I just bailed out of a toxic Smart Car forum, infested with easily offended snowflakes who couldn't stop screwing up threads with idiotic answers to simple questions. In one thread I asked about the best place to install a shutoff relay that comes with a new GPS tracker and I got a ton of answers telling me how no one would want to steal the car. I had no idea this vehicle attracts so many dweebs.

I bought a 2014 Cabrio model a few months ago to commute to work while my wife uses the LR2 to get to her work. I am really happy with it; comfortable, spacious cabin for two, just enough room in the back for my little dog to ride comfortably, and unbelievable gas mileage. I commute 40+ miles round trip to work each day and 8 gallons of gas last me almost a week and a half! I had rented them from Car2Go in Germany quite a bit and was already used to driving them. I also just realized I had started a sub to the MBWorld forum that has a section for Smart cars, and from looking at the threads most of the people appear to be adults. Woof.

 

Of course you get great mileage, it's a glorified golf cart. In addition to lower fuel costs, you also enjoy the agility of parking in those narrow compact car spaces, and you can also fit into those almost-a-space in the corners of full parking lots. I have a friend who got a tiny car just for that reason. He loves it.

The tradeoff is safety. If you get hit by a moving vehicle that's larger and heavier, which is most vehicles on the road, you're toast. I think of my lousy LR2 fuel mileage as a safety premium for having a medium-heavy vehicle that gives me protection in a crash.

 

Smart cars are Mercedes vehicles with unibody frames. They have better crash ratings than LR2's.

"As for safety, the ForTwo did well enough in crash tests by the independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) to earn the group's highest rating—five stars—thanks to the car's steel race-car style frame and liberal use of high-tech front and side airbags."

The LR2 was rated "marginal" for safety. Look it up. I did my homework before buying mine.

 

IIRC crash ratings do not account for relative gross tonnage.

Your baseline rating will be at a disadvantage against a larger vehicle. A little car with a great rating would still be great in the real world if all the other cars are little. Or if you hit a brick wall.

 

LOL! Who told you the crash tests are adjusted or compensated for the size of the vehicle being tested? They are not. The same tests are done on all the cars, otherwise the tests would be worthless. The NHTSA never even bothered to test a single LR2 model from 2008 to 2015. Other agencies came up with the "marginal" ratings which care one notch below "good". The Smart ForTwo was tested, and the result was a 4 out of 5 stars for front crash. 5 out of 5 for side driver's side crash. The unibody frame used on the ForTwo is the same as used in race cars that are much lighter, and from which drivers have walked away from accidents that would have turned an LR2 into a metal meatball. I know we all love our LR2, but safer than a Smart car in a crash? Nope.

 

Sounds like the smart car would be safer than an LR2 in a head-on with a brick wall or big tree.

But if a smart car and LR2 had a head-on, that's not going be the case most likely. Even more so with smart car vs. truck.

If your daily drive is a deserted, windy, icy mountain road lined with big oak trees, then the NHTSA rating would be very applicable.

 

It's right there in English. "The Smart ForTwo was tested, and the result was a 4 out of 5 stars for front crash. 5 out of 5 for side driver's side crash."

Same test same condition. But you can make you any story you want, that's your prerogative. An LR2 without a unibody frame will not do as well as the Smart car.

 

Which GPS tracker did you get? I'm looking into buying a GPS tracker that plugs into the OBD2 port. The most popular one seems to be the Vyncs. It works with AT&T cellular as the primary and also with T-Mobile if there is no AT&T signal. I like this carrier failover feature (from AT&T to T-Mobile) to ensure good network coverage.

However, the problem with Vyncs is that it "calls home" every hour even when the car is turned off. This will cause a dead battery (as Amazon reviewers have pointed out) if you don't drive the car frequently. So now I'm looking for another brand that only operates when the car is turned on.

 

I bought this:
$45. Put in any SIM card you want, I use a cheap $5 a month SpeedTalk card and only use SMS. The unit has a very rich feature set including several low power options, including do nothing until you sense motion. It comes with wiring and a relay you can use to remotely cut either ignition or fuel pump.

 

The models I was looking at plug into the OBD2 port and are simply GPS trackers without any bi-directional remote capabilities. But I see all the additional features on your hard-wired device.

If your car is stolen, it will be very satisfying to remotely shut it off and leave the bad guy stranded!