TP's smart fortwo blog

[Tideland Prius]

I'll continue my blogging here since I think it needs a new title. You may view the original thread here

Delivery pics & first impressions here

First Impressions can be found here


Here's more info after 1 week of driving.

- It currently has 820kms on it. I've driven to Niagara Falls and downtown Toronto. So to answer your questions, yes it's fine on the highway at 120km/h (75mph) except see below.

- Winds are NOT your friend. It will blow around (it seems like every other day is windy here) on the highway. However, it does fine in the heavy rain down to Niagara. The wipers worked well and the car tracked straight.

- My first dealer tank netted 7.0L/100km (33.6mpg) ~50/50 city/hwy driving. That's worse than Transport Canada's combined 5.4L/100km and EPA's 37mpg combined. But is it the first tank.

- The suspension is firm and you will feel highway expansion joints (unless they're nicely filled) but it's not uncomfortable in any way.

- The engine noise at cruising speed is subdued. You can hear it but it's such a low frequency that you tend to forget it's there

- Road noise is low. Wind noise is more pronounced (maybe because it's been gusty every other day).

- Taking it through the touchless car wash was amusing. The arm that does the soaping and washing went too far back so I had to slowly back up (making sure I won't hit the arm) to get the smart to be soaped and rinsed. I did not have to move forward again since the arm will sense the front of the car and stop there. It just doesn't sense the back of the car.

- One of my manager who drives a loaded V6 300 just couldn't stop talking about how much space there was inside.

- The transmission has smoothen itself out in automatic mode. 1st-2nd gear shifts are a lot smoother than before.

- Manual mode is fun esp. since it's a real manual transmission. I still wished it had a 6th gear as the gear ratios are quite short. In auto mode, it will shift super early to save on fuel. The result is that you'll be in top gear at 60km/h (~40mph) spinning at 2,000rpm.

- Highway cruising at 100km/h has the engine spinning near 3,000rpm . Definitely needs a 6th gear.

- Reverse gear is super short. It will accelerate quite quickly in reverse.

- Fit and finish is great. The row of buttons housing the power door lock, heated seats and so forth have a nice tactile feel.

- Heat comes quickly, surprising for such a small engine (although it only got as low as 4°C (39°F)).

- For a car built in France, the radio doesn't read French accents

- The gap between the dashboard and the doors are rather large. Large in the sense that I can put my hand in the gap lol. I'm not sure why that's the case.

- The sunblind for the panoramic roof is fantastic. It's tightly woven and keeps the interior quite cool actually. The bonus is that it's just a small car that opening the windows will cool the car down quickly.

- Tyre pressures are currently at 29/36 (manufacturer's spec) and I don't think I'll be bumping them up any time soon. The ride is firm enough as it is. (Moreso than the Prius when I bumped its tyre pressure up to 38/36 on the Integrity)

- The tyres are "eco-friendly" Continental ContiProContact tyres. I presume that just means they're LRR.

- The headlights and brakelights won't work when the car is off (or key is in the 0 position), neither does the horn. Not sure if all European cars work that way.

That's all for now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

[Tideland Prius]

Refuelled today.

29.161 litres and 508.1kms means 5.74L/100km or 41mpg!! ~50/50 city/hwy.

Transport Canada rates it at 5.4L/100km combined. EPA is 37mpg I believe.

[jayman]

So for one fellow it sounds like the Smart is liveable enough. Comparing to the Prius you used to drive, any wish/want comfort/ergonomic feature from the Prius, or as far as that goes, from the Smart to the Prius

With the price of fuel going up, I bet we see more Smart's on the road

[ZC1]

I want to ask some questions, but the answers won't be too positive. I'll refrain, except for one question.

Why?

ZC1

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by jayman

So for one fellow it sounds like the Smart is liveable enough. Comparing to the Prius you used to drive, any wish/want comfort/ergonomic feature from the Prius, or as far as that goes, from the Smart to the Prius

With the price of fuel going up, I bet we see more Smart's on the road

Yes. My SKS!! =(. Oh and maybe a 5-function trip computer and cruise control. I guess a CVT wouldn't hurt but CVTs and Euro manufacturers don't go well (think Audi's multitronic). My Prius is currently netting 5L/100km according to my dad lol. >.<. It should be reading into the mid-high 4s by now.

Today's update:

The CEL came on. First time that light came on in any of the cars we had (But then again, they were all Toyotas). Took it into the dealer today and had to get the "secondary air injection pump" replaced. Also apparently software was updated as needed (don't know if anything was updated).

