Can you identify this car?

[Sue J]

I see this car pass by everyday. It's small and plain and really cute. It has a Kia nameplate but nothing on it shows what model it is. I've looked at the Kia site and wikipedia and I don't think it's anything current, may be an older model of something. It's a 4 door hatchback, compact, not one of their SUVs.

Here are some pictures, my cell phone camera isn't high quality, but maybe someone can solve this mystery for me.

In that last one there is a minivan in the background behind the roofline of the mystery car.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Kia Rondo?

 

[calmloki]

Sportage?

 

[Sue J]

I don't think it's either of those. I see a lot of Sportages and this is smaller. Also, this has the rear license plate mounted on the bumper, not on the hatch.

The Rondo looks more curved than this. And larger.

 

[W2R]

Is it a Smart Car? I don't exactly remember what they look like, but I know they are very tiny and get my attention.

 

[Sue J]

This is the Smart Car. Now, I love small cars, but this one might be too small! There's a black and yellow one in our area, looks like a large bumblebee.

 

[W2R]

This is the Smart Car. Now, I love small cars, but this one might be too small! There's a black and yellow one in our area, looks like a large bumblebee.

Yes, that's it! Usually when I see one I am so surprised at how tiny they are. You're right - - for me this one might be too small. Guess it's not the car that you saw, though. That one looks big compared with this Smart Car.

 

[FinanceDude]

Looks like an older Sportage to me. The first models were kinda boxy and small, like the first rav$'s..........

Kia Sportage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[REWahoo]

Usually when I see one I am so surprised at how tiny they are. You're right - - for me this one might be too small. Guess it's not the car that you saw, though. That one looks big compared with this Smart Car.

I passed a Smart Car on I-35 while driving our motor home and it was shocking how tiny it was. Can't imagine driving one of those things on anything other than residential streets...

 

[Trek]

I passed a Smart Car on I-35 while driving our motor home and it was shocking how tiny it was. Can't imagine driving one of those things on anything other than residential streets...

I see them on the Autobahn....always in the right lane.

 

[ProspectiveBum]

Looks like an older Sportage to me. The first models were kinda boxy and small, like the first rav$'s..........

Kia Sportage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yep, I agree. Does the car in question look like this (this is a '95 Sportage)?

 

[FinanceDude]

I passed a Smart Car on I-35 while driving our motor home and it was shocking how tiny it was. Can't imagine driving one of those things on anything other than residential streets...

They will be popular until there are enough Youtube videos showing crashes between them and a dump truck.........

 

[Kronk]

They will be popular until there are enough Youtube videos showing crashes between them and a dump truck.........

Crash test video: HowStuffWorks Videos "Smart Car Crash Test Results"

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Every time I see one of those Smart Cars, I am reminded of the following limerick:

There once was a man from Boston,
who had a little Austin.
There was room for his a--
and a gallon of gas,
but his ba--s hung out and he lost 'em

 

[ziggy29]

I passed a Smart Car on I-35 while driving our motor home and it was shocking how tiny it was. Can't imagine driving one of those things on anything other than residential streets...

I'd really hate to be in a head-on collision with an SUV in one of these things when both were doing 60 MPH on a two-lane road...

Seems like these (and those "neighborhood electric vehicles") would be good for getting around in a small town like mine where I can get anywhere in town by using only streets posted at or below 35 MPH, but I can't imagine doing a lot of driving on the Interstate or an open high-speed country road with these things.

 

[harley]

The thing I don't get about the smart cars is that their mileage isn't really all that great considering their size. We do better in town with our diesel Bug than they are rated for on the highway. And I'm sure there are other small cars (real cars) that get mileage not that far off from the smart car. Do they have some kind of draw for people other than the mileage?

 

[Trek]

I don't see them ever being popular in the US, but in Europe they're big sellers not necessarily because of fuel consumption. Parking is a big problem in many European cities but you can fit a Smart car just about anywhere. Also, their small engine makes them cheap to insure and keeps the annual car tax down in places that have that. They're generally a city commuter car over here.

