Smart Roadster/Coupe

What do we all think of them, personally i think they look great especically in the Brabus guise.

So opinions?

I considered one before buying the Panda.
Supposedly very good fun to drive.
Not earth-scorching performance. Dealers can be a pain (and expensive). Some cars suffer problems (such as leaks and cracked manifolds). Sound familiar?
You probably want the Roadster Coupe rather than the Roadster, as you get air-con as standard, and more storage space. The Brabus has more power and performance than the lesser models, but has a hefty price premium.
H

I took one out earlier today, and was surprised by its performance actually, that was the brabus xclusive (special edition model)........if i can get my head around my finances tonight i may well be going back to buy it tomorrow.

The guy said there has been history of leaks on the early models but apparently they've all been ironed out now

Matt is it automatic or manual ?

It's an automatic, which allows you to select gears manually.
On the Brabus models (and lower models as an option) it has steering-wheel mounted paddle shift.
Apparently most owners use it as a manual all the time - the auto is a bit of a weak point performance-wise.
H

Yeah you have the option of fully automatic, tiptronic, or paddleshift

Personally i wouldnt touch it then, as i have heard of the Auto boxes breaking after 30,000 miles. It was a common fault on the Smart for two

And this will be the last of them as they are phasing them out the special edition is the last off them

Well ive heard lots of bad things about fiats........ive still owned 3 of them!

Autobox on the smart isnt the best but not as much of a bastard as it was on the smart four two. Its a bit more reliable than it used to be

an old sei owner called orange_wheeled_wonder swapped his sei for a smart roadster, maybe dig up some old threads and maybe some pics?

my honest opinion? well, theres a right smurk looking ponce that drives past my house in one with a dump valve and always makes it dump past my house, and always boots it past. cant wait to wipe that grin off his face in his hairdresser gimp roadster

Dunc

they can be soup'd and they actually sound half good,

kind of sound like half a 6pot engine (bit like 1.0 corsas ).
I know a guy who's wife has a std smart, thats been souped, spent k's on it but goes like stink, shod with brabus esqe body kit, fat black wheels with chrome rims, and a short little exhaust and loud dump valve, sounds bad and was about as quick as the turbo volvo at the time (before I mod'd it)

Have a look here for tuning options, plus a very nice roadster re-body for the fortwo. I think they have got about 100bhp out of the little smart engine.

http://www.thec7.co.uk/images_c7.htm

The Smart Coupe/Roadster is about to go back into production in the UK with a proper gearbox as this was one of the reasons it sold in small numbers as its to be diplomatic, rubbish, even if used manually. The intellectual rights have been purchased by a consortium of businessmen who think they can do what Mercedes couldn't make a profit from these cars.

EVO mag took about 6 or 7 smarts about 2 years back including the Brabus one and not one car cracked 12secs to 60mph with proper timing gear attached, now thats slow, thats painfully slow.

I don't know if the new manual box can be retro fitted, but it all sounds good as Gordon Murray of Maclaren F1 fame is on board as a consultant as he loved the Smart Coupe but again felt the gearbox limited its appeal.

Oi you 'grale and turbo cinq man! 14.2 0-60 time in my vessel