Quote:
Originally Posted by Lzen
What's a smart car? If you're talking about one of those little itty bitty cars, I think they look like they couldn't take much of a hit from most other vehicles out there. Tell us what safety features they have and how good they have done in crash testing.
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They do very well in IIHS crash testing.
They have front and side airbags.
They have ABS brakes.
They have a traction-control system (unheard-of in a small car).
The entire car is pretty much a rollcage. It doesn't crumple so much as bounce off things. (Some safety reviews say that's a bad thing but, all things considered, I'd rather the whole car bounce away from the collision than get pancaked with the other vehicle.)
The car is so small that it can't be T-boned because the oncoming car will hit both the side wheels and push the car instead of collapsing the car and thus crushing the passenger compartment.
The car has been in production in Europe for almost a decade. If it had serious issues they wouldn't be making it any more.
In fact, in a reverse way, the smallness of the car is actually an advantage. In only a year, I need two hands to count the number of times that having a car that small has
saved my ass. People slamming on their brakes and swerving into my lane right in front of me where, had there been a typical engine and front end, they would've cartwheeled me off the road. A truck broken down in the fast lane causing everyone to slam on their brakes, causing me to slam on mine and come to a stop inches from them--where, again, with a regular-sized car, my engine would've been in their trunk. Just last night, driving to the Indian casino, something darted across the road (it was white and doglike, don't know if it was a large dog or coyote) and ran right behind the car where, if I'd had a longer car, we probably would've collided.
(Yes, it's tiny. Yes, it doesn't fare well when it hits a bigger vehicle. What does? If a sedan hits an SUV, the sedan loses. If an SUV hits a semi, the SUV loses. Should everyone drive a semi?)