 

[Maurice]

I rented a Smart for about 7 years ago and drove it from Paris to and around the Loire Valley. Its a really great city car, but not much power at all - the highways were no fun, especially with the AC on.

I agree their mileage is disappointing given their size. Their real advantage is in parking.

 

[Meadbh]

I rented a Smart for about 7 years ago and drove it from Paris to and around the Loire Valley. Its a really great city car, but not much power at all - the highways were no fun, especially with the AC on.

I agree their mileage is disappointing given their size. Their real advantage is in parking.

I saw Smart Cars in Paris in 1992. They were able to reverse into half a parking space. Perfect for zipping between le boulangerie, le charcuterie, l"office, et chez vous!

 

[Westernskies]

I tried to rent a Smart Car (looked easy to park) in Brussels a few years ago; when the rental agent overheard that I was going to Bruges, she snatched the keys back, and exclaimed "you can't take this on the motorway; it is too dangerous" and gave me a Renault...

 

[Maurice]

That's great. I wouldn't call it dangerous (especially since there are so many of them there) but its slow. It maybe topped out at 60ish.



I wouldn't be surprised if the US model has a bit more umph.

 

[haha]

I saw Smart Cars in Paris in 1992. They were able to reverse into half a parking space. Perfect for zipping between le boulangerie, le charcuterie, l"office, et chez vous!

This is an aside, but is it mandatory that Canadians from Anglophone provinces learn French in school? Are you taught by Canadian Francophones, or anybody off the street, or speakers hired from France?

I wonder if we should not make Spanish study mandatory in the US public schools. At least we would have plenty of native speakers to teach the classes, and HS grads could look back on having learned at least something beyond propaganda.

The thing I don't get about the smart cars is that their mileage isn't really all that great considering their size. We do better in town with our diesel Bug than they are rated for on the highway. And I'm sure there are other small cars (real cars) that get mileage not that far off from the smart car. Do they have some kind of draw for people other than the mileage?

Yes. I know a young couple who bought one. It says Green, Cool, In-Touch-With-The-Planet, We Care, We Care.

Think opposite of an old Pontiac Firebird, a Hummer, and A Kill-Ass Ferrari all rolled into one.

Ha

 

[W2R]

I wonder if we should not make Spanish study mandatory in the US public schools.

I took French all the way through school. I wished I had taken Spanish when I lived in San Diego, and later in Texas. Much to my surprise, my French ended up actually being helpful now that I live in south Louisiana. You never know what life will or will not throw at you.

My ex and I forced my daughter to take Spanish in high school. I do wish that SOME language was mandatory to get a high school diploma. Way back when, I had to demonstrate competency in a foreign language to get a bachelor's degree (it was sufficient for me to pass one semester of junior level French), and I had to pass the GSFLT (foreign language standardized test) to complete a graduate degree. Now, it seems that foreign language requirements have vanished.

Sorry for the temporary hijack! Now back to tiny cars....

 

[Nords]

I took French all the way through school. I wished I had taken Spanish when I lived in San Diego, and later in Texas.

I feel the same way after four years of French in high school and two more in college. (I chose my language based on demographics-- the high school's French teachers were major babes who handed out easy homework, while the Spanish teachers were horrid slave-driving harridans.) I was the NATO naval officer from hell... until I went to the Pacific fleet and realized there was no reason to go back to the east coast or Europe ever again.

But now I should be studying Japanese, Cantonese, and Hawaiian.

We pushed our daughter into Spanish with better results, but she's much more interested in learning Russian on her own. I think it's ironic that today she's practicing her vocabulary with a Russian exchange student at whose country I used to point nuclear weapons 25 years ago.

 

[mickeyd]

I see this car pass by everyday. It's small and plain and really cute. It has a Kia nameplate but nothing on it shows what model it is. I've looked at the Kia site and wikipedia and I don't think it's anything current, may be an older model of something. It's a 4 door hatchback, compact, not one of their SUVs.

Here are some pictures, my cell phone camera isn't high quality, but maybe someone can solve this mystery for me.

In that last one there is a minivan in the background behind the roofline of the mystery car.

Is this the guy that's been stalking you Sue?