Smart Car TARDIS

It's difficult to express what I want in a Smart Car without referencing the time machine from the British television series, Dr. Who.  The time machine in the show is bigger on the inside.  While the Smart ForTwo certainly seems bigger on the inside sometimes, what I want is impossible.

I want a Smart Car TARDIS.

I want my Smart ForTwo ED to be a 4-door vehicle that still fits in the same 106 inches (2.70 m).  I want my Smart car to have the range and power of a Tesla S.  I think I might sound like Veruca Salt, but I still want it.

The Smart ForTwo is aptly named as it fits 2 people.  That's the best way to put it, because to say it fits two people comfortably is inaccurate.   As long as those two people are of average width or less, it will fit two people.  The car is only 64 inches (1.63 m) wide and when two people of more than average width get in, they had better be fine with a loss of personal space.  Putting a safety belt on is a tandem feat as knuckles or heads may be knocked if the action is done simultaneously.

Head room and leg room do no suffer as much as body room, but I'd still like more space.

I'm happy with the tiny car that I have.  I love the speed of the electric powertrain, and I appreciate the silent running.  But I wouldn't mind if it were more like the luxury of the Aston Martin rebadged Toyota IQ.   I acknowledge that I am one of the outliers, one of those who takes a shine to the odd-looking.

Not looking for trouble, finding it anyway

The people that know me, know that I've never been a speed freak. If anything quite the opposite, low and slow when it comes to cars.  But I too have fallen prey to the thrill of speed and power when I know that I have it.  Anyone who buys a vehicle that has speed does not buy it for the practicality, there are plenty of cars that are perfectly capable of getting a person from point a to point b.  However, getting from point a to point b is just that much more fun with some added power.

The stigma regarding electric vehicles and their lack of power is slowly ebbing away.  People are beginning to see that electric cars are not just fast, they can be much faster than traditional gasoline-powered because of instant torque.

When I did my review of the Smart ED in May 2013, I knew that the car had some torque. I did not know what they meant by "the kickdown".  That little extra push at the bottom of the accelerator makes all the difference.  When depressing the accelerator on the Smart ED to the floor you get about 75% of the power or roughly 50 hp.  But the motor is capable of 75 hp.  Granted you don't want to push the motor at full power all the time and Mercedes-Benz is aware of this.  They give you about three minutes of full power per fifteen, so that you do not burn out the motor or fry the batteries.

It is that extra 25 hp that is what makes all the difference.

I am aware that there are modified vehicles that can boost the performance of their internal combustion engine vehicle with an additive (Nitrous oxide).  But not many people get that as an option when the buy or lease a new vehicle ( I doubt that is an option anywhere).

On the streets of Silicon Valley, where I drive daily, I get many strange looks and stares.  I've grown accustomed to the comments from people in other vehicles who seem to think that I can't hear them (or else they don't care).  But every now and then, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, I get street racing propositions. Mind you I have never once agreed to a street race, nevertheless they still happen.

There has got to be some psychology behind it.  I've read that certain predatory animals give chase when something runs.  And so it seems is the case with the mentality of a person who owns a fast car.  It's not always a conscious decision to race.  You have the capacity and you act on it.

A couple of nights ago I was being chatted up by another driver about my tiny car and the light turned green.  As I often do at the front of the line, I sped off.  It wasn't however obvious that I had inadvertently begun racing until I realized that the Mercedes Benz SL500 in the turn lane next to me was flooring it.  The driver apparently needed to gain access to the far right lane, that I was already using, to turn right at the next light.  He did get over in front of me, with less than half a car length to spare. And at that point I let him as I did not actually want to race.

I'm quite sure that I surprised the driver of SL-class in that he knew he needed to get into my lane, but never expected a vehicle so small to have such power.  It is like driving a "sleeper", that is a car that doesn't look like it has power.

A Micro Machine

There's an adage that goes "It's not the size of a thing that's important, but how you use it". Often that adage is in reference to things that are small and somewhat personal.  The Smart ForTwo is the smallest production car on American roads and personally, I love it.

I've been asked many times since I bought my Smart Fortwo ED, if I would have purchased the Tesla S, had I the money?  And I've always replied in the negative, even in the face of scoffing, pseudo-offended parties. I'd take the drive-train and batteries of a Tesla any day, but it's the size of the Fortwo that is important to me.

A good example of why I love this tiny car, this micro machine was today at the Sunnyvale Art and Wine Festival, near my home.  My wife had requested a tamale from one of the food vendors at the festival.  As anyone who as visited a street fair is probably aware, parking nearby is somewhat limited.  I know that my Smart car is small, but it's not always apparent just how small it is, until I need parking where there is none.

I drove around on the streets that were open near the festival.  There was plenty of "bad" parking, such that fire-hydrants were blocked and bumpers overhanging driveways.  Many vehicles where not parked too close to the next, but squeezing the car in, is a hassle.   It is possible to park perpendicular to the curb in a Smart, but it's not legal.  If the vehicle were only 8-foot long rather than 8-foot, 10-inches, it might be more realistic.  But the rule is that one front-wheel and one rear-wheel need to be near the curb,

I managed to find a 9-foot space between the apron of a driveway and an old Cadillac. I will admit that I did box the Cadillac in, but I was only going to be there for five minutes.

There is a certain air of satisfaction that one feels when driving a tiny car around in a area where parking is tight.  I can take spots in side-by-side parking, where the car to each side is sitting on the painted line.  I can take spots between parallel parked vehicles, that have left what they believe no car could fit into.  And when leaving a space that only a Smart Car could fit into, I need not worry about someone else stalking me.

I realize that the Smart Car is not for everyone, after all it only fits two people.  But for getting me and my stuff about, it works quite well and fits into more spaces that I would have considered in any other car. So, although I like the creature comforts of a Tesla S, I'd be just as happy to have the drive train, rather than the car.