What is The Smallest Car You Ever Driven?

"Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW." (aya-yu) 06/16/2014 at 11:16 • Filed to: None

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!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Complaint about the Brand New Daihatsu Copen reminds me of the smallest car i've driven, Daihatsu Copen with the roof up. It's so small that i (175cm) is barely fit. I mean, just look at that interior:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I bet if you're higher than 185cm, you won't fit with the roof up. But i think when i got the chance to drive the AZ-1, that thing will be even smaller. What's yours?

505Turbeaux > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:19

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subaru 360 van!

TheJWT > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:20

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I've driven a few 500s, but they really don't feel that small on the inside. I didn't try the back seats though...

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > 505Turbeaux 06/16/2014 at 11:21

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That is also small. And i just remember i once drive a N360.

But i feel N360 is suprisingly roomy.

MazdaMonkey > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:21

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I'm sitting in the passenger seat here, for scale (1958 Goggomobil DART).

Messerschmitt

Although bigger, my favorite ride was the Fiat 600 micro van, great power (due to the huge .6L motorcycle engine), with a nice ride to boot.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:21

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I drove one of these tiny Ford Figos on the Ford Test Track, was RHD and Manual...very interesting:

f86sabre > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:22

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Ford Ka

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:23

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pfftballer > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:23

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Does a Miata count?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 06/16/2014 at 11:23

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Ford Figo?

I never heard those, but it looks weird. I want to drive one.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:23

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Quite small.

505Turbeaux > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:23

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yeah oddly enough. A friend of mine drove that thing from California to Connecticut...sounded like fun

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:24

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Multiple VW Beetles.

Geo Metro

'83 Toyota Tercel

'80 Plymouth Champ

They make my Corvair feel huge and roomy.

Milky > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:24

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Smallest driven, a Miata.

Smallest ridden, IQ back seat.

Alfalfa > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:24

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Fiat 500c. Not too bad in the front, but I am 5'6".

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > TheJWT 06/16/2014 at 11:25

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Fiat 500 has back seats?

What seats is that? Seats for Ants?

Anyway, check out this comparasion between Fiat 500 and Mazda AZ-1:

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > MazdaMonkey 06/16/2014 at 11:25

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KR200 seems very small, but fun!

Jobjoris > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:26

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Both an original 1964 Fiat 500D and a 1970 Lotus Europa S2 come to mind. Very claustrophobic.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:26

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500

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:27

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not sold in the US, it's biggest market is India. but they are also sold in the Caribbean.

http://www.india.ford.com/cars/figo

mcseanerson > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:27

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My smallest car, going off wheelbase, was a first gen CRX. I had to look everything up because I have owned a Nissan Pulsar, Ford Aspire, CRX, and currently drive a Miata. It was a close race. The CRX definitely felt the smallest. I went to a dealership to look at a Fiat 500 and the one I was looking at had three other people looking at it and commenting on how small it is. I sat in it and considered dancing around. It felt like a living room compared to my CRX.

Cé hé sin > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:28

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Mk 1 Smart.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:28

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A Mazda 3 sedan.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > pfftballer 06/16/2014 at 11:28

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Yes, Miata is small. I think the NC's roof is just about 10cm higher than my CLS's Reaview mirror.

mcseanerson > TheJWT 06/16/2014 at 11:29

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Fiat 500 actually feels rather roomy to me.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Milky 06/16/2014 at 11:29

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You don't want a road trip in an IQ don't you?

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:29

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I'm not kidding, an E36 Sedan is the smallest car I've ever driven. It's also the smallest car I've ever ridden in.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > f86sabre 06/16/2014 at 11:30

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I don't know they make the new Ka. That looks fun!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 06/16/2014 at 11:30

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That counts. Where's the engine?

mcseanerson > pfftballer 06/16/2014 at 11:30

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Miata definitely counts. When most of a vehicles first mods performed by new owners is to make it easier to fit in it should be considered a small vehicle. I have a foamectomy and removed drives door handle so I could work the clutch.

RazoE > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:31

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My 1st gen Scion xB. I LOVE small cars. I'd love a Scion iQ, but it couldn't be my only car.

Milky > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:31

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Nope. It was just around the block to see if I (being a 6' male) could fit, and that was enough.

mcseanerson > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 06/16/2014 at 11:31

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Holy crap. I forgot about that Beetle my dad bought when I was a kid. I remember feeling cramped as a five year old.

dogisbadob > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:34

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Not sure which is smaller, the 90s Australian Mercury Capri, or the Nissan NX. Either of those would be my answer.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 06/16/2014 at 11:34

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I never heard about Toyota Tercel, but that sounds awful.

tromoly > TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut 06/16/2014 at 11:34

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Same here.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > RazoE 06/16/2014 at 11:35

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Yes. You don't want an IQ as your only car.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Cé hé sin 06/16/2014 at 11:36

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Well, smart is small. But Smart is about 40cm longer than the copen i believe..

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 06/16/2014 at 11:36

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Mazda 3 does look akward in Sedan form..

