With the Smart car now available in the United States, I thought that it might be an interesting study to see how they’re being used in parts of Europe.

How the Smart car is being used in northern Italy

Since most of the small cars in Italy are not even available in America, I decided to undertake a very un-scientific study on how the small Smart car is being used in this part of Italy.

Once we landed in Milan, I immediately (a relative term in this part of the world) located the Avis car rental booth and arranged for a rental car. We then made our way to the car lot where most of the vehicles were smaller Fiats, Lancias, Opels, Fords and Volkswagens. Only a couple of Smart cars were visible in the parking lot.

The Autostrada

Once on the Autostrada, it appeared that most of the cars were smaller 5-passenger hatchbacks. Fiat Puntos, Lancia Miuras, Volkswagen Golfs and Polos and Ford Focuses and Fiestas were seen in abundance. I saw only a handful of Smarts. There were at least a hundred times as many Mercedes A-Class and B-Class vehicles as there were Smart cars.

As I said before, this was not a scientific survey. I am basing my conclusions only on the evidence I collected while driving on Italy’s version of an interstate highway. I’m sure the ratio of Smarts is much higher in the cities than on the highways. Nonetheless, most of us in the States spend our time commuting to work and driving our cars outside of major urban areas. For the most part, we use our cars on the weekends for things other than just commuting and, just like most Italians, we need our cars to do more than just one thing.

The Smart Car in America

I’m sure that the Smart car will do well in the U.S. for at least the first couple of years. Especially in cities, its small size will make it much easier to find a parking place on crowded streets (it uses about half a regular space). Elsewhere, customers will buy it just because it’s different and cute.

But for the majority of buyers in the U.S., as well as here in Europe, the Smart just isn’t very practical. You can park 2 in a space because there is absolutely no room for anything other than two people and other small things such as purses, camera cases and (especially over here) GPS devices. If you’re going to the grocery store and come out with more than a couple of bags, forget it. You can also add luggage, bicycles and large strollers to the list of things that must be left at home.

The Bottom Line

It’s cute, it’s different and, right now, it’s hip. On the flip side, the ride is choppy, gas mileage is only so-so for a car its size and, finally, for about the same money, you could buy a real car.

Tags: fiat, Ford, italy, lancia, mercedes, smart, Volkswagen