A Ford driver whose ute had broken down has been sentenced for biting the ear of a passer-by who told him he should buy a Commodore.

The Supreme Court heard 26-year-old Tristan Malcolm Elias Haugland over-reacted in Huonville last year when a passerby joked he should buy a Commodore.

At the time Haugland was trying to push his broken down Ford ute.

He attacked the man biting him on the right ear.

The Court heard a significant portion of his victim's ear was left hanging by a small flap of skin but surgeons managed to re-attach it.

Chief Justice Allan Blow gave Haugland a suspended jail sentence and 210 hours community service.

He said if the victim had lost part of his ear he would have sent Haugland to prison, but since the victim seems not to have suffered any serious, permanent harm it was appropriate to be more lenient.

The court heard Haugland was convicted of another assault four years ago.