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:36

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Roundbadge > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:37

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My initial reaction was to say my 1986 Honda Civic Si, but then I remembered that I got to drive SteyrTMP's Lotus Seven replica earlier this year.

edit: photo kinja'd

I first rode in the passenger seat. That seat is 14" wide...and I'm considerably wider. I literally sat on my left hip. The driver's seat, at 15" wide, is much more accomodating.

Stupid levels of fun were had with the turbo'd Miata engine and all the wind in my face.

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:37

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A Cozy Coupe.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Jobjoris 06/16/2014 at 11:37

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Yes, remember that old Fiat. It's really tiny that the New 500 feels like a house compared to the old one.

JGrabowMSt > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:37

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Smart ForTwo. You cannot fit two large pizza boxes side by side flat. Two medium pies just might fit though.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:38

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behind the seat on the drivers side. 1 wheel drive briggs and stratton 5 HP gasoline.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:38

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Geo Metro hatch

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > dogisbadob 06/16/2014 at 11:39

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I never heard of those cars..

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 06/16/2014 at 11:39

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E36 is huge!

But not as huge as the current 3-series.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > mcseanerson 06/16/2014 at 11:40

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I never drove a CRX, but that sounds like a ton of fun.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Vince-The Roadside Mechanic 06/16/2014 at 11:41

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We have a winner!

Klaus Schmoll > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:41

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When I was working at a Pizza place, we had a fleet of these Cinquecento Sportings for deliveries. Short wheelbase made them quite unpredictable in winter.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:41

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I'm a big guy, anything smaller and I probably wouldn't fit!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 06/16/2014 at 11:42

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Ow. That was better than i expect. Was it called the Starlet eslewhere?

Vince-The Roadside Mechanic > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:42

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Hell yeah!!!!!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > JGrabowMSt 06/16/2014 at 11:43

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I never try do do that. But i think it's should be new standard of car size.

Sn210 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:44

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a Yaris, but not just any Yaris. A Yaris with a very particular set of skills.

coriolis > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:44

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We rented a Honda Life in Japan, it fits 4 adults and our luggage. Here's a comparison to a Honda Fit.

mcseanerson > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:44

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Yeah the Nissan Pulsar was my first car and was bought pretty much on accident and has tainted me with a love of small cars. Looking for all these dimensions I found out the pulsar is less than 1,000 kg. That must be why I ended up loving these cars. I remember trying to explain what makes a momentum car fun to non car friends before I had heard of the concept.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:45

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Probably. Same class as the Colt and Civic.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Where have all the lightweights gone? 06/16/2014 at 11:45

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My mom used to have one of this. Thank god she's now upgraded to E60 520i.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > coriolis 06/16/2014 at 11:48

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yeah, the Life is always felt roomy. I never drove a new one but even the old one feels roomy.

KnowsAboutCars > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:50

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I have never seen Copen in the wild but I have hard time believing that.

EDIT: According to Carfolio.com data Copen is 89.5 cm longer than Smart

SatriaFanboy > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:51

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this and I'm a really fat man.

KnowsAboutCars > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:52

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This counts as a car, right?

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:52

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It does. But relatively speaking, it isn't that small. I like small cars, but I wouldn't want to live with anything much smaller than a new Mini/Golf.

JGrabowMSt > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:53

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No. The things are positively dangerous in terms of size. I know it seems counter intuitive, but I think that the new standard should be the Mini Coopers/Fiat 500/Focus/Fiesta. The Smart may have that safety cell, but in a major collision, you wont survive in a ForTwo. As strange as it sounds, I have never felt safer in a vehicle than I have in either my Magnum or my bosses SL600. They're big, a bit heavy, and really powerful, but as an experienced driver, the cars drive predictably. The Smart doesn't. The car also shifts really hard (an auto) and lunges forward every shift. The first few times you experience that, it can be a bit unsettling.

Small cars like the ForTwo have a place, but until there's a huge change in the way everyone thinks, the ForTwos are fun, get great mileage, but I do not feel safe in it.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > mcseanerson 06/16/2014 at 11:53

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yeah. I remember that car, cracking car, the pulsar. I remember my mom almost buy one of those, but she bought Geo Metro (Sold in here as Suzuki) instead.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 06/16/2014 at 11:55

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Yeah. My father has the same problem.

He used to have a 1987 Honda Civic three-door, and he hates it because he feel cramped in there. So he sell it and bought a used W123 instead.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 06/16/2014 at 11:55

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Well, Golf feels a bit huge.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > KnowsAboutCars 06/16/2014 at 11:56

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Well, that means my memory broken then.

But Smart does longer than the AZ-1!

Just look at this comparation:

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Roundbadge 06/16/2014 at 11:57

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Turboed miata in lotus 7...

That's awesome!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Klaus Schmoll 06/16/2014 at 11:58

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In Gran Turismo that car is scary if you got the tire wrong. But still, i never seen that thing in real life, but it does small in GT.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > KnowsAboutCars 06/16/2014 at 11:58

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Yes!

