Smart car owners
Discussion
Any owners on PH care to enlighten me with information on ownership with a smart car?
I have been looking (unsuccessfully) for a saxoVTR for a month. After todays shoddy excuse for a car I got slightly p!ssed off and walked into a near by merc dealer.
Being tall I expected to have difficulties with the smart. Wow, I couldnt believe the size of it inside! Everything was alot better than the VTR - quality of finish/ styling/ features. I walked in thinking it was a cupboard on wheels, but I walked out thinking about whether it would make a better first car for me.
The idea behind the VTR was to get a car that would be fun to drive and reasonably nippy for B-road blats. However, living in Birmingham restricts B-road blats to a once in a month (if that) occurance.
So why not a smart for the daily crawl?? For trackdays/ driving courses / airfield days I will have use of another car so that no longer matters.
A few questions:
Is the gearbox as bad as people say?
Pros and cons of smart ownership?
anyone with a brabus (70bhp) kit?
From a quick search it seems Dazren knows somebody who used to chip them - do you still know them Dazren??
Are they stable at 70(motorways)? other than that it'll be sub 60 inner city driving.
Thanks in advance,
Ben CA
>>> Edited by BCA on Saturday 5th April 17:33
I have been looking (unsuccessfully) for a saxoVTR for a month. After todays shoddy excuse for a car I got slightly p!ssed off and walked into a near by merc dealer.
Being tall I expected to have difficulties with the smart. Wow, I couldnt believe the size of it inside! Everything was alot better than the VTR - quality of finish/ styling/ features. I walked in thinking it was a cupboard on wheels, but I walked out thinking about whether it would make a better first car for me.
The idea behind the VTR was to get a car that would be fun to drive and reasonably nippy for B-road blats. However, living in Birmingham restricts B-road blats to a once in a month (if that) occurance.
So why not a smart for the daily crawl?? For trackdays/ driving courses / airfield days I will have use of another car so that no longer matters.
A few questions:
Is the gearbox as bad as people say?
Pros and cons of smart ownership?
anyone with a brabus (70bhp) kit?
From a quick search it seems Dazren knows somebody who used to chip them - do you still know them Dazren??
Are they stable at 70(motorways)? other than that it'll be sub 60 inner city driving.
Thanks in advance,
Ben CA
>>> Edited by BCA on Saturday 5th April 17:33
Hi Ben,
I am a smart car owner, have been for the past 2 years infact.
1st question, the gearbox isnt all that bad, as the car wears in it gets better, and also the gearboxes on the newer cars is much better than older models.
Pros of smart ownership are, cheap insurance, cheap running costs, easy to park, comfortable, spacious, and last but by no means least lots of fun to drive. i would say the only con really is servicing costs.
Brabus arent the only tuners for the smart car, other tuners offer as good as if not better tuning packages.
On the motorway they can be a little fun to try and keep in a straight line with high winds etc, but this can all be pretty much be sorted out with minor modifications to the aerodynamics of the car and the wheels.
I have had my smart for 2 years now, and enjoyed every minute of ownership. The car is such a great laugh to drive, and it is very comfortable to drive for long distances. Im also a member of thesmartclub this is a group of like minded smart enthusiasts. The club regularly run a track day, which is alot of fun and allows you to learn the characteristics and limits of the car in a safe environment.
I regularly enjoy using my car on fast A and B roads, and its alot of fun to drive, and definately would buy another if i had the chance.
I would definately recommend you take a look at the club, to see what other people think, also take a test drive, this will allow you to see how good the car really is.
Please feel free to contact me if you need any further help, also there is a photo of my car in my profile.
Hope this helps,
OLIVER
>> Edited by whittaker52 on Saturday 5th April 18:59
I am a smart car owner, have been for the past 2 years infact.
1st question, the gearbox isnt all that bad, as the car wears in it gets better, and also the gearboxes on the newer cars is much better than older models.
