Should I buy a Smart Car?
Discussion
ash73 said:
Ditch the poorly Smart and downsize in style with an Aston Martin Cygnet.
Or do you mean upsize? Since the Cygnet is literally a IQ with the badges picked off, and the AM badges glued on 
No, but seriously, the Cygnet is actually bigger than the Smart.No but I think he's done the right thing in getting a crappy Smart, because then he doesn't have to worry about it being dinged or anything, because it's a rubbish car, designed for the exclusive purpose of being dinged and shunted in cities.
Wacky Racer said:
POORCARDEALER said:
had loads of smarts, perfect city car, 65 mpg, cheap roadtax spacious and cheap
Spacious?Wacky Racer said:
POORCARDEALER said:
had loads of smarts, perfect city car, 65 mpg, cheap roadtax spacious and cheap
Spacious?Wacky Racer said:
My son's girlfriend (27)bought a very nice three year old smart car,.....
despite doing all the research,......
and if she wanted to take her mother and sister out shopping she couldn't...
To be fair, the fact the car only had space ForTwo should have been evident during her research. despite doing all the research,......
and if she wanted to take her mother and sister out shopping she couldn't...
My 2000 450 Smart (it was older then a forTwo 
) was a LHD and was like a TARDIS inside. I'm a courier and had 39 laptops inside it once 
. The office didn't believe it when I got back. The way the back window opens without needing to drop the rear shelf door really helps with the packing as you can really cram things in.
The convertible is poor for space as the rear shelf door has to be shut after the rear window is closed. It is also quite hard to pack stuff in the space between the convertible rear window and the boot, even when the window is raised.
I never had a problem with loading a full week's shopping into the 450.
) was a LHD and was like a TARDIS inside. I'm a courier and had 39 laptops inside it once . The office didn't believe it when I got back. The way the back window opens without needing to drop the rear shelf door really helps with the packing as you can really cram things in.The convertible is poor for space as the rear shelf door has to be shut after the rear window is closed. It is also quite hard to pack stuff in the space between the convertible rear window and the boot, even when the window is raised.
I never had a problem with loading a full week's shopping into the 450.
Nice little cars, performance more than adequate. And enough room for big blokes. Fuel consumption, dunno why this gets slated at 45mpg... No other 1 litre city car accelerates as quickly as the turbo models. Dealer backup great while in warranty, very expensive out of it. Suspension solid. Best snow car I've ever had, even better than my shogun as it is about a third of the weight. Obv needs winter tyres for this.
I've had four 450 Smarts and driven perhaps 70k in them, bought each one with an engine needing a rebuild. The typical failure mode is poor servicing/oil changes causing clogged rings and burnt out exhaust valves. Engines seem to fail at 60k, but I presume these are the neglected examples. It's not a difficult fix with the parts cost iro £200 and can be done in a long weekend. I've traded up each time until now where I have a LHD Cabriolet with leather, aircon, heated seats, airbags everywhere, and I've retro fitted cruise.
The 0.6L engines are far easier to work on than the 0.7L, so I've stuck with the 0.6L, the only downside is that they don't qualify for the lower tax bracket.
It is the perfect shopping car, and as others have explained is is actually far roomier inside than you'd think, more so than my Cerbera (although obviously missing rear seats). I don't tend to use it for long journeys, the furthest I've been is Amiens, but the cruise really helps.
It does have very firm suspension, although not quite as firm as the earlier plastic leaf spring Smarts. Service parts are cheap as chips (eg £25 for a shock), and generally nothing ever goes wrong.
People who say that a Yaris is a serious competitor have obviously never had the deeply unpleasant experience of driving a Yaris. On the other hand the Smart is always fun to drive, and has the same camaraderie that TVR owners appreciate.
The 0.6L engines are far easier to work on than the 0.7L, so I've stuck with the 0.6L, the only downside is that they don't qualify for the lower tax bracket.
It is the perfect shopping car, and as others have explained is is actually far roomier inside than you'd think, more so than my Cerbera (although obviously missing rear seats). I don't tend to use it for long journeys, the furthest I've been is Amiens, but the cruise really helps.
It does have very firm suspension, although not quite as firm as the earlier plastic leaf spring Smarts. Service parts are cheap as chips (eg £25 for a shock), and generally nothing ever goes wrong.
People who say that a Yaris is a serious competitor have obviously never had the deeply unpleasant experience of driving a Yaris. On the other hand the Smart is always fun to drive, and has the same camaraderie that TVR owners appreciate.
ukkid35 said:
The typical failure mode is poor servicing/oil changes causing clogged rings and burnt out exhaust valves.
Not having a drain plug is a very poor design. I'm sure that this is the cause of the 60k miles engine failures as people don't change the oil. I always removed the sump, but no garage would ever do that.My 451 has just had a safety recall (SRS1400). Apparently, "over an extended period of time in the service life of your smart fortwo, an electrical malfunction may occur in the electronic heater shut-off valve. Consequently, there is a risk of thermal overheating of the heater shut-off valve."
ukkid35 said:
pingu393 said:
Not having a drain plug is a very poor design.
For some perhaps, but I am a big fan of Pela, and now use it to do oil changes on all my cars. Sure, I take the sump plug out afterwards to check the magnet, but no oil drains once the Pela has done its job.ukkid35 said:
People who say that a Yaris is a serious competitor have obviously never had the deeply unpleasant experience of driving a Yaris.
Hi ukkid35, We have an '09 Yaris as a second car and it is a far, far better drive than a Smart Car. Whilst I'm sure a Smart Car has its merits, it doesn't compete on comfort, refinement, reliability etc.
pingu393 said:
Not having a drain plug is a very poor design. I'm sure that this is the cause of the 60k miles engine failures as people don't change the oil. I always removed the sump, but no garage would ever do that.
You also have to remove the rear bumper/bodywork to change three of the six spark plugs (which in fact only takes about 15 minutes). But I expect you are right and there are many Smarts that are never serviced properly.As for oil left in the sump, in many cars there is a couple of litres that is not changed during an oil change, e.g. the dry fill for my 928 is 9L, but only 7L is needed for an oil change.
Malachimon said:
Buy a Smart Roadster Coupe. It's way better looking, more fun, just as economical (more so) and just as practical
What's your point? A Ferrari is better looking, and M3 is more fun and a Golf is more economical. The Smart's USP is it's size. In some parking scenarios in London it is the only solution besides the god awful G Whiz thing or a moped.For me, the Smart is something that can pull off foibles as 'character'. I can't help but love them. Never had one without a warranty, but then never had a mechanical problem, including with a remapped one. Just picked up an '09 Brabus (our 4th Brabus and 7th Smart); if you use them to their strengths they are unbeatable. Of course, using one as your every day car is not really playing to strengths unless you stick to being in the city...
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff