Comments on: Smart Car – But No Smart Gas Mileage In U.S.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:12:36 +0000

Everyone on this blog is joking themselves if they think increasing the “peppiness” of such a small engine (3 cylinders) in such a small car would result in 36 mpg. That is a JOKE. People COMPLAIN about the acceleration in this car. I own an 87 Chevy Sprint that gets up to 55 mpg highway. The 0-60 time is much better in my car (which by the way is a four door). Also, the “Smart” car requires premium fuel. The fact that no cars get fuel economy like mine today makes me point my accusational finger at huge oil corporations and their business deals with government and car manufacturers. Smart? I think Stupid.

By: trevor

trevor — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:18:09 +0000

…. Ok just so everyone doesn’t have to panic… that 60 mpg is on the european cycle. They measure differently. Their 60 mpg does equal our US EPA 60 mpg. Look up any car thats sold in both places. Ford Focus, Buick Regal, etc.

By: D WINTER

D WINTER — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:47:55 +0000

We’ve owned our Smart for almost 2 years now. The best mileage we’ve ever seen is 23 mpg city. Granted, Asheville NC is hilly. But I can’t believe hills would bring the fuel economy down that much.

Anyone else get fuel economy that poor?

By: Constantine Palaeologos

Constantine Palaeologos — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 05:08:56 +0000

My 2008 Smart Passion car, got about 32-33 mpg for about 6 months, it’s now down to about 22 mpg. Leff, from SF, thanks for posting. I thought I was the only one..

P.S. I wouldn’t believe the mpg’s a smart owner tell’s you he get’s while talking at the pump..Kinda like “fish” stories..

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:18:27 +0000

I have owned a smart car for 1 year, bought it used. get 40 mph most of the time driving some city, rest hwy.It is bad it doesn`t get better gas miliage,but it beats the 23mph my other (suv) car gets, and beats the 17mph my old truck gets. Car is small and doesen`t like big wind. We love the little car and it is fun.

By: drew

drew — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:32:19 +0000

I haven’t read all the comments to see if this has been answered, but it is extremely simple. The EPA environmental / emissions regulations are very tough in the US, and all those systems have a significant impact on fuel economy on our cars. I worked for Honda for years, and the same model in Europe would always post much better fuel economy then their American counterparts. So the real question is where is the balancing point of lower emissions vs higher fuel economy. You can point at oil company conspiracy all day long (they might even be partially behind it…?), but the EPA has strict guidelines for emissions that have come at the cost of fuel consumption.

By: Matt

Matt — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 02:36:09 +0000

I think it is the smog regulations of the U.S that were implemented in the mid 70′s. I remember the old Honda Civic got 40 mpg, but now any car that size will struggle to get that much. I believe the EPA has adopted a tight emission test, requiring cars have egr devices and catalytic converters. All those do is just decrease the efficiency of the vehicle because the exhaust is being back-channeled. In order for the exhaust to go through the catalytic converter, the engine has to work harder to push the gases through; thus the decrease in gas mileage. I think that one straight exhaust pipe out of the engine would be beneficial for gas mileage. This was a very nice and insightful article.

By: jimmy c

jimmy c — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:22:40 +0000

Check this out,I had a 93 park ave that got 36 on the hwy.And a 79 ford feista that got 39 and it also had a back seat.This dumb car,as I call it,is a product of the power of pure marketing.We have the ability to build a great small car,or bigger car,with so much better milliage,but the goverment lets big industry tell them what to do and thats self-serving. Buy the way,the smart car people have an electric car I seen at the auto show for a mere 44,000 and some change,wonder how many people will be lined up to buy that doodle bug?

By: R J Adams

R J Adams — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:53:26 +0000

Jacko – the US gallon differs from the Imperial gallon by 0.7 liters. (3.8 US 4.5 UK). This difference was factored into the original calculations.

By: jacko

jacko — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:36:54 +0000

One reason Euro fuel consumption vs. US is often “too optimistic” is the very simple fact that when converting Liter’s/100KM to MPG, the Europeans often base this on the British Gallon, which has about 5 liters instead of the US 4 (or so)
Simple.