Pros of smart ownership are, cheap insurance, cheap running costs, easy to park, comfortable, spacious, and last but by no means least lots of fun to drive. i would say the only con really is servicing costs.
Brabus arent the only tuners for the smart car, other tuners offer as good as if not better tuning packages.
On the motorway they can be a little fun to try and keep in a straight line with high winds etc, but this can all be pretty much be sorted out with minor modifications to the aerodynamics of the car and the wheels.
I have had my smart for 2 years now, and enjoyed every minute of ownership. The car is such a great laugh to drive, and it is very comfortable to drive for long distances. Im also a member of thesmartclub this is a group of like minded smart enthusiasts. The club regularly run a track day, which is alot of fun and allows you to learn the characteristics and limits of the car in a safe environment.
I regularly enjoy using my car on fast A and B roads, and its alot of fun to drive, and definately would buy another if i had the chance.
I would definately recommend you take a look at the club, to see what other people think, also take a test drive, this will allow you to see how good the car really is.
Please feel free to contact me if you need any further help, also there is a photo of my car in my profile.
Hope this helps,
OLIVER
>> Edited by whittaker52 on Saturday 5th April 18:59
Really enjoyed ours - had it for three years, and had the 70 bhp remap done for the last 10 months. looked at the Brabus conversions, v expensive IMHO. The upgrade we had done was by Cambridge Smart Cars for £350 done. The advantage of this upgrade is that the Trust + (handling system) and the Traction Control are unaffected (check this out before signing for a chip).
Covered 40 000 miles in 3 years including a touring holiday of Scotland last year (two up and a dalmatian in a Smart!)
Annoying things:
Manifold Cracked - this is a one piece housing that holds the turbo, cost just under £1000 to replace including the labour.
No Spare Wheel. The two blowouts / flats resulted in a split in the sidewalls, so the mousse won't work.
Not that economical. (Mr & Mrs Lead-Foot reside here!) I think the average was 30mpg.
Nothing else I can think of apart from the interior plastics mark easily...
Go for it, enjoy yourself!
Chris
Edited to add:
the handling is good but you MUST upgrade to the wider front wheels. Then treat it like a go cart and not lift for the corners!
>> Edited by chris.mapey on Saturday 5th April 19:40
Covered 40 000 miles in 3 years including a touring holiday of Scotland last year (two up and a dalmatian in a Smart!)
Annoying things:
Manifold Cracked - this is a one piece housing that holds the turbo, cost just under £1000 to replace including the labour.
No Spare Wheel. The two blowouts / flats resulted in a split in the sidewalls, so the mousse won't work.
Not that economical. (Mr & Mrs Lead-Foot reside here!) I think the average was 30mpg.
Nothing else I can think of apart from the interior plastics mark easily...
Go for it, enjoy yourself!
Chris
Edited to add:
the handling is good but you MUST upgrade to the wider front wheels. Then treat it like a go cart and not lift for the corners!
>> Edited by chris.mapey on Saturday 5th April 19:40
Sounds encouraging. Just out of interest, why does a 70bhp little car with reasonably shod rear wheels need traction control and electric stability program????
Also, whats this about wider front tyres/wheels and not lifting off - does that little thing oversteer when provoked heavily
???- sounds fun 
Edited to add: have registered and am awaiting confirmation...
>> Edited by BCA on Saturday 5th April 20:34
Also, whats this about wider front tyres/wheels and not lifting off - does that little thing oversteer when provoked heavily
???- sounds fun Edited to add: have registered and am awaiting confirmation...
>> Edited by BCA on Saturday 5th April 20:34
Its really just down to the height and the weight of the car really, stops you from rolling it, or at least thats the idea anyway. the smart in standard trim has a tendancy to understeer (with the skinny front wheel/tyre package) by upgrading the wheels with wider wheels it gives you more grip in the corners. But smarts can be provoked into oversteering under the right situations and with the wheelbase being so short its very hard to get it back once you loose it.
re: the turbo/manifold problem, this isnt an issue on cars towards the end of 2002, when the part was re-designed.
