Smart cars are growing in popularity, and if you live in a city, there is a high chance you’ve seen several running around town. These little cars might not be for everyone, but they have a certain appeal and charm that many of their owners just love about them. If you’ve been going back and forth about investing in one, let us shed some light on the super compact little vehicles.
They stand out
Let’s start with how they look because that is probably the main reason most people are even aware they exist. The panels can be changed on them, so if you get bored with the color, you can change it relatively easily. They are tiny, and because they don’t weigh very much, you can have plenty of fun driving them despite their relatively small 1-liter engine. Changing lanes in a busy city is easy because the car isn’t very long, you can nip in and out of lanes in a heartbeat.
Built with quality parts
They are manufactured by Mercedes-Benz, which means they come equipped with high-quality parts. Smart cars can be relied upon to last for a very long time thanks to their build quality, so you shouldn’t have to bring it to a mechanic too often to fit any mechanical issues. It is worth mentioning though, that if something does go wrong, they will be expensive to fix because the parts are of such high quality.
Tiny
They are very small, as we have established, but is that always a good thing? They are manufactured in France, so their small stature is perfect for the narrow streets found in the majority of European cities. America doesn’t have that problem with narrow streets, as many of the roads across America are purpose-built to accommodate larger vehicles. As they are built for driving in urban environments, you could feel a little intimidated when driving on highways alongside 18-wheelers and some of the larger SUVs that populate many of American roads.
Easy to park
Smart cars are so small you can pretty much park them anywhere. A Smart car is as long as some cars are wide so it is possible to squeeze them into much smaller gaps than regular cars can fit in to. This means that even those of us who struggle to get their car between the white lines of a parking bay will have no problem parking one of these little cars.
Safety
They can almost look like a toy to some people, especially when they are sat beside a much larger vehicle. Their diminutive stature could put some people off because they look like they would not withstand a collision in a parking lot, let alone a serious collision on a highway. The car is made with a rigid roll cage built into the frame, but if it is going to collide with a larger vehicle, it is likely to be sent flying through the air.
Small capacity
Many people like to head out on a road trip occasionally with friends or family, but these cars are not going to be able to accommodate more than one passenger. Equally as difficult to live with is the very small trunk, you won’t be able to put much of your grocery shopping in one. Even when living in a city you’ll need to go to the grocery store once a week, but with a Smart car, you might have to take two trips just to make sure you can bring your food and household items home.
As with most products, Smart cars have their ups and their downs. They are a little small to be considered practical and there are some question marks over driver safety should the worst happen and they are involved in a collision. They are particularly great for darting around busy cities, and you’ll be able to park almost anywhere with ease.
