100 MPG smart car myth

[Mike T]

If you need a big boat, that Saturn is fine, but if all you want is a small - say - convertible, the smart makes sense just as much as the massive Opel does. So let's not be so dismissive of those who don't haul crap around all the time. If you are getting 30-35 MPG with that car, you would be doing 45-50 with the US smart.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

my hope is that the smart that is rated 40+ mpg can be modded similarly to what we do here and with driving technique to get even higher.

I am currently getting 45%+ over EPA. if I could do that in the smart it would push it into the mid to high 50s. if you don't have a family and you don't need the HAUL-IT room, then the smart makes better sense.

I understand the need for people room and stuff room but if you don't usually need it or if you have a second vehicle that is an SUV then the smart tends to make better sense.

*edit* I just noticed that in mike-t's avatar, he has a pic of a smart next to an SUV.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Are you sure its an SUV? Looks like a station wagon to me.

-Jay

[GasSavers_BEEF]

(I know I am going to catch crap for this one)

is there really much difference between a station wagon and an SUV?

[Greyg]

Very little difference except in people's minds.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Well, a lot of manufacturers sell wagons labeled as "crossover vehicles" to try and avoid the wagon stigma. Take the Taurus X and the Chrysler Pacifica for example. Station wagons in my eyes. Lexus also has one - I'm not sure of the model name but it looks like a tall wagon to me.

I'm sure if it was made now the Dodge Colt Vista Wagon would have AWD and be labeled an SUV, or a crossover at least.

[GasSavers_BEEF]

I guess technically speaking an SUV is truck based where as a stationwagon is car based.

that leaves the crossovers as I want to say car based.

they all look like big hatchbacks to me. or maybe trucks with camper shells.

my wife has an element and we are looking into a 3rd vehicle. she really likes the hatchbacks because they are the most like her element. she says it is a mini-SUV. I thought that was funny. she said that she really likes the convenience of the hatch vs a sedan. funny to hear that from her when she used to get on me about my geo metro syndrome.

[Philip1]

Originally Posted by Mike T

If you need a big boat, that Saturn is fine, but if all you want is a small - say - convertible, the smart makes sense just as much as the massive Opel does. So let's not be so dismissive of those who don't haul crap around all the time. If you are getting 30-35 MPG with that car, you would be doing 45-50 with the US smart.

I'm not saying I don't want one (because I do BIG TIME)
the difference between an SUV and a wagon is about 4 feet in height, 20mpg and 2-4000lbs

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Well, a lot of manufacturers sell wagons labeled as "crossover vehicles" to try and avoid the wagon stigma.

...also to avoid the car's stricter CAFE requirements and increase their CAFE truck rating.

My wife calls everything "truck". It used to be just SUVs, then it was tall wagons being sold as SUVs, now I've even caught her calling my VW Rabbit a "truck".

The reality is that the term SUV is now so diluted as to be meaningless...it can mean anything from a tall hatchback to an enclosed full-sized truck to a small wagon to a van. The only thing SUV means now is "soccer mom stigma", or for those whose thinking hasn't caught up, "masculine macho trucky thing". In the meantime, when my wife says which vehicle we should go in, I have no idea if she means the full size 4wd pickup, the compact hatchback, the Isuzu Rodeo, or the old Buick coupe.

[Mike T]

Originally Posted by BEEF

*edit* I just noticed that in mike-t's avatar, he has a pic of a smart next to an SUV.

It is my Mercedes-Benz B 200 that is referred to in my signature, the 32 US MPG car...

It is technically probably a crossover, being based on the A-Class.... but I think of it as a large hatchback. It's HUGE inside.