Lawnmower racing is faster, and lawnmowers handle better.
We had a Smart demo at a Mini autocross. I liked the interior and the radio. The handling, however, was the most abysmal of any motor vehicle I've driven, except maybe the 27' UHaul van. Maybe. On the highway it was positively frightening, and the less said about how bad the transmission was, the better.
There is one that comes some local autoX events, a perennial back marker that looks like it is about to topple over :eek6: but the driver has fun at least
In stock form, they never oversteer. They plow, mercilessly, at 20MPH. Anything more and they feel like they're tipping, only they don't have enough traction to do so. The trans shifts about 5 minutes after it should, except when it doesn't, which is often, or later, which happens more, and the smoothest Smart launch from a standstill start compares poorly to your 16 year-old son with size 13 feet during his first foray with a standard transmission.
In short, despite a reasonable dose of styling panache, they are simply and utterly awful vehicles.
