1090kg and 170bhp

[AndyT77]

Smart Brabus Fourfor, what's not to like. Looking on AT they seem to be available at decent price too considering the spec, pace and (what i would presume to be) good build quality.

[kambites]

It's certainly an intriguing little car, I've never really understood why they attract so little attention on Pistonheads. I've no idea how they drive though - I wouldn't be surprised if they're rather torque steery.

[Meoricin]

That power/weight sounds similar to the FT-86! As demonstrated on that thread, it's entirely insufficient! It needs to be 400bhp to be a good car!

Sounds fun to me

[rsv gone!]

Meoricin said:

That power/weight sounds similar to the FT-86!

Same weight/power as the Clio 172

[Bill]

It's a Mitsubishi Colt underneath, and not known for its drive. I suspect a Focus ST170 is a better proposition all round.

[kambites]

Bill said:

It's a Mitsubishi Colt underneath, and not known for its drive. I suspect a Focus ST170 is a better proposition all round.

Surely an ST170 is significantly heavier?

[anonymous-user]

ST170 is a massively disappointing car. Years ago I easily kept up with one being driven hard on a bendy B road in my automatic Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign - he was using the entire road and I was staying in my lane quite happily. I assumed he was just a poor driver, and then I tried one. Not fast.

[RobCrezz]

kambites said:

Surely an ST170 is significantly heavier?

Does it matter if the Focus is a nicer drive? The mk1 Focus had a nice chassis, cant speak for the colt though.

[Moley RUFC]

Nearly 1100kg seems very heavy for a smart car to me?

[LordGrover]

1,090 kgs for that! Christ-on-a-bike.
That's heavier than a TVR Griffith or Chimp, and they had 220-330BHP back in the 90s.

[Chrisw666]

dme123 said:

ST170 is a massively disappointing car. Years ago I easily kept up with one being driven hard on a bendy B road in my automatic Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign - he was using the entire road and I was staying in my lane quite happily. I assumed he was just a poor driver, and then I tried one. Not fast.

He wasn't trying. If the road was a bendy B road the ST170 would give the XJ a hiding, on a straighter road the big cat would not have to try hard.

The Smart for two is an odd looking car which will be part of it's problem, and the colt it is based on is fun in a small turbo hatch way but it lacks feel and entertainment.

[Bill]

I know nothing about the ST... But a quick google suggests it's 200kg heavier and a second slower to 60. I was basing my assumption on SWMBO's 1.6 that was a very good steer.

How about a Clio 172 then?

:runsandhides:

[vescaegg]

dme123 said:

ST170 is a massively disappointing car. Years ago I easily kept up with one being driven hard on a bendy B road in my automatic Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign - he was using the entire road and I was staying in my lane quite happily. I assumed he was just a poor driver, and then I tried one. Not fast.

I found exactly the same. Totally underwhelming. The bloke at the garage even said to me 'be cafeful, this has 170bhp and is a bit of a handful'.

A handful it was not.

[kambites]

Moley RUFC said:

Nearly 1100kg seems very heavy for a smart car to me?

It's about normal for a large-engined Fiesta sized car.

[300bhp/ton]

AndyT77 said:

Smart Brabus Fourfor, what's not to like. Looking on AT they seem to be available at decent price too considering the spec, pace and (what i would presume to be) good build quality.

As some will point out it is Colt based, however up close you can see that they are still very much smart with some nice detailing and styling touches.

I don't think there's much to not like, some won't get past the smart badge or Colt origins though. A nice more practical alternative to a MINI Cooper S imo.

[RobCrezz]

vescaegg said:

I found exactly the same. Totally underwhelming. The bloke at the garage even said to me 'be cafeful, this has 170bhp and is a bit of a handful'.

A handful it was not.

They arent hot by any means, but a great chassis attached to a mediocre engine.

[300bhp/ton]

LordGrover said:

1,090 kgs for that! Christ-on-a-bike.
That's heavier than a TVR Griffith or Chimp, and they had 220-330BHP back in the 90s.

So what does a fairly antique space frame sports car with no modern or safety features have to do with the ForFour?? You might as well start listing frigging starships for all the relevance it has.

[LordGrover]

[thiscocks]

300bhp/ton said:

LordGrover said:

1,090 kgs for that! Christ-on-a-bike.
That's heavier than a TVR Griffith or Chimp, and they had 220-330BHP back in the 90s.

So what does a fairly antique space frame sports car with no modern or safety features have to do with the ForFour?? You might as well start listing frigging starships for all the relevance it has.

The millenium falcon actually has a similar power to weight

[AndyT77]

I'm going to try and drive one and report back. In this day and age where it seems there are certain car models driven by certain type of people, it's increasingly difficult to find something i actually like the look, idea of and performance, whilst still remaining a bit understated and 'what is that that just passed me?', if you know what i mean.