are smart cars terrible in the snow ?

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Thu 7 Jan 2010 20:41
are smart cars terrible in the snow ? - diddy1234
I chatted to a couple of colleagues at work today and the general feeling was that they are not great in the snow at all.

I was told that the gear box will not allow the driver to pull away in second gear so when trying to pull away on ice or snow the car just wants to spin the back of the car around.

This seems to apply with the diesel version.

My other colleague (with the petrol version) said that its not so bad with the petrol version but driving over any pot holes at the moment wants to swing the back end of the car out on these slippery surfaces.

Even though these smart cars are rear wheel drive, the fact that the driver is sitting almost over the back wheels should provide better traction or so I thought.

Does anyone else drive a smart car in these conditions and what are they like ?
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Thu 7 Jan 2010 20:58
are smart cars terrible in the snow ? - boxsterboy
I used to have a Smart Brabus but never drove it in snow.

In theory I would say the lower power versions with narrow tyres with engine and driver virtually on top would give good traction BUT as your colleagues say, the transmission does not allow the driver to 'adjust' how the power is delivered. The same would apply to all automated manual transmissions, I would have thought.
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Thu 7 Jan 2010 23:38
are smart cars terrible in the snow ? - J500ANT
my smart cdi has been fine in this weather, pre xmas i used it to go down and back up a hill in Bristol that I was told was inpassable. No problem for me.

A hint, if the rear wheels spin, use the handbrake to slow them down - it fools the ESP.
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