A quick check on the forums and two other fellow canucks had the same CEL issue and the exact same part was replaced so I'm not alone...

[jayman]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

Took it into the dealer today and had to get the "secondary air injection pump" replaced.

Hmmmm, I've noticed that Euro cars tend to need a lot more "stuff" to pass our emissions. When was the last time any Domestic vehicle, or Asian one for that matter, needed an air injection pump?

Hopefully this will be the first and last issue you have. I'd much rather have infant mortality (Not trying to be morbid or creepifying) and get it over with, instead of having something calf on me 2-4 years down the road

[Tideland Prius]

No idea. I've never heard of that part (then again, we've only had Toyotas and I'm familiar with Japanese cars).

Hope so. The warranty is 4 years or 80,000kms so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled in 2012 to determine whether it's worth keeping or trade up before something big happens.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by ZC1

I want to ask some questions, but the answers won't be too positive. I'll refrain, except for one question.

Why?

ZC1

- inexpensive to purchase
- 3rd most fuel efficient vehicle in Canada (after Prius and HCH-II)
- most fuel efficient non-hybrid in Canada
- Qualifies for maximum GST and PST rebates (hence the 1st point)
- There's only me therefore I don't need a 5-passenger vehicle
- The Corolla LE I wanted (XLE in the US) is more expensive and there's a waiting list
- Has all the active and passive safety equipment which is lacking in other subcompacts
- Fun-to-drive

[ZC1]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

- inexpensive to purchase
- 3rd most fuel efficient vehicle in Canada (after Prius and HCH-II)
- most fuel efficient non-hybrid in Canada
- Qualifies for maximum GST and PST rebates (hence the 1st point)
- There's only me therefore I don't need a 5-passenger vehicle
- The Corolla LE I wanted (XLE in the US) is more expensive and there's a waiting list
- Has all the active and passive safety equipment which is lacking in other subcompacts
- Fun-to-drive

Good Answer!
Enjoy!


ZC1

[Tideland Prius]

Alright I'm closing in on the 1,300km mark. Only 300km to go before the end of the break-in period!

Here are the observations so far:

- city mileage and short trips = poor mileage. How poor? 6.7L/100km compared to 5.74L/100km on the last tank with 50/50 city/hwy. It's still below the Yaris' official city rating though.

- the transmission as gotten a LOT smoother esp. in automatic mode. The jerking motion is nearly gone in auto mode and is completely gone in manual mode.

- Given that it's a black car with a black interior, it gets pretty hot inside. I don't know if the glass is HSEA or not. I have the sunshade pulled over the polycarbonate roof.

- A/C works well when you're driving. If you're idling or creeping around the parking lot after you've just started the car, it seems to take a longer time to cool down the car but once you're on the move (e.g. highway or cruising down the street without red lights), the interior cools down quickly. Opening the windows doesn't make a difference if it's 31°C outside. It's just as hot as the air inside the car.

- I found out why the ride is firm. My tyres are at 39/32 instead of 36/29. I'll keep it there for now.

- The brake pads create a LOT of dust both front and rear (even though the rears are drums)

- I've got my first scratch already. It's a long vertical one on the driver's side just behind the mriror. No idea what caused it but I can't touch it up cause it's a plastic scratch not a painted metal scratch.

- Bump the volume to 10 or 12 and the subwoofer to +7 and the thing starts thumping . Also at that volume (max is 25), the sound is quite clear from the speakers (deflects well off the windshield too). Not bad from a stock, non-branded set of speakers.

- People cut you off. This morning, I had a Jeep Commander cut me off really really closely (imagine if I had a normal length hood). I couldn't see his indicators cause my A-pillar (he was to the right of me) was blocking it so he just slowly slide into the lane. Had a Greyhound from Alberta cut me off on a two-lane on-ramp too. He was also swerving in and out on the highway trying to get ahead.

- I'm still surprised and how high the seat and floor is. You sorta just slide in rather than slump down or climb up into the vehicle

- Don't really like the cheap-looking handbrake. It's a long black metal rod with a grey plastic handle. I mean you gave us standard leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, couldn't they at least extend that to the handbrake?

- Don't like the current DRL setup. It turns ALL the lights on. Renders the headlight stalk useless except for turning on the interior lights.

- There seems to be some wind noise just above and behind my head on both sides of the car at highway speeds. Not sure if it's the whistling due to the piece of the door separating the fixed window and the moveable window.