SMART Brabus Roadster

[PJR]

lockup said:

PJR said:

And the gearbox isn't that bad.

Agreed. It's worse.

?
Each to their own.. As I say, a large part of the issue is simply getting to used to how it works, as it isnt like any other gearbox. Most folks that say its bad have never owned or driven one. They just base their opinion on that of comic journalists they were following that week.
Or they have only driven one for 5 minutes and base their conclusions on that. Hardly time to get used to the car.
Anyway, im not saying its 'good' by any means. Because it isn't. Its just not as bad as the armchair car journalist brigade would have you believe.

P,

[BCA]

Im not sure I'd think that in a roadster though, its acceptable on a little city car that when tweaked is far quicker than it has any right to be, but in a sports car? Im not sure it'd be as tolerable...

Generally though, PJR, I agree, its acceptable - certainly easy to get used to. Definately no where near as bad as the press make out.

[flattotheboards]

For the money i would choose a VX220, it will handle better and be more fun on a track. Besides your only 23 live a little buy a car that is a little bit raw.

[autofocus]

Hi there,

Owning a Smart Roadster, well what do you want to know ??

I have owned mine for nearly 8 months and have done 30,000 miles (yes 30,000 miles in it). I bought it with a touch over 46,000 miles on the clock and it is currently showing 76,000 miles.

I use the car every day during the week and on a normal day like today the car does between 150 and 200 miles. Mine is not a Brabus, it is a Roadster Coupe with the Sports Pack (Bigger wheels, paddle shift etc). Mine is different to alot of Roadsters/Roadster Coupes in that it has never had a soft top, it left the factory as a hard top so does not have the electric roof mechanism. Instead my roof is removeable in two halves which conveniently store in the boot. Good thing about the hardtops is that they don't leak !, and it does make the car a bit more secure as well.

So far in 30,000 miles I have replaced the discs and pads once (approx £200), had a new suspension spring (£100), an MOT (£40), a few MOT repairs (£100), and a tyre (£60). Not bad for a car that gets a hell of a lot of use.

I have driven repmobiles for many years and got really fed up. I really love my Smart, its nippy, comfortable, economical, reliable and great fun. The car still gets loads of looks and I have lost count of the number of people who have asked me questions about it when I park up.

As for the gearbox, I don't understand the problem, mine is driven permanantly driven using the tiptronic style gearbox, it might not be the quickest change in the land but trust me after 30,000 miles I know how to change gear to get the most out of the car.

As I said mine is a Roadster Coupe, I find the extra boot space is really useable, and I can actually fit loads in my car. Could not personally manage with a normal Roadster.

Heres a couple of pics: -





Any more questions just let me know.

Regards

Tim

[Slinky]

Dr G said:

Never owned or driven one - but can't help grinning when I see one (not often). If being behind the wheel induces a grin half as wide it's a bargain.

I believe Gordon Murray had and loved one also...

Do it..

I love ours, whilst the gearbox has its foibles you can learn to drive it, anticipate it, think that little bit further ahead... It really is fantastic and an absolute hoot cross country..

We've done about 3.2k miles in ours already and wouldn't change it for the world..



slinky

[BCA]

Looks ace slinky - 3k miles already??

[Slinky]

BCA said:

Looks ace slinky - 3k miles already??

Uh huh... we get around! Tis bloody splendid though!

[Mike_C]

I think the only way to see if it's for me is a test drive really...!

[Slinky]

Mike_C said:

I think the only way to see if it's for me is a test drive really...!

Take an extended one if you can, if you haven't experienced the smart gearbox before it WILL take some getting to grips with... take your time and learn its character... If you do that, you should love it..

slinky

[SGirl]

I'm running a Roadster cabrio upspecced to 110 bhp courtesy of SmartArse Design, with various bits and pieces bolted on. The gearbox can be hesitant, but if you run it as a "manual" instead of letting the auto box do all the work, there's less hesitation. And mine doesn't leak - never has as far as I'm aware!

Upsides: it handles like a gokart, lots of fun on twisties and eminently chuckable - but easy to catch, so no OMG!!! moments. It's unusual enough to attract attention and tends to be a bit of a conversation-starter! But unlike the TVRs, it does tend to attract positive attention rather than the "all sports cars should be crushed, dontchaknow they're killing the fluffy kittens" kind. So far the Roadster is the only car I've driven that almost invariably gets a "cool car!" from gangs of teenagers on roadsides. And it's pretty frugal - less than 30 quid fills the tank, which is good for about 280 miles even with my - er, spirited driving style.

