Question about the Smart Fortwo's transmission

[mmntech]

So a buddy of mine's wife has just bought a Smart Fortwo. Now I've driven one and I noticed that despite it being automatic, it shifted really hard and there was a lot of lag. Almost like a beginner trying to driving a manual.

Now he tells me it doesn't have a torque converter. I've never heard of an automatic car lacking one, even a semi-automatic one like the Fortwo.

So if this car doesn't have a torque converter, how does the transmission on it work? Automatically operated clutch?

 

[Eli]

The SmartFortwo uses some kinda weird automatic manual transmission. I don't really know much about it, I'm sure someone else will chime in.

Oh, and the Smart ForTwo may as well be called the Stupid ForAnyone. Why on Earth would anybody pick such an abomination? And I'm not talking about it's looks. It looks OK for what it is, but it gets extremely underwhelming fuel economy for what you get. What is the point? There are half a dozen cars that offer considerably more room and get similar if not better fuel economy.....

It just boggles my mind why anybody would pick that car, unless they fancy being able to park in motorcycle spots or something.

Edit: For fuck's sake. And people give me shit about my car?

1808lbs. 70HP @ 5800RPM and 68ftlbs of torque @ 4500RPM. 36MPG combined.

 

[zerocool84]

The SmartFortwo uses some kinda weird automatic manual transmission. I don't really know much about it, I'm sure someone else will chime in.

Oh, and the Smart ForTwo may as well be called the Stupid ForAnyone. Why on Earth would anybody pick such an abomination? And I'm not talking about it's looks. It looks OK for what it is, but it gets extremely underwhelming fuel economy for what you get. What is the point? There are half a dozen cars that offer considerably more room and get similar if not better fuel economy.....

It just boggles my mind why anybody would pick that car, unless they fancy being able to park in motorcycle spots or something.

Exactly it's so dumb. Too expensive, crappy mpg, zero room, and you'll die in and accident cus it's so small.

 

[mmntech]

Exactly it's so dumb. Too expensive, crappy mpg, zero room, and you'll die in and accident cus it's so small.

It's not as expensive as it used to be. Can be had for about $14,000 right now. Then again you can get something like a Kia Rio5 for the same price. It seats four, has a more powerful engine, runs on regular, and gets the same mileage.

I work at a car rental place. We had one last summer but nobody would take it. I had to go pick up a customer in the ghetto in it. Had some black guys giving me strange looks. As if I was the whitest guy they'd ever seen. I felt like such a dork driving it.

 

[punjabiplaya]

Exactly it's so dumb. Too expensive, crappy mpg, zero room, and you'll die in and accident cus it's so small.

Nothing like driving down the freeway in something with the aerodynamics of a refrigerator. Plus, as we've learned on Top Gear, it only takes 4 people to pick one up. Commence shenanigans.

 

[zerocool84]

So a buddy of mine's wife has just bought a Smart Fortwo. Now I've driven one and I noticed that despite it being automatic, it shifted really hard and there was a lot of lag. Almost like a beginner trying to driving a manual.

Now he tells me it doesn't have a torque converter. I've never heard of an automatic car lacking one, even a semi-automatic one like the Fortwo.

So if this car doesn't have a torque converter, how does the transmission on it work? Automatically operated clutch?

The Smart features an automated manual transmission without a clutch pedal, 6-speed for the first generation, 5-speed for the second. Input from floor-mounted shifter or optional steering wheel-mounted paddles controls a servo-operated clutch and sequential automated gearbox. The vehicle may be driven in automatic mode, though the shift points are not as smooth as in a traditional automatic transmission. In paddle shifter mode, the operator controls the shift points but cannot feather or adjust the speed of the clutch. Thus some skill, and a slight lifting of the accelerator pedal, is required to achieve a smooth shift.

This explains it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_fortwo

 

[MovingTarget]

I think it would have better appeal if they offered a plain manual instead of the wonky automated manual.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Nothing like driving down the freeway in something with the aerodynamics of a refrigerator. Plus, as we've learned on Top Gear, it only takes 4 people to pick one up. Commence shenanigans.

I've already heard of "smart tipping" over in some country in Europe. Drunks were tipping them into the canals or something.

The Smart car is a lie - there is nothing smart about it.

 

[Eli]

I just don't understand what the company is thinking. The sad thing is that they seem to be selling.

The really sad thing is that they could have made the car amazing. Instead they made it incredibly craptacular. Why people buy them, I have no idea.

I looked into them when I bought my Insight. I took one look at the MPG, went WTF, laughed, and continued searching.

 

[Imp]

Nothing like driving down the freeway in something with the aerodynamics of a refrigerator. Plus, as we've learned on Top Gear, it only takes 4 people to pick one up. Commence shenanigans.

If hat's true, I wonder if people have stolen them by picking them up and throwing them in a U-haul. Bikes get stolen with two people loading them into minivans all the time.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Its a fad/hip thing in south OC. A lot of the rich trophy wives drive them around.

 

[zerocool84]

Its a fad/hip thing in south OC. A lot of the rich trophy wives drive them around.

The South OC is full of tons of rich people. Glad I don't live over there. Too many white people for my tastes.

 

[StageLeft]

Isn't that transmission similar in concept to the BMW SMG or maybe I'm on crack but I thought that was a manual transmission that auto-shfits and it's hella pricey.

Anyway, Smart 42 is a fvcking cesspool, a pure and unabashed symbol of stupidity in our society that people actually buy them.

 

[Viperoni]

A friend has an 05 with about 10k miles, yes, and it shifts pretty smooth... I would venture to say that if it's rough and lagging, there's some kinda problem.

 

[angry hampster]

Anyway, Smart 42 is a fvcking cesspool, a pure and unabashed symbol of stupidity in our society that people actually buy them.

Yep. I've seen several of them here in Iowa. IOWA. There is zero need for something that tiny in this state.

 

[SparkyJJO]

The South OC is full of tons of rich people. Glad I don't live over there. Too many white people for my tastes.

racist!!!!!!

 

[EightySix Four]

A friend has an 05 with about 10k miles, yes, and it shifts pretty smooth... I would venture to say that if it's rough and lagging, there's some kinda problem.

I've had the misfortune of being in two of them, and driving another. None of them shift smooth. Period. You have to lift your foot off the gas at just the right moment to get anywhere near a smooth shift, and it still feels like shit.

"Smart" promised an ECU flash but never delivered.

 

[videogames101]

Isn't that transmission similar in concept to the BMW SMG or maybe I'm on crack but I thought that was a manual transmission that auto-shfits and it's hella pricey.

Anyway, Smart 42 is a fvcking cesspool, a pure and unabashed symbol of stupidity in our society that people actually buy them.

Actually, you're referring to an double clutch gearbox. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_clutch_transmission

Essentially, it's two automated clutches that operate side by side to make crazy fast and smooth shifts. It's basically the fastest shifting gearbox you can buy, and made for high performance vehicles, as opposed to the craptastic smart car automated single clutch.