Which Car?.....Honda Civic or Smart Roadster

ACID

bascially i had a previous thread and after much pondering im stuck with a choice

ideally i need a good car that will give me good miles so it will have to be a diesel as im doing 30 miels a days on the motorway

however i definitely require an economical car as i need a good mpg output.
although id love a fast car, mpg is far more important to me these days.

the cars i have this are

Honda Civic (new shape) pref 2006 or cheapest avilable one.

or

Smart Roadster / Coupe (non brabus)

now the price vary about 2-3k between these

so any ideas, which will be best for me.

i know in a few years ill have a big family and will get a bigger car.. but at the moment single life is fine for a 2 seater..isnt it?

besides i have a hatchback at the moment..and to be honest although space might be a loss its never actually used up..

trouble is a smart roadster being 6ft 2 and an average frame doesnt hardly look the part...lol
and i love the design and everythign about the civic

is the 2.2. best diesel one to get the most mpg from???
the roadster only has 700cc or 80bhp but as i said speed isnt a major concern although this will be far more slower!! but probably more fun!

any users of one or the other? please advise

one concern..the civic looks to be worth it value when compared to the roadster..which seems to be expensive for what it is!

vikingaero

There seem to be a lot of complaints about the Smart car in relation to realistic mpg. Smart I think claims almost 70mpg for their cars and most owners are reporting mid to high 40's which is poor for a 2 seater lightweight. You'll be better off getting any other small diesel than a Smart on this basis.

thescouselander

If it was me I would go for the Civic - I don't consider a smart roadster to be a proper car with its lawnmower engine and plastic construction. Its just my opinion though.

leyla-aurelia

I have an older style civic and love it--easy to drive, comfy, practical, very reliable, and so on. I also love the look of the new civic and was planning to buy one but have heard loads of negative comments about it's many blind spots that I wouldn't touch one now.

Have you considered the Honda Jazz, fab mpg--around 47 and a really lovely, versatile car. It's only downside (as far as I can see) is that there's virtually no rear legroom when the front seats are fully pushed back, and with 2 teen kids and a 6'2" OH, it wouldn't work for us. I wish it would though!

Road_Hog

Have you had a test drive in the Civic?

MumofCR

We've just got rid of our 07 Civic after owning it for just over a year. For motorway driving it was a fantastic car (we had the 2.2 Diesel). However around town it was awful, the turning circle was a joke so it was really difficult to get in and out of some parking spaces. The rear visibility was bad as well....the rear spoiler thing was in totally the wrong place and hampered rear view when reversing. There were a load of other niggles that just got too much in the end and we ended up selling.

hewhoisnotintheknow

totally different cars, i would find it hard to compare

Tiddlywinks

Have driven a little smart (fortwo model) for 4 years now and am a member of the Smart Owners Club - I would have a look at their web site to see the types of issues raised by owners of the Roadsters....

www.thesmartclub.com (hope this link works as I've never tried this before:o )

From memory some of the earlier models were leaky and Smart was constantly developing "fixes" to address this.

My experience? The downside of Smart ownership is that the dealers are pants on customer service (Mercedes owned) and the MPG figures are totally overstated. That said, I love my Smart and the reliability has been good and the MPG OK but not fantastic. Specs and comfort levels (even for tall family members) are high and technology is good as it's based on Mercedes engineering.

BEST OF ALL? It puts a great big smile on my face and that is really worth it:j .

If you want sensible then go for the Civic, but if you have fun in mind then.... get Smart:D !

catz1ct

Honda civic - more reliable. Personally I'd go for the Jazz!

I've heard bad things about smarts when you want them repaired and things.

Tiddlywinks

thescouselander wrote: »

I don't consider a smart roadster to be a proper car with its lawnmower engine and plastic construction. Its just my opinion though.

Ummmm, have to disagree here - this is a major misunderstanding of the Smart construction - they have an inner safety pod and my turbo engine will deffo outrun a lawnmower:p . The plastic panels also prevent parking dings and rust spots and you can change them for a different colour when you get bored.

Mine also has a 4 star NCAP rating as well so it must be doing something right.

Tiddly