Smart Roadster Brabus | Spotted
Brabus is positioning itself to exploit new revenue streams - wouldn't be the first time...
It’s hard not to think what might have been for the Smart Roadster. After all, here was a small, light, stiff, stylish sports car with the might of Mercedes-Benz behind it. The drop-top Smart and its coupe sibling should have been the car to get enthusiasts behind the brand, to build a legacy that proved downsized engines and small footprints didn’t have to mean downsized fun.
As it was, the Roadster didn’t quite hit the spot. The semi-automatic gearbox frustrated when new, as did a high price. As used prospects, issues around leaking have put plenty off. Not to mention the idea that you could pay similar money for a much bigger engine elsewhere. There have always been reasons not to buy a Smart, then. But also plenty in its favour: an unmistakeable, thrummy three-cylinder soundtrack, the freedom and fun of piloting a car less than 3.5m long and 800kg in weight, plus the feel-good factor of owning a (sort of) shrunken supercar. Even 20 years later, nothing attracts attention at this money like a Smart Roadster.
The well-documented reliability issues have meant dwindling numbers over the years. When repair costs mount as values fall, it becomes uneconomical; without the sort of following cars like the Mazda MX-5 enjoy, spending a lot on sorting a Smart out becomes hard to justify. The flipside of that is that plenty of those remaining are now really, really good, cared for by enthusiasts with all the advice adhered to (store it in a dry place and keep the servicing up-to-date).
This Roadster looks fab. It’s a Brabus, which can be identified by the lower ride height and blingy rims. It brought more power and more grip than standard, though typically the standard car is preferred as a driving experience. No bother - this looked too good to miss. It’s only had two owners from new, the second of those since 2008, and the seller promises a great history with it. There are less than 50,000 miles under the pristine monoblock alloy wheels (with four matching tyres), and an interior that was never known for being tough or expensive has stood the test of time well.
There are cheaper Smart Roadsters around, though invariably they don’t look quite as good. Plenty will have a lot of owners, perhaps as the reality of its quirks takes more getting used to than expected. The Smart’s sports car contemporaries remain available for similar money as well, even if they’ll offer up quite different two-seat experiences: see Fiat Barchetta and MG TF. Amazing to think there was a time with more than one affordable sports car on sale…
Those familiar with modern automatic gearboxes will find the Smart takes a bit of getting used to. Like so many performance cars of the mid-2000s, it’s such a shame they didn't benefit from later transmission tech. But those familiar with heavy, enormous, complicated sports cars will find plenty to enjoy here as well, from 50mpg to mid-engined thrills for £8k. Just make sure to pack light...
SPECIFICATION | SMART ROADSTER BRABUS
Engine: 698cc three-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: 6-speed automated manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 101@5,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 96@2,500rpm
MPG: 54.3
CO2: 121g/km
Year registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 47,000
Price new: £16,995 (2004)
Yours for: £8,500
As others have said, fab concept which seems to have been let down by a few questionable design choices.
Could probably say the same for the last petrol Brabus Fortwo and it's Twingo, errr, twin, come to think of it.
The ownership community was great fun. The car was too, if you accept it'll never be fast and the handling is nowhere near what you would expect for something like this. What often spoiled it was how absolutely unrealistic owners are about the handling and speed. I remember one owner actually rolled one in the lakes thanks to the ESP not turning off, but down and then kicking in just as the owner had steered into it.
The gearbox could be driven around to a large extent but it'll never go down in history as anything but the car's main, glaring weakness, along with SAM unit failures and in later years needing complete engine rebuilds, though the Roadsters resist this more than the equivalent ForTwo.
So near yet so far from greatness.
Actually, don't buy a 660 Copen either (even though technically I did as it was the Girl's first car, albeit in 1.3 guise).
I agree on the driving experience part but they all seem to be around this price, who knew?!
Still one of my favourite ever cars. Super cheap to run and repair.
Like having a go-kart on the road.
I only paid around £2k for mine years ago, I've noticed they go for a lot more now, not surprised, great little cars.
The ownership community was great fun. The car was too, if you accept it'll never be fast and the handling is nowhere near what you would expect for something like this. What often spoiled it was how absolutely unrealistic owners are about the handling and speed. I remember one owner actually rolled one in the lakes thanks to the ESP not turning off, but down and then kicking in just as the owner had steered into it.
The gearbox could be driven around to a large extent but it'll never go down in history as anything but the car's main, glaring weakness, along with SAM unit failures and in later years needing complete engine rebuilds, though the Roadsters resist this more than the equivalent ForTwo.
So near yet so far from greatness.
It was a really enjoyable little car which I thought looked the business. My partner was only recently back to driving after a long period away as the result of a horrific experience and I doubt she would have made that step if it wasn't for the Brabus.
I prefer using an automated manual, as opposed to dual clutch equipped cars, for the most part as I like the interaction but even so the gearbox was never anything other than average at best. Didn't completely spoil the party though.
I actually thought that the Brabus' problem was that the big wheel/tyre combination gave it too much traction for the rest of the package to be exploitable. It could never be provoked into anything other than gripping and going in my experience but then we didn't have it for too long as my partner thought it would be a good idea to get pregnant which ultimately meant it had to go. They were no longer available new by this point though so we didn't actually lose anything on it which was a silver lining.
More power could have been the answer but I personally think that defeats the purpose in something very small and light. I'd have preferred far less mechanical grip myself so that it could at least be overpowered every once in a while.
The gearbox was truly dreadful though, and the roof mechanism was Christmas cracker level of engineering quality.
The standard steering wheel is like something out of a bus, too: there was an optional smaller one, but they're like hen's teeth and hence quite expensive second hand (if you can find one).
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