RE: New Smarts for all!

[ChocolateFrog]

Looks are subjective but that is one ugly car(s).

If only they would put something with 140ish BHP in the back of the twingo, that would be interesting.

[Ian974]

If they'd just done the mechanical changes and left it looking like the original, it would have been a good improvement. Don't think anyone liked the old gearbox on it, but it wasn't an ugly car in the way this one is.

[3795mpower]

Is there some new EU directive out I'm unaware of which states a small
Cars new head & tail lamps have to be 50% larger than the previous model ??

The 4 door makes the Mini Countryman look attractive.

Edited by 3795mpower on Thursday 17th July 15:38

[Clivey]

Matt Bird said:

The first line of Smart's spiel on the new chassis says it has been 'configured for gently understeering handling characteristics' so anyone wary of some gung-ho rear-engined handling can rest easy.

I wonder what RenaultSport can / will do with it...

[chrispmartha]

Me and my wife had a for four a few years ago, and we both loved it, in fact she's due a new car soon so was going to look at secondhand ones but may wait to see what pricing is like in the UK, its not a looker but I like the interior and at least its a bit different!

[anonymous-user]

fing ugly as sin.

[cookie1600]

New chassis and engine wotnots for shopping around town blah blah blah. But can we rip all that out over a weekend and get a 'Busa turbo engine in there??!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgwzHJo3IXM

[Riley Blue]

One word - 'ghastly'.

[Butter Face]

Well it should make the Twingo easier to sell

[GTEYE]

A hint of Tata Nano about the 5 door, and that's not a compliment.

The 2 door is passably bearable in a typical these days of replacements being generally uglier than the models they replace

Actually, I've looked at it again, they are both ghastly. Look like they both have some tasteless Benz input

Edited by GTEYE on Thursday 17th July 17:24

[TheInsanity1234]

GTEYE said:

Actually, I've looked at it again, they are both ghastly. Look like they both have some tasteless Benz input

Edited by GTEYE on Thursday 17th July 17:24

This. The front looks like they've tried to take the front end off a Merc and cutting about 3/4 off the length, and gluing it on to the front of an IQ, rubbed off all the badges and pencilled in "Smart" everywhere to put their stamp on it.

[ChocolateFrog]

Clivey said:

Matt Bird said:

The first line of Smart's spiel on the new chassis says it has been 'configured for gently understeering handling characteristics' so anyone wary of some gung-ho rear-engined handling can rest easy.

I wonder what RenaultSport can / will do with it...

I might be wrong but I think they've stated the engine bay is too small to get anything worthy of a RS badge in there

[talksthetorque]

Looks like they've put the top half of a very small car on top of the bottom half of a slightly bigger one.
Don't do town driving so I'll leave this one to the one bed rental dwellers.

[Pdelamare]

Sat in them at MBUK today. They're rally nice actually, a vast improvement on the current car.

[zcacogp]

Well you could say the looks have improved, but you'd be wrong. Very, very wrong indeed. That was hit repeatedly with the ugly stick.

Sharing a chassis with the twingo presumably means it's no longer the innovative exo-skeleton frame arrangement, I guess?


Oli.

[ajprice]

ChocolateFrog said:

Clivey said:

Matt Bird said:

The first line of Smart's spiel on the new chassis says it has been 'configured for gently understeering handling characteristics' so anyone wary of some gung-ho rear-engined handling can rest easy.

I wonder what RenaultSport can / will do with it...

I might be wrong but I think they've stated the engine bay is too small to get anything worthy of a RS badge in there

There's talk of a 110bhp version of the Renault 900cc turbo engine for the Brabus/RenaultSport versions.

[NXXN]

Why does a rear engined car need a radiator grill?

[Butter Face]

NXXN said:

Why does a rear engined car need a radiator grill?

The radiator is in the front. As per most rear engined cars I think?

[zeduffman]

said:

This or a Twingo?

Thank god I don't have to make that decision.

[va1o]

I'm not a fan at all of the way they look, definitely worse than the current shape. Maybe the UK spec models in the metal will look better but not convinced at the moment. Also the side profile is so radically different between the ForTwo and ForFour that they barely look like the same car from that angle. The ForTwo just looks like a heavy facelift of the current model with the new design front end.