Mercedes has been selling its smallest and cheapest car – the Smart – in Europe for years. So it only makes sense that they’re bringing it to the Paris of the Midwest.
The car, which costs between $12,000 and $17,000, doesn’t go on sale on this side of the pond until early next year. But this morning, Smart brought one by The Pitch office for a quick test spin. And, uh, spin is a good word for a vehicle with a turning radius that makes it feel like we ought to be on a go-cart track. With only about a half hour in the thing before it continued its tour across town, we took the little European immigrant on a sight-seeing tour.
Right after we shot this photo in front of the Sprint Center, hard hat-wearing workers came over to peer inside and knock their knuckles into the plasticy body panels. Their first impression? Yeah, it's as small as it looks, with only a shelf-sized storage area behind the two seats. We explained that it actually zoomed along through downtown pretty well, but the lead worker just wanted to know how many cylinders it has. He got a chuckle when we explained that behind the seats is a three-cylinder, one-liter engine -- about half the size of a jug of Pepsi.
By the time we hit Union Station, it was hard not to love the little tyke. There's no denying the thing's crazy cute, but with a suspension that feels like it was made by Trek, we almost busted a tire on a downtown railroad crossing.
One of KC's famous metal street plates put the car in perspective for us. I mean, if this thing had opened up, the Smart may have forever ended up below the Power & Light District.
Yeah, the Mini's small, but the Smart looked a good foot shorter. And since it's easily taller, the Smart had it beat in head room. By the end of our little voyage, one thing was clear: The Smart is certain to be the next new toy -- for those who buy toylike cars. -- Eric Barton
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