Engine Remaps can be done by various different tuning companies to different grades of power, so as to suit your driving style.
not having a spare wheel can be a pain, but you can carry a spare wheel in the car as a back up.
If you drive a little more sedately you can get a reasonable MPG.
Hope this helps,
OLIVER
re: the turbo/manifold problem, this isnt an issue on cars towards the end of 2002, when the part was re-designed.
Engine Remaps can be done by various different tuning companies to different grades of power, so as to suit your driving style.
not having a spare wheel can be a pain, but you can carry a spare wheel in the car as a back up.
If you drive a little more sedately you can get a reasonable MPG.
Hope this helps,
OLIVER
Sounds encouraging. Just out of interest, why does a 70bhp little car with reasonably shod rear wheels need traction control and electric stability program????
Cos it's bloody unstable and grips the road like a pogo stick if it's a bit bumpy.
And the gearbox is at least as bad as everyone says - my cat could shift the gears more smoothly with a sledgehammer.
Fatboy said: Cos it's bloody unstable and grips the road like a pogo stick if it's a bit bumpy.
And the gearbox is at least as bad as everyone says - my cat could shift the gears more smoothly with a sledgehammer.
Thats a bit harsh,ours is nicely run in now and the ride over the rough Birmingham roads is not that bad!
I would challenge any hot hatch to beat our Smart driver around the city any day (he cheats!!)
Nick
edited cause I pressed the button too early
>> Edited by aprisa on Sunday 6th April 18:09
Ours is fairly nippy due to some tweaking of the wastegate link, and dumping about a foot of air intake pipe + K&N filter.
Round town there is hardly anything quicker, as it has close ratio gears, and the auto box is good when changing UP on full throttle.
HOWEVER: ride quality is dire, AND you must get used to using the manual change, or be forever frustrated with it being in too high a gear (economy minded CPU) when you leave it in automatic mode.
Brilliant fun car, and on a dry road very grippy. Just don't expect to catch it if the back starts coming round --- be warned, once the electronics have failed to catch a skid, you stand NO CHANCE !!!
By the way, you can get 100bhp out of a Smart engine.
Carl
Round town there is hardly anything quicker, as it has close ratio gears, and the auto box is good when changing UP on full throttle.
HOWEVER: ride quality is dire, AND you must get used to using the manual change, or be forever frustrated with it being in too high a gear (economy minded CPU) when you leave it in automatic mode.
Brilliant fun car, and on a dry road very grippy. Just don't expect to catch it if the back starts coming round --- be warned, once the electronics have failed to catch a skid, you stand NO CHANCE !!!
By the way, you can get 100bhp out of a Smart engine.
Carl
Thats a bit harsh,ours is nicely run in now and the ride over the rough Birmingham roads is not that bad!
I would challenge any hot hatch to beat our Smart driver around the city any day (he cheats!!)
Nick
I only test drove one round milton keynes, and it scared the crap out of me - thought it was going to pull an endo at on point
And come on, seriously - no-one can beat a delivery driver who's late for a drop
(except another one in an astramax van )Sounds encouraging, as I said, its only a city run about, im not planning a trip round the nurburgring ffs!! I still have alot of trouble imagining how something with 60 bhp can out smart its own traction control and leave you pointing the other way????
100bhp in a smart sounds pretty scary Wonder how much that costs...
100bhp in a smart sounds pretty scary
Wonder how much that costs... Rear engine (600 odd cc), Rear wheel drive. Dont think it'll make much difference in a car with a narrow track and such height. It'll handle like a rollerskate whether front or rear wheel drive. But I still find it hard to believe that it really needs traction control etc...
Edited to add: just found the forums on the smart owners club site. A few PH'ers who either havent seen this thread or are ashamed of thier cars??
>> Edited by BCA on Monday 7th April 19:10
Edited to add: just found the forums on the smart owners club site. A few PH'ers who either havent seen this thread or are ashamed of thier cars??
>> Edited by BCA on Monday 7th April 19:10
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