I have to say i never driven a kart. I'm sad.

shop-teacher > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:59

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Chevy Spark. I know there are lots of smaller cars posted here, but I am a fat American who is roughly the same size as a Spark, so I can't imagine fitting behind the wheel of anything smaller.

Khalela > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 11:59

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It may not look that tiny but from the drivers seat you were staring at the lugnuts of the big Texas pickup trucks. Luckily the hole in the muffler announced my presence from a good ways off. The mechanics I worked with liked to pick it up and move it to impossible places from time to time.

Edit: Do I get bonus points for this being my daily driver for two years in Dallas?

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Sn210 06/16/2014 at 12:00

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3-Doors yaris?

KnowsAboutCars > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 12:00

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But that is Fiat 500. Smart is much smaller than the new 500.

EL_ULY > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 12:01

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70's Spitfire :]

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > KnowsAboutCars 06/16/2014 at 12:05

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Smart is shorter, but AZ-1 is less wide and shorter.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 12:07

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2006 Smart Fortwo CDI 0.8L diesel with a whopping 41hp

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > JGrabowMSt 06/16/2014 at 12:09

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Yeah, so does the Kei Cars.

I used to daily drive big sedans like W140 S600. But when i tried one of the kei car, it's scary as fuck. Especially if you take them to the highway.

And look at this comparation of the AZ1 (the car i'm trying to import) and some kind of GMC SUV. It's scary.

Fookin' Prawns > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 12:11

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I drove a Mini Cooper a couple years ago. Fun car, if not exactly mini when compared to the original one.

The most cramped I've ever been in a car was either sitting in the back of a '99 Mustang convertible with the roof up or in the back seat/storage area in a friend's 2-door Tacoma. I'm 6'2", so both were pretty uncomfortable.

duurtlang > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 12:11

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Multiple people mentioned the Fiat 500. That's my suggestion as well, but I drove an oldschool 500. Tiny, much smaller than a modern Fiat 500, but I (188 cm) could fit inside just fine.

Evan, Pope Of Jalopnik by Self-Appointment > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 12:23

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Aveo. I hated every second of it.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 12:30

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I'm 6'3" and 300 lbs and I was quite comfy, if a little snug, in a 91 CRX. The 500 Abarth, as brilliant as a hot hatch as it is, was too small though. I had to have my head out of the sunroof to fit properly.

JGrabowMSt > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 12:32

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Looks like a Yukon, one of the bigger SUVs you can buy up here..Almost not fair to compare those two in size.

While it's not quite the same, it's similar to riding a motorcycle, at least in terms of how aware you have to be about everyone around you.

KirkyV > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 13:44

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My current car, an X-reg Peugeot 106. 720-ish kilograms of French fury!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Luc - The Acadian Oppo 06/16/2014 at 14:50

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41?

41!

Seriously. Japanese kei car is always been 63hp from 660cc. The smart will be hideously slow.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > SatriaFanboy 06/16/2014 at 14:51

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Lol. We get those too in indonesia, sold as Daihatsu Ceria. It's scary.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection 06/16/2014 at 14:52

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Damn. I was thinking you won't fit in that CRX.

And i had to say i never driven one..

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 14:57

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Yes seriously, 41 neck snapping horsepower. what did you expect for a 800cc turbo diesel with a 4000 rpm redline? but it has a top speed of 130km/h and it gets over 80mpg.

I test drove one in 2006 with the intention to buy it but mercedes had some real shitty financing deals.

A Kei car would be a rocket compared to this., but in all honesty it was perfectly fine for city use.

Kei cars are the shit! I was researching the Wagon R this morning.

LONG LIVE THE KEI CARS!

dogisbadob > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 15:06

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The 91-93 Nissan NX was a rebodied B13 Sentra. I'm surprised you've never heard of it, especially since they were indeed sold in Japan. Check it out

The 90's Australian Capri is basically a convertible version of the early 90s Mazda 323. More info here

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > dogisbadob 06/16/2014 at 15:11

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Well, i'm not living in Japan, i live in Indonesia.

I know the mazda 323, but i don't know they make a covertible version of it. That's Awesome!

mazda616 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/16/2014 at 18:28

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I drove a Smart ForTwo around a lot at an auto auction once. It was terrible.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/17/2014 at 02:36

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Smallest car I've driven was either a Mk I Smart (in Italy, no less!) or an early Dodge Colt, like this one:

Unique thing was it had the "twin stick" transmission, with two shifters. If I remember correctly, one selected "high / low" and the other was 1-4. It was pretty cool at the time, and kinda fun to drive actually.

FriskyDingo > dogisbadob 06/17/2014 at 03:22

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did the usa get the nx? we got it here in canada but i forgot all about it until now

FriskyDingo > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/17/2014 at 03:26

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dogisbadob > FriskyDingo 06/17/2014 at 08:23

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Yes, we got the NX :)

Cé hé sin > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/17/2014 at 09:25

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No, the Smart is much shorter. The original Smart is 2.51m, the Copen was 3.39m

McMike > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 06/18/2014 at 14:48

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My Mini is kinda small.

wkiernan > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 07/06/2014 at 11:56

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No, the Starlet was RWD, the Tercel was FWD.