TheAxeman
Well-known member
I got a chance to test drive one of these Smart Passion Cabrio's today and it was seriously underwhelming. One thing I must say, it has loads of room in it. I am 6', 220 and I had absolutely no problem stretching my legs out and getting comfortable. Plenty of head room and plenty of reach to the wheel. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but everything was a little bit cheesier than I thought it would be. The dash has an analog speedometer and a lcd screen for temp, fuel, etc....The car I drove had electric mirrors (which didn't work), an electric convertible top, air conditioning, abs, traction control and a "tiptronic" type transmission that could be used either in an automatic mode or with the push of the button can be shifted with paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel. In an automatic mode, power drops off considerably between shifts making for a "lurching" type feel every time it shifts. In a manual mode, I must say it was pretty fun. My cute blonde 20ish year old SMART copilot chided me for "going 60 in a 30" until I pointed out to her that the speedometer was in KPH not MPH. 
Nothing but silence......It has a 3 cylinder engine that is accessed through a VERY small metal panel under the cargo area floor. Acceleration was surprisingly piss poor but in fairness it seemed like the engine was running like crap which I was told "was normal" although I suspect it isn't. The car is tiny from the outside but once in it the size kind of is forgotten (until your hit by a Chevy Subdivision). Many of the exterior body panels are plastic and it only has one backup light mounted in the right rear. Every time I stopped at a stop sign, it was pretty cool to see the pedestrians expressions and hear their comments about the car. On a scale of 1-10 I would probably give it an overall 4. Probably be a fun beach car to putt around the village. It certainly wouldn't be much of a problem finding a place to park it.
Nothing but silence......It has a 3 cylinder engine that is accessed through a VERY small metal panel under the cargo area floor. Acceleration was surprisingly piss poor but in fairness it seemed like the engine was running like crap which I was told "was normal" although I suspect it isn't. The car is tiny from the outside but once in it the size kind of is forgotten (until your hit by a Chevy Subdivision). Many of the exterior body panels are plastic and it only has one backup light mounted in the right rear. Every time I stopped at a stop sign, it was pretty cool to see the pedestrians expressions and hear their comments about the car. On a scale of 1-10 I would probably give it an overall 4. Probably be a fun beach car to putt around the village. It certainly wouldn't be much of a problem finding a place to park it.
