Is the SmartCar Really Smart, or Just Insane?

Zooom! - Did you see that? Zing! - There goes another. These SmartCars are quickly becoming all the rage in Southern California. For about $9k less than a $23k Mini Cooper you can have affordable transportation that displaces a very minimal traffic footprint. Problem with these cars is that they don't offer really that much of an improvement in the MPG department and force the driver to suffer in the safety and sportability departments. I had the opportunity to test drive one of these contraptions. Here are my thoughts;

- The big time lag in the transmission would scare the typical driver used to something like a Honda Toyota automatic. It's almost like the car has to stop and think about what its next move is when going through the gears. Very scary if you are trying to pass someone or merge into traffic.

- It feels like you are driving a very fast golf cart. Good for the Country Club set, bad for the former owners of Hemis. It's got a small 3 cylinder efficient motor and it only seats two people, just like a golf cart as well. For a single person commuting daily, it probably wouldn't be so bad. I think I could get used to it if I had to.

- This thing offers very little protection should you be broad-sided or hit head-on by even the smallest sub compact currently on the road. That would make a Chevy Aveo or Toyota's Yaris titans compared to the SmartCar. Heaven help you if an Escalade doesn't see you and drives over the top of you.

For the US base price of the SmartCar, I would lean more towards the Toyota Yaris. Better performance, better handling, better road feel, more capacity, better basic amenities and the same to better gas millage. At least with the Yaris you would be a bigger fish (albeit slightly so) on the road and less likely to find yourself under a semi-trailer during a evasive defensive moves. Besides, let's all keep in mind why this car was originally designed and to whom it was originally marketed to; European commuters who wanted minimal power, better millage and a car that can be parked anywhere. As someone who has rented many cars in Europe and Asia, ease of finding a parking space in the larger cities is more important than getting the equivalence 40 MPG.