Todd Lassa, who’s blogging for Motor Trend magazine, is driving smart fortwo car models on Route 66.
The dinky car was challenged by a snowstorm in Flagstaff, but it seemed to handle it OK.
Near Flagstaff, in a part of Arizona that was hit with a big snow storm, smart replaced the standard 15-inch tires with winter tires. Even before the change, though, the smart’s rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, fairly tall stance and narrow tires proved adequate for making it around partially plowed Northern Arizona.
And for those complaining about fuel prices, the diesel model gets excellent mileage per gallon:
That diesel is the type of fortwo smart needs to sell in the U.S. While I didn’t drive that version long enough to figure fuel economy, smart says it’s good for about 60 mpg on the highway, which sounds reasonable. On the second and third fillips of the hybrid fortwo I recorded 35.4 mpg and 49.6 mpg respectively. The second fill-up was in Flagstaff, Arizona, after lots of full-throttle uphill drives (barely maintaining 75 mph) and high winds. The third fill-up was near Albuquerque, New Mexico after driving under easier conditions. I’d like to try the mild hybrid in Detroit city driving conditions. It cuts off the engine at stoplights as long as you keep your foot on the brakes.