Soldato
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Do engines crumple then?
Smart car as commuter
- Thread starter Archangelus
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Do engines crumple then?
Yes, if I have eaten my spinach that day.
Sorry, yes I must be wrong in my opinion. A shoe box with a sewing machine engine (they should write Singer down the side of the door panel) is going to be super economical at 70-80mph on the motorway, and of course, perfectly safe as well. I know they are good for their class, compared to say an old Mini that size, but they would not be a car I would feel safe in myself.
A larger car would be much better suited, as already pointed out, a Focus or Golf etc.
Smartcar is designed for town and city use.
Soldato
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Relatively speaking they are no more economical than anyother car at that speed. They are not disproportionally more uneconomical due to the fact they have a small engine though. If anything they are better than a big engine if you look at the overall engine efficiency as you have the throttle open wider.
The Smart Fortwo scores considerably better than your Fiesta in the NCAP tests, perhaps you should think twice before pottering down a motorway in it?
Well to be fair I do no regular motorway miles, mainly town and 40mph A roads. I only do the occasional motorway journey and often it ends up only being around a couple of junctions. My commute is only 9 miles each way. If I was doing 60 miles a day I would even think about buying a Fiesta. I'd do the sensible thing and buy a mondeo, something thats actually designed for sitting on the motorway.
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Someone mentions a youtube video and it's enough to make you think again about your opinion as posted in post#51?That does surprise me to be honest. I guess it must be made of some new space-craft grade material then...maybe that's why they are so expensive for what they are.
You've never been in, or driven, a Smart.....have you?
'99 model Audi A4 (3* encap for adult passenger occupant) will fair worse in an accident than a 2009 Smart (4* encap for adult passenger occupant).
The "more metal" argument doesn't always win, that IS a misinformed opinion and not a blantant fact.....whatever one of those is
If that were true, how did they acheive a 4* rating for the car?
If you're talking about the fifth gear test then the Corsa it was tested against would've also killed it's passengers, as would most of the cars on our roads. If you come to a stop from 70mph in one or two seconds then your choice of vehicle doesn't make a difference as your internal organs will be mush. At least the outside of you will still be pretty though
Incorrect.
Google for Smart car crumple zones and do some reading.
It's an internet forum, and it's not something anyone has a particular reason to lie about, nor is something I really care about enough to bother checking it out. So yea, why not, maybe he's right, maybe he isn't ...doesn't really matter. It's not a theory I am planning to test anyway.
I have actually been in a Smart as a passenger, I have never driven one though no.
My more metal argument might be at fault upto a point, but really, it holds up pretty well in the end. Take a Challenger 2 main battle tank, crash it head on into a Smart Car, see what happens, ...more metal will win there (plus about 64 tons of weight).
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Soldato
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In the motors forum, of all places, you're expected to be sure of something you're claiming to be a fact. "I think.....etc etc" is one thing, but "It know....etc etc" is another.
Prepare to be underwhelmed.
But then they're neither aimed at, or bought by, anyone who has a love of driving so it makes no difference.
Well that depends weather it's a fact about a car people care about. Believe me, if I was going to make a statement about a proper car, such as BMW or a Mondeo (to be cliché) I would make damn sure it was correct.
I can conjure up the most ridiculous 'facts' about Smart cars all night, and not many people would bat an eyelid, they'd probably join in even. In fact, why do you think motors hasn't come down on my like a ton of bricks yet, they have had about a day as-well? ...but it's just you.
Several facts I have are;
Continental drift occurs faster than a Smart can get from 0-60mph.
Riding around in a giant blender is safer than doing the same in a Smart.
Having a large Turkish man stand on your back and try to wrench your arms out of their sockets is more comfortable than the seats in a Smart.
The motor in the average sewing machine has more power than the 'engine' in a Smart.
A 3 legged pregnant donkey with MS can do the quarter mile faster than a Smart.
The HMS Illustrious has more precise and surefooted cornering ability than a Smart.
The suspension on a Smart, has more in common with a mid 19th century plough than it does a modern motor vehicle.
The best thing about a Smart car is the delicious irony that it name suggests about the owner.
Smart cars simply can not be driven by straight men, it's impossible, the car will not operate for said group.
This is a list of some of the facts I know to be true about Smart cars
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^
Nice discussion technique.
Rather than just admit that you assumed something to be true when it was later shown not to be, you go for the comedy angle.
Well done
Why not just old your hands up and say meh, I was wrong.
Everyone else in here is wrong about something from time to time, it's hardly anything to blow a fuse about.
Nice discussion technique.
Rather than just admit that you assumed something to be true when it was later shown not to be, you go for the comedy angle.
Well done
Why not just old your hands up and say meh, I was wrong.
Everyone else in here is wrong about something from time to time, it's hardly anything to blow a fuse about.
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Plus it's a shame you didn't put as much effort into your original post as you did in the most recent one
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I'm unsure what you're using the video to say mate?
You originally said the Smart has no crumple zones.....the video shows this not to be true.
It also points out that the Smart does a "good job". "Pretty impressive" was the first phrase the commentator used, for example, and he points out that because of limited (not non-existant) crumple zones the seatbelts and airbags have more work to do in order to compensate.
"Overall, we think the Smart does a good job of protecting its occupants" is another quote.
It seems we agree on this, right?
I thought the video summed it up well. The chap said that it did a good job, but not as good a job as a bigger car and the violent rebound showed that.
Anyway, I'm not a massive safety freak and we've gone a bit off topic here. Regardless of weather it is as strong as an ox or as weak as a wet paper towel doesn't change the fact that 60 miles a day in it will be a chore.
Anyway, I'm not a massive safety freak and we've gone a bit off topic here. Regardless of weather it is as strong as an ox or as weak as a wet paper towel doesn't change the fact that 60 miles a day in it will be a chore.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Soldato
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I dunno mate.
I used to car share a 50 mile round trip commute and it wasn't bad to be honest with you. There are better ways to do it but that doesn't mean it's a bad experience. I wouldn't buy one myself, though.
Plus it's a shame you didn't put as much effort into your original post as you did in the most recent one
Becauase it was comedy from the begining. I hardly know anything about the Smart really.
Admit I am wrong, sure, some of my information may have been incorrect yes.
But what you don't seem to understand is that it doesn't matter, it's a Smart, you can say anything you like about it.
In this forum we usually talk about 'proper cars' with our serious hats on and just laugh and post funny threads about things like the Smart.
I think you are taking me out of context slightly.
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[TW]Fox;13768664 said:
No, the safety cell provides the rigidity and they're complimented by what Smart call "Crash boxes" that crumple and deform. As JanesyB and a few others have pointed out though, due to the size of the car these "crash boxes" need to be accompanied with the safety cell and an unusual airbag/seat belt tensioner system.
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Not really mate, I just corrected a few things you said inorder to make them factual. As for "proper cars" that's dependant on the individual. The OP is seriously thinking about a car you don't consider to be "proper", and I think he'd like some actual facts to chew on before making his decision.
That's pretty much why he posted the thread in the first place, don't you think?