Sulu

That white vehicle looks like a truck, not an E-Class. Even a S-Class is unlikely to survive a crash with a heavy, body-on-frame truck.

Aron9000

Actually went looking for a video to disprove your claim but came away impressed by this:


But everything else mmarshall said about the Smart is true. Pigeon headed transmission makes it just awful to drive, gets blown around on the road, handling is questionable, no room, noisy, gets no better gas mileage than a Corolla and uses premium fuel, costs as much as a Corolla. Really if they had offered a manual gearbox and priced it at $10,000 it would've been a compelling buy.

mmarshall

I agree with the video, but most crashes don't happen that way. In real-world crashes with other vehicles, I certainly wouldn't want to be in a Smart.

It should be noted that, for those who like the Smart's overall design (except for the clip-on plastic body panels) a significantly better alternative can be found in the Scion iQ, which, even with a somewhat quirky CVT transmission, is noticeably better to drive. Unfortunately, the iQ has been discontinued in the American market, so one is limited to previously-owned models.

Aron9000

^ One of the funniest top gear moments ever involved that car.


"he doesn't know to get in or if he should mate with it"

LeX2K

Even if the occupant space stays somewhat intact there is almost no crush space so the deceleration will be dramatic and will scramble your brains for good.

Aron9000

Oh I know the shock would be pretty brutal and that is what would kill you in a higher speed crash, not the dashboard/steering wheel coming through your forehead. Still for something that is basically the size of a golf cart, its pretty impressive how well it held together in that video. A tiny car like that isn't going to be safe if you get creamed by a pickup truck, but at least Benz has made a valid effort to make it safe. Its too bad that is probably the reason it costs as much as a Corolla and why the drivetrain in it sucks.

danielrds

Hello, I am new to the forum, it is a great pleasure to meet you. Good,
you are saying this because they know the cars in Brazil ..

-Fiat Palio
-Fiat Siena
-Ford Fiesta
-Fiat Uno
,,,the list goes on LOL

mmarshall

Welcome to CL.

Fiat's traditional problem (though it is probably not as bad today as decades ago) is build-quality and reliability...but, other than that, whether they can be considered the worst new cars on the road is a debatable issue. They DO, however, still rank as the worst-nameplate in Consumer Reports (which is for U.S. market vehicles) for overall reliability, with the 500L in the lowest spot.

BTW, speaking of Brazil, they run a lot of alcohol-fueled cars down there, something that, except for E85 stations in the American Midwest, is something badly lagging here.

danielrds

Wow, Thanks!! thank so much bro

So, In Brazil, I had an "IDEA ADVENTURE 1.8 16V E-TORQ". It's a good car, which does not sell here in the USA (here has much better cars), but generally the fiat is not a good brand, taking into account all cars.

Thank you for mmarshal reception ..

God Bless

chikoo

I am surprised to see a wheel in the rear door. Is that really a smart car?

chikoo

Worst cars I was unfortunate to drive:

Pontiac Sunfire
Chevy Beretta

Sulu

Most real-life car crashes may not be similar to this video but it is extremely difficult to be able put a real-life car crash on video, so you will have to live with controlled situations.

But in terms of controlled crashes, you cannot have much worse than this -- speeding car meets immovable object and the car comes out with only a slight buckle of the Tridion roll cage and the doors can still open.



That's right. If you are sitting in the smart fortwo when it crashes, you may not be killed by being crushed by the dashboard or steering wheel, but you may be killed as you become a bouncing ball inside the larger bouncing ball that the fortwo has become. You better be belted in and hope that at the moment of impact, the seat belts cinch tightly and remain so, keeping you tight to the seat (and the seat does not move in its tracks or worse, become detached from its tracks) until the car stops bouncing around.



You are right! That is NOT a smart fortwo. From that rear-mounted spare tire, I think that it is probably a small (subcompact) crossover utility vehicle that is sold in South America or Asia but not in North America. If that particular vehicle is not sold in North America or Europe, it was probably not designed for the stringent crash standards of North America or Europe.