Downsides: servicing costs can be a bit steep, but there are plenty of good independents out there these days who'll do a better job for less money than a main stealer. Umm... can't think of any other downsides offhand.

I've had mine about 9 months now, and I still like it a lot. Which is good going for me.

Edited by SGirl on Tuesday 4th March 11:16

[Broken Hero]

Mike_C said:

Wow, what a marmite car! "I love it," "I hate it," "Do it," "Don't do it," etc etc - what a reaction!

Yep thats the general reaction. I have one and LOVE it! If you want a reliable fun car get an MX5 as it is better in almost every way... but once you have driven a roadster you will be smitten.
The low seating position, the roof that comes down at a flick of a switch and the reaction from people of all ages & sexes has been phenomenal!!

Mike_C said:

As I said, I'd love an Elise but the S1 is just too impractical and the S2 too expensive! The Brabus has proper doors and even a front and rear boot, of sorts! And of course, the Smar is much cheaper to insure than an Elise or VX220!

Both very good cars the Smart is more comparable to the MX5 (IMO)
My car has heated leather, cruise control, auto lights, auto wipers, aircon all for 6k

Mike_C said:

Out of interest, which is the one to go for - the Roadster or the (also convertible?) Coupe? I'm a bit confused as they both appear to be convertibles but one with a glass hatch and one, err, without!

Go for the coupe in Brabus form it looks fantastic and is slightly more practical

Mike_C said:

Also, what more can be done to tune the Brabus - I'd rather a Brabus than a standard Smart as they do look better and as I can afford one, why not? Seems silly to buy a standard one and fork out tuning it to Brabus levels when I could just buy the latter outright! Can the Brabus be chipped? Does it 'need' an aftermarket exhaust? Do induction kits and dump valves improve performance/reduce lag at all? And can you improve the gearbox through software upgrades?

Finally, this leaking business - some do, some don't, but for those that do, is there a fix? Obviously I'd try and find one that didn't if possible!

Cheers

Get the Brabus and chip it. The exhaust is made by Brabus but ironicly the standard car already comes with a very good exhaust made from stainless steal an aftermarket one would have limited power gains. Dont waste your time on dump valves etc a simple remap and a new air filter should be fine. Remapped cars will have slightly faster gearboxes and turbo boost over 1 bar.

Mike_C said:

Finally, this leaking business - some do, some don't, but for those that do, is there a fix? Obviously I'd try and find one that didn't if possible!

Cheers

There are plenty of fixes for the leaking issues get yourself over to theroadster.net and ask a few questions!

ETA my car leaks it is a 53 plate and the door seals leak (only dribbles over the door speakers) I haven't sorted mine but use a car cover when it rains.
Check under the carpet behind the seats and check the footwells.
Bulkhead leaks are the most serious as this can cause water ingress in the SAM unit which causes most electrical problems. A new SAM is £500 upwards.



Edited to amend shocking spelling and grammer

Edited by Broken Hero on Tuesday 4th March 12:10

Edited by Broken Hero on Tuesday 4th March 12:11

Edited by Broken Hero on Wednesday 5th March 10:10

Edited by Broken Hero on Wednesday 5th March 10:17

[Mike_C]

OK, thanks for the info. It'll be under the carport or in the garage overnight so thats not a problem but during the day it'll be outside fending for itself!!

Really must try and get a test drive asap me thinks.

So if I want it as quick as possible, and I will, I'll need a Brabus Coupe (don't think the weight difference outweighs the impracticality of the Roadster!) and just get it chipped and maybe an induction kit to go with it, yes? How much is that likely to cost? And does the engine remap also remap the gearbox to be quicker, or is that a whole seperate job?

Cheers

[BCA]

When you get one, you need to call BIGperformance...

Not much to be done about the box other than making sure the actuator is well maintained/all seals are good/its adjusted correctly, but power can be improved/ as can noise!!

I've not got a roadster, but have a very nicely tweaked fortwo - as soon as I find a way to get some sound clips off my phone and onto here, you'll see one of many reasons we love them!

Like Sgirl and Slinky - I love it, and I have had more than my fair share of problems along the way... as a result I've learnt to spanner it myself and have some very unique modifications (larger fuel tank for example, second smart car to ever be retrofitted with aircon etc etc)

[Disco_Biscuit]

BCA said:

When you get one, you need to call BIGperformance...

Couldn't agree more, Ian is a top fella, remapped mine many moons ago and actually came out most BHP
on a rolling road day for a Smart magazine. Nothing he doesn't know about Smarts