My feelings are the same as Cheshire Cat's. We too have a Kia E-Niro but luckily still have it. The E-Niro works very well. There are so many annoying things about the Smart #1 that at the moment I would just like to get rid of it. For example:
1. we were concerned that accessing lots of menus and sub-menus while driving as it didn't seem safe but were told that in practice we would control them using voice control. However whenever I ask the little dog to do something 90% of the time she replies "I am still learning this" She sees to know very little at all.
2. the regenerative function on the Smart is much less smooth than the Kia. If I reduce the pressure very slightly on the pedal it creates a disconcerting lurching feeling - weirdly it seems less smooth than taking my foot off the accelerator all-together
3.the passenger door handle doesn't slot back in when the weather is cold and won't then set off unless you push the handle back in from the outside
4 and the range - the Kia E-Niro has a range that is as "described on the tin". The Smart is supposed to offer "up to 273 miles" but in reality it offers a lot less than 200 miles
Then there are all the minor irritants - eg the delay before you can do things like switch profiles while the system boots up. We have two drivers of very different heights - when the shorter one gets in and the system finally wakes up they can't reach the screen easily to change profiles and of course voice control hasn't learnt how to do that yet (wonder if it ever will).
I so want to love this car (not least having spent so much hard earned cash on it!) but I don't
Anyone else have similar experiences to these?
So fed up with my new Smart
There is a lot of chat about most of your issues in the other threads.
I'm learning that the fox sometimes needs you to ask things using certain key words. I use it to close or open the roof blind, switch on the heated seat, navigate, and change to things like the music screen. I'm sure that other stuff will develop via OTA in due course. I have found that a great deal of what I want on the move is relatively easily accessed from the screen or by voice.
Do you have comfort entry/exit enabled? I was just wondering if this was adding to the reach issue that you mention. I expect that you will appreciate that pressing the brake pedal returns the seat to the previous position.
We have a 2021 Kia e-Niro as well, from new. I'm not sure that I agree with your comment that it does what is says on the tin in terms of range, at least not all the time. In summer, in urban driving, we might see approaching 300 miles. In winter, on a motorway we will see 235 miles. Both are against the WLTP average of 282. I believe that I'm getting around 200 miles from my #1 Premium in winter and I find that acceptable against what others report for most of the non-Hyundai group competition (cars like the Renault Megane e-tech). The Koreans, along with Tesla, are notably efficient. However, for me, they are just a bit conventional (the Kia that is, not the Tesla!) and boring in other ways. I appreciate that other people will see that as a positive. They are also generally more pricey than the #1s.
I drive in eco mode with e-pedal and find the regen to be very good, but I do like strong regen and one pedal capability. The Kia doesn't really offer one pedal functionality, unless you count using the left hand paddle as one pedal.
I've got the door handle issue and it is frustrating. Your post has reminded me that I need to chase the dealer about the back order parts to replace it. It's been four weeks now so I might have expected some progress. The dealer performance is less than stellar!
I do hope that you grow to love your car (by the way, which model do you have?). As you say, whilst the smart compares well on price v equipment and performance to other EV competition, they still involve a chunk of money.
I'm learning that the fox sometimes needs you to ask things using certain key words. I use it to close or open the roof blind, switch on the heated seat, navigate, and change to things like the music screen. I'm sure that other stuff will develop via OTA in due course. I have found that a great deal of what I want on the move is relatively easily accessed from the screen or by voice.
Do you have comfort entry/exit enabled? I was just wondering if this was adding to the reach issue that you mention. I expect that you will appreciate that pressing the brake pedal returns the seat to the previous position.
We have a 2021 Kia e-Niro as well, from new. I'm not sure that I agree with your comment that it does what is says on the tin in terms of range, at least not all the time. In summer, in urban driving, we might see approaching 300 miles. In winter, on a motorway we will see 235 miles. Both are against the WLTP average of 282. I believe that I'm getting around 200 miles from my #1 Premium in winter and I find that acceptable against what others report for most of the non-Hyundai group competition (cars like the Renault Megane e-tech). The Koreans, along with Tesla, are notably efficient. However, for me, they are just a bit conventional (the Kia that is, not the Tesla!) and boring in other ways. I appreciate that other people will see that as a positive. They are also generally more pricey than the #1s.
I drive in eco mode with e-pedal and find the regen to be very good, but I do like strong regen and one pedal capability. The Kia doesn't really offer one pedal functionality, unless you count using the left hand paddle as one pedal.
I've got the door handle issue and it is frustrating. Your post has reminded me that I need to chase the dealer about the back order parts to replace it. It's been four weeks now so I might have expected some progress. The dealer performance is less than stellar!
I do hope that you grow to love your car (by the way, which model do you have?). As you say, whilst the smart compares well on price v equipment and performance to other EV competition, they still involve a chunk of money.
