nice or must haves), price climbs rapidly, making it costly.

Then again, I think people who want a Smart, buy it even at these prices (like the Mini). Of course, 17.4 k EUR is ridiculous, especially given how cheap other cars seem to be in Cyprus.

[joe-salton]

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[angelxmagic]

The Smart making number 1 is deserved. It is NOT a mileage champ in real world driving and it is horribly compromised as a day-to-day vehicle. A Toyota Yaris will match it for MPG in the real world and has loads more room for a much more advantageous price. As for quality: Toyota!

[AndreasLV]

The fortwo is not exactly cheap here, either; the cabriolet starts just shy of $17K, which is pretty ludicrous. But the worst part about the smart in the NA market, as mentioned in that article (and by swizzle), is that for the money you can get a larger car with more features, better performance, and equal mileage. The only powertrain we get here is the 1.0L 3-cylinder petrol engine, which will barely get the fortwo out of its own way, and works too hard to return phenomenal mileage. The diesel (or electric) variant is really the only one that makes sense from a fuel-saving point of view, but of course we'll never get that.

I agree with everything else on the list, minus the VehiCROSS, because at least Isuzu had the balls to do something daring. And at the time I thought it quite cool.

[joe-salton]

The ForTwo makes sense in Europe IF it would be priced reasonably. Given the wide spaces and large roads in NA i don't understand how it could become popular there - oh wait, its a Mercedes and the perfect accessory for rich people who want to act green

[imawlBoli]

What the **** is people's problem with Smart ForTwos? They're brilliant, Yahoo should get screwed.

[joe-salton]

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[imawlBoli]

I just don't see why they're regarded as such a joke. It's not the best executed idea, but the concept is perfect.
Earlier in the thread, DoM said something along the lines of "Why not get a larger car with more features for the same price?"
That's not the point. In crowed cities, the smaller the better. The ForTwo is designed for Europe, where anything bigger than a Focus is a prang-magnet.

[joe-salton]

If the car was priced according to 1)its size 2)quality 3)equipment 4)consumption then maybe it would have been 'a perfect concept" but as it is now? P-l-e-a-s-e.
You telling me that a much cheaper,roomier Citroen C1 is too big?
Besides the article refers to the NA market and is written with that market in mind, i don't see what's so illogical about it
If this was designed by Apple, had classy/sexy styling, touch screens and other high-tech gizmos then yeah, perhaps i would be willing to pay so much.As it is now it just looks like an overpriced toy to me. So again, price is 95% the reason i don't find it acceptable let alone perfect

EDIT:
to make my point clearer, a Toyota Aygo/Citroen C1/Peugeot 107 in Cyprus costs from a little over 10,000 euros. As i said the Smart ForTwo Cabrio (top model *cough*) costs over 17,500 euros. That is more than 7,000 euros more! For what?

[AndreasLV]

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[imawlBoli]

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[joe-salton]

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[imawlBoli]

I've lost the argument.

[joe-salton]

It seems so, lol
Besides its always been about price, not the shopping trolley itself ;-)

[Anamehuskeene]

Why did they list "1995-present" Sebring, and then say the car before the '07 model wasn't bad?

A '97 Sebring Coupe was very nice car in my book.

[Vikonbarius]

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