Les Jones

Environment > Consumer Reports Disses Smart ForTwo

From this month's issue:

The Smart ForTwo is a tiny urban runabout that's considered fashionable in large European cities. After testing one that we bought in Canada for nine months, we've concluded it's not worth the hype. The Smart has two strong points: its cute looks and ease of parking. Otherwise, it's slow, it's noisy, it handles reluctantly, and it has the worst transmission shift quality we've ever experienced. Fuel economy, while good, is no better than that of the Toyota Prius--a larger, quicker, cleaner-emissions car.

The 0-60 time is 23 seconds. (That's terrible - it's less than 10 seconds for most cars.)

Note that the review was of the diesel Smart, not the electric, though it doesn't bode well for the electric version. It sounds like the Prius is still the way to go for environmentally-friendly cars.