During our long weekend I found out something interesting about our lil' 2008 Smart Fortwo: Even in manual mode it still upshifts on its own. I was jumping on the freeway, which was unusually empty due to most Angelenos being out of town for the holiday, and had the car in manual mode so that I could have more oomph to merge when I noticed this. When the car hit its limit loudly in 1st gear it automatically went to 2nd before I could flick the paddle shifter. I checked to make sure the gearshift was in fact moved over in the manual mode and it was.
Funny enough, "shifting" this way is a lot smoother than when you do it yourself or when you have it in automatic mode.
BTW, I also noticed while on the freeway that there aren't any other Smarts out there. I see Fortwos out and about on the city streets but have yet to see another one on the freeway. This leads me to wonder if Smart drivers are purposely avoiding the highways.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 11,495 miles
TheChameleon says:
02:58 PM, 12/ 1/08
You're probably right about them avoiding highways, seeing as its a city car and not a freeway cruiser.
misterfusion says:
09:00 AM, 12/ 2/08
A while back, I saw a Smart that was not only on the freeway, but was being driven very aggressively! Traffic speed was about 60-70 mph, and this foolhardy bastard kept tailgating people and darting in between lanes to try to get ahead of traffic. I remember thinking that he must've had the thing pinned to redline half the time, just to be able to do some of these maneuvers.
bumpy says:
05:29 PM, 12/ 2/08
It will also downshift in manual mode just before it would stall out.
70 mph is about 4500 rpm in 4th, and 3350 rpm in 5th. It would redline in 3rd (5950 rpm).
carfreak8394 says:
06:36 PM, 12/ 2/08
Coming home from Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, I saw three Smarts on the highway. Amazing. And I also went to a Smart dealership, and talked to someone who owned one. They really liked it, but they had two kids, so they must have had another car.
blueguydotcom says:
02:59 AM, 12/ 3/08
In San Diego the FourTwo seems pretty common. Even on the freeway.
banhugh says:
09:06 AM, 12/ 3/08
Driving on the highway with a smart is a matter of life and death.