Things were looking up as I drove our 2008 Smart Fortwo to the laundromat: I got a longing look from a guy in a yellow Pontiac Aztek. It was a first-year Aztek, black cladding and all, so he's hard-core.
On a more practical note, the Smart's clamshell-type hatch makes it easy to slide a laundry basket in and out.
As with perhaps too many things on this little car, though, the hatch has one major design flaw that's guaranteed to drive you crazy if you own the car.
There are two release latches for the tailgate, one on the left side and one on the right side. If you had both hands free, you could press them simultaneously and open the gate in one motion. But what are the chances you'll have both hands free while unloading stuff at the laundromat? Zero.
Why Smart couldn't just put a single exterior latch above the rear license plate is beyond me.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor
s197gt says:
06:58 AM, 07/12/08
they could, i'm sure...
$$$$$... cost savings...
spencerkatz says:
10:57 AM, 07/12/08
Thats probably true. On my old 06 Range Rover which had no cost saving measures imposed on it, it had an electric release above the license plate that released both latches.
carmizvi says:
11:47 AM, 07/12/08
Maybe they think you'll be able to open 'em from inside the car by turning around from the driver's seat and pressing them.
Either way, not very smart. I'm all for Euro sensibilities in auto design (witness the Saturn Astra interior that seems to wear its continental heritage with more than a little pride.) But sometimes, the quirkiness is just a little much.
hondacura4 says:
03:15 PM, 07/12/08
Everything manufactured has some sort of cost saving measure imposed, Range Rover or not. The actual execution of cost saving measures is whats important. If a manufacturer can implement cost savings without sacrificing quality, craftsmanship, reliability, consumer perception, overall performance, ETC ETC then its a success.
tinyelvis says:
03:34 PM, 07/12/08
Since there is only enough room to carry a few skivvies and a pair of jeans, do you really need to lower the tailgate?
carmizvi says:
07:06 PM, 07/12/08
Hondacura4: Good point. If memory serves, Toyota learned this lesson the hard way a few years back when it tried to shave a few pennies off the interiors of most of their cars. One of their decisions was to eliminate the felt bottom in the coin tray. I think the saving amounted to a quarter per tray, and with an average of four such trays per car, a buck total.
Doesn't seem like much, but when you're making half a million copies of the same car, it adds up quickly.
Consumers noticed the decontented interiors and complained. Toyota found somewhere else to squeeze margins.
pc123456 says:
10:32 AM, 07/13/08
Wow! I test drove a smart fortwo this weekend - The two-handed hatch thing was one of my first complaints! Also it is weird you have first push the unlatch button above the license plate, then stick your fingers under the rear glass, open that, THEN undo the two latches to lower the bottom portion of the hatch.
This would be a total pain in the butt. Fire the engineer that came up with that!
cruiserhead1 says:
02:14 PM, 07/13/08
Just another reason the Smart... sucks.
greenpony says:
08:47 AM, 07/14/08
This reminds me of previous comments on German engineering: that they can get the powertrain right, but ergonomics wrong.
sylvia says:
04:38 PM, 07/14/08
Erin, it's time to get you a washer and dryer!
tcolberg85 says:
03:04 AM, 07/21/08
@greenpony: Except the Smart's powertrain is pretty terrible.