Just to let you all know that the Prius is now being offered in the UK to buy at ?16495 with a rebate from government agency Powershift of ?1k brings in down to a more reasonable ?15495. Toyota want the option to repurchase the car after 3 years at market value! Or you can lease for around ?400 a month over 3 years at which time Toyota will take the car back or add 2 more years to lease.<br><br>We have decided to buy a Daimler Chrysler Smart car which can do around 80-85 mpg with 99 grams of co2 per km, compared to 120 grms with Prius and only mid 50's mpg, and to wait for a small electric Th!nk from Ford as our second car. We shall be visiting the Int'l Motor Show in Birmingham to check out the Prius, Smart and Th!nk.<br><br>I've very much enjoyed this newsgroup but as we<br>are not going to be Priapists I'll say thanks and goodbye

I am glad to hear that you can buy a SMART car over there in the UK, I wish we had that option in the States.

Anybody has any link to this magic car???<br>80-90 MPG - it must be the size of milk bottle to do that :-)) <br><br>Robert

<a href=http://www.mp3.cybercomm.nl/~wim/smart/smart.html target=new>http://www.mp3.cybercomm.nl/~wim/smart/smart.html</a><br><br>Very cool

www.smart.com

Hi petalkin,<br>If you haven't quite left yet, please consider coming back after a couple months driving the Smart around and let us know how it performs and what you like/dislike about it. It's fun to hear real life experiences from regular customers rather than just hand picked testimonies provided by the manufacturer.

SMART car???<br>Wonder how it might handle N.J. I-287 SUV and semi "wake"? Sounds like a (marginally) motorized surfboard... :-)<br>Bill Powell<br>(...and waiting and - Oh! Look! The Energizer Bunny! and waiting...)

We spent 2 weeks in the UK this spring and were impressed by the number of small cars, which are unavailable in the US. You're ahead of us! Best wishes with your Smart and Th!nk cars.<br>Eric in Maine, USA

SMART stands for Swatch (as in the hip watch company) Mercedes (no explanation needed), ART. Art. 3-cylinder diesel. You can change panels to change the color (great idea), and they have a cabrio!<br><br>I studied one I found parked on a side street in London and was quite intrigued. I think it's very cool. However, I would consider driving one in the U.S. sort of in the same category as sky-diving, hang-gliding, and bungie jumping: very fun, but irresponsible if you have dependents.<br><br>Motorized surfboard with a cowling, perhaps.<br><br>Sam Williams

SMART is an interesting car but is not a hybrid. Looks like its only real innovations are an electronically controlled 6-speed automatic transmission and plastic panels.<br><br>Its low mpg is due to the 600 cc 3-cylinder turbo engine and the 1500 pound weight. Plus its payload max is 600 lb, including passengers. It has no spare for obvious reasons: it's a town runabout, and not meant to be driven out of the range of a service station. Pure commuter and great for that, but not a hybrid. <br><br>If all I needed was a commuter and all I cared about was mpg, I'd have gotten an e-bike. When I need a car, I'm looking for something my kids' friends' parents will let them climb into, with seatbelts for 5.<br><br>Still, I'm glad for the SMART and for those who like it. Just imagine if they apply hybrid technology to it: they may even break 100 mpg!