A smart Ride (revisited)
Once upon a time, I took a smart fortwo for a test drive, and I promised I’d go back to get some questions answered. It’s been over a year since then. I was emailed incentive to take another test drive (free stuff usually works), so I went back in.
The fortwo does not come with a spare tire (it comes with a fix-a-flat pump). Anyone can provide routine maintenance (if they know how), but if it is warranty related, you need to take it to the dealer. There are options to extend the warranty (to get to 60 months, you are looking anywhere from $1,195 to $2,395 depending on how many miles you want to cover). It seems like you could do better elsewhere for the extended warranty.
The car was still a great ride. The automatic shifting is a little smother than I remember, but you still notice it. If you are running on manual mode, you don’t really notice it, but that’s probably because you know when to expect the shift to occur. However, I can see where this would be a deal buster for people who are used to smooth shifting.
