Smart Cars Vs Traditional Cars: Which Purchase Is Better?

Live in a busy city, rarely drive because parking is a nightmare, but need an inexpensive vehicle to zip around town? The Smart Car may be perfect for you!

With the cost of gasoline constantly increasing, many consumers are starting to think more deeply about vehicles that are more economically efficient in order to save a few bucks at the pump.

Smart cars have grown in popularity over the past few years and are now seen more and more out on the roads. Smart cars are an offshoot of the automotive branch of Germany's Daimler AG that specializes in manufacturing compact micro cars. The Smart car logo is recognizable in all lower-case, with a clean logo that incorporates the letter "c" for "compact" and an arrow for "forward thinking."

But does purchasing a sleek micro car automatically mean fuel savings? Are the cars even safe? Is it better to save money and buy a traditional car?

Smart Cars vs. Traditional Cars: Which Purchase is Better?

The Smart car is certainly more fuel efficient than most traditional vehicles. Measuring just a tad over eight feet long and just less than five feet wide, Smart car’s flagship "For-two" model (called this for its human capacity) is nearly half the size of most traditional cars on the road today. Smart cars average around 33 miles per gallon for city driving and 41 miles per gallon for freeway driving. But just how small is the Smart Cars? Three of the company's "For-twos" can fit in one parallel parking spot. Now that's pretty small, I must add! lol.

Because of their size smart cars are very popular among those living in crowded city centers. Due to very limited parking space, smart cars are able to fit where traditional cars may not be able to park.

While tiny, Smart cars do have a good safety reputation. They have met crash and passenger safety tests across the globe and retail for approximately $12,000. In many instances, you can find such cars on popular online shopping websites such as Amazon.com and Ebay.com just under $5000. Now that's pretty impressive to say the least, in terms of pricing (I.M.O).

So What Is the Downside?

Well, if it's speed or acceleration you're looking for the Smart Car is not the vehicle for you. They can travel up to 80 miles per hour on the highway, but consumers have complained that smart cars handle very poorly under these "speedy" conditions.

It's been suggested by some eco-conscious consumers that it may actually be better to purchase a used sub-compact car that averages that same fuel efficiency as Smart cars on the market. Sub-compacts not only offer more room, but perform better during highway travel.

So Smart Cars vs. Traditional Cars: Which Purchase Is Better? (Conclusion)

Well the answer depends on what your specific needs are.

Live in a busy city, rarely drive because parking is a nightmare, but need an inexpensive vehicle to zip around town? The Smart Car may be perfect for you!

Have a family of five you need to chauffeur back and forth to soccer practice? You may need to venture over to the traditional minivan or the 4-wheel drive vehicle section.

 

Aaron Smith is a marketer from New York, who helps a comapny that buy smart cars market and advertise their services online.