Is this some sort of cruel joke, having the largest guy on staff (all 6 ft. 4 in. of me) write the road test of the smallest production car we've ever tested? If so, it didn't work. Interior space is far from a problem in the smart fortwo; rather, it's one of the new city car's strong points. Built at a Daimler-owned factory in France, the smart fortwo is a model of packaging efficiency, able to comfortably accommodate two large adults and a couple of suitcases in a tidy overall package that's 39.5 in. shorter than a Mini. Parked nose to tail, two smarts take up less space than a Chevy Suburban. That's short, and the upright car is about as tall (60.7 in.) as it is wide (61.4 in.).
If the smart looks familiar to you, it should. It's been on sale for nearly a decade in Europe, and it has proven to be popular in places like Rome and Paris where they can be parked perpendicular to traffic on the sides of narrow city streets. That probably won't be allowed in the U.S., where the mildly restyled and slightly larger second-generation fortwo went on sale in January at approximately 70 smart centers across the nation, most in large cities and affiliated with a Mercedes dealer.
So, is the U.S. ready for the innovative smart, with its cute styling, tiny footprint and fuel-efficient 1.0-liter 3-cylinder engine? Let's find out.
On the road, the smart — with its sturdy exoskeleton-style chassis, strut front suspension and semi-independent U-shaped De Dion rear axle — doesn't feel toyish or like a golf cart. It's clearly well engineered, and the high seating position and large windshield make the car seem almost conventional...provided you keep looking forward and forget about how close you are to the back bumper. The smart cruises on the freeway at 65 mph with good stability and ease, its rear-mounted Mitsubishi-built inline-3 humming along quietly at 3250 rpm and its rack-and pinion steering exhibiting a strong self-centering tendency. The ride is firm, not overly so, though lacking some compliance.
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