Last weekend Dallas drove some of our guy friends to Michigan for Trent’s bachelor party. Since he took our Jeep and Chad was riding with him, Chad left his Smart car for me to use for the weekend.

The Smart car is small and I knew I had to somehow show how small, so I put my bike next to it to demonstrate. It’s only a little longer than my bike!

Even the shifter is small. It made me feel like I had giant hands.

Surprisingly, though, the seats are comfortable and the actual part you sit in does not feel cramped.

There are only two seats in the Smart car and then a bit of cargo space in the back. More space than when I used to drive a two-seater Fiero around in high school!

I went to Target and bought a bunch of stuff, did some grocery shopping, and I had plenty of space for the bags behind the seats.

I had a few problems at first. One, the car was dinging like crazy and I had to call Jen to figure out I didn’t have the door all the way closed. DUH!

And then I somehow shifted into manual mode and didn’t realize it. I drove all the way to Target in the first gear. When I got there I parked and Googled on my iPhone for 10 minutes before figuring out how to change gears (hand levers on the steering wheel) and that there is an automatic mode so I don’t have to worry about it.

I also liked that the Smart car had a sun roof.

So, how did the Smart car drive? It was really fun. I’d really like one of these just to zip around town in and run errands. It’s so small and low to the ground, though you really have to watch out for pot holes and speed bumps because you really feel them! It was great in the city and everywhere I went I got looks and comments from strangers. I even took the Smart car on the freeway for an unplanned trip to Wisconsin. I found it pretty easy to handle even while going fast. I didn’t really push the speeds past like 70 or 75, though. You sort of just forget you’re in such a tiny little go cart.

The main reasons Dallas and I even have a car are to buy groceries and for Dallas to drive around the state to play golf. I think the Smart car would work as a grocery getter, but as for golf, it’s a no go. Not enough space for clubs and passengers. So, a Smart car is probably not in our future, unless it’s just used for a secondary vehicle. Which, actually, is what Jen and Chad use it for.