The first question that everyone asks when they see the Smart car is "What's the mileage?" Or they just assume it's electric. People are genuinely surprised when I answer 40 – Americans look at the diminutive size of the car and assume that 60 or 80 mpg would be a reasonable guess.
I've charted the mileage from the first 15 fillups - it does fluctuate a little. I attribute this to variations in driving conditions although it it could also be inaccuracies stemming from topping off the tank differentently at each fill up. Over time I'll get a better average consumption figure. On a recent leg of highway driving through Washington and parts of Oregon I got close to 43, however that is still lower than what some Toyota Prius drivers regularly achieve. I guess us Smart owners are paying a premium for cuteness and parkability, over just maximizing mileage.
The official 2008 EPA numbers for the Smart are 33/41 – They have changed the way cars are tested this year, resulting in lower mileage numbers that more realistically indicate what you can achieve in the real world. The Toyota Prius is listed at 48/45, down from a previous 60/50.
And these are all American gallon numbers. In Britain the same Smart car would achieve 39.5/49 miles to the UK imperial gallon.
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