I had an interesting experience this afternoon. I got to test drive a Smart ForTwo. I commute across the lake every day and while I do try to bus or vanpool it at least one way several days a week, I still spend too much on gas and pollution for my tastes. I also hate to park. I happen to be a pretty good parallel parker, but hey, parking a car that’s less than half as long as my current 4 door sedan certainly can’t be a bad thing.

The experience was, as I’ve said, interesting. Despite the fact that there are only two seats, the car feels deceptively large. In fact, it felt bigger inside than the Mini Cooper we test drove last year. I was only able to take the car around the block, so I can’t speak to road noise, but we did verify that our gym bags and work bags would fit inside. My only complaint about the car is that the driver’s side mirror was a bit concave, and was a bit disconcerting every time I glanced over.

Smart USA is in Seattle for Bumbershoot, September 1-3. Visit their display and take a look at the new Smart ForTwo that will supposedly be available in the United States in early 2008. I have my eye on the Cabrio model.