Smart Roadster shed
Discussion
Thought I'd share this, it's fun.
Read a LOT of things about them on here beforehand, including: leaks, s
t gearbox, st in town, slow, numb and slow steering, noisy, better off with an MR2 etc etc, but always liked them and was lusting after something cheap and cheerful that I can leave anywhere and don't have to worry about.
Ended up with a car that had a missfire under full load and handling that was more terrifying than anything I've ever driven before, and a steering wheel that generally pointed off somewhere to the left irrespective of the direction I was travelling in. Turned out to be knackered spark plugs for the missfire, and alignment and/or tyres on the handling front, although have also replaced the dampers as well for good measure.
After driving 15k miles, have worked out that it leaks like a colander, it's fking noisy and it's also the first car I've had since various Elises that I've bothered to take for cross country thraps.
Depending on your driving style the gearbox isn't that bad - I miss being able to heel and toe and don't even bother attempting to get away quickly from a standstill, but it's easy to work around it. Don't lift at all for upshifts and it feels similar to making a leisurely change in any other car (sure, it won't bang up through the gears Fast and Furious style but as my wife is often in the car with me it's not something I do anyway) - point is it's not jerky and it's not nearly as bad as I've read.
Downshifts are more irritating, in so much that you have to be in the lowest gear possible at junctions or where you may want to move rapidly, as otherwise the car will probably decide to change from second to first on your behalf, leaving you without a gear in the middle of the road. It's predictable though, so as long as you either remember to change down to first or keep your foot on the accelerator a bit to keep it in second, and it's fine. Not the most engaging, but fine.
For me it's also perfect as a city and town car, is nippy, tiny and I'm getting just under 50mpg after driving most places with my foot on the floor.
Can even get my golf clubs in the boot.
They get a lot of stick, but personally find it a better proposition than a Mk3 MR2, the engine is a lot more characterful and for me it's worth putting up with the tardy automated gearchange.
Thought I'd share regardless - I know there have been plenty on here in the past (some even faster than TVRs, I'm told), but not seen any for a while.
Incidentally, here are a few of my older little cars that I'm comparing it against. Not as much fun as the Elises, but a decent replacement if you're on a tight budget.
Read a LOT of things about them on here beforehand, including: leaks, s
t gearbox, st in town, slow, numb and slow steering, noisy, better off with an MR2 etc etc, but always liked them and was lusting after something cheap and cheerful that I can leave anywhere and don't have to worry about. Ended up with a car that had a missfire under full load and handling that was more terrifying than anything I've ever driven before, and a steering wheel that generally pointed off somewhere to the left irrespective of the direction I was travelling in. Turned out to be knackered spark plugs for the missfire, and alignment and/or tyres on the handling front, although have also replaced the dampers as well for good measure.
After driving 15k miles, have worked out that it leaks like a colander, it's f
king noisy and it's also the first car I've had since various Elises that I've bothered to take for cross country thraps. Depending on your driving style the gearbox isn't that bad - I miss being able to heel and toe and don't even bother attempting to get away quickly from a standstill, but it's easy to work around it. Don't lift at all for upshifts and it feels similar to making a leisurely change in any other car (sure, it won't bang up through the gears Fast and Furious style but as my wife is often in the car with me it's not something I do anyway) - point is it's not jerky and it's not nearly as bad as I've read.
Downshifts are more irritating, in so much that you have to be in the lowest gear possible at junctions or where you may want to move rapidly, as otherwise the car will probably decide to change from second to first on your behalf, leaving you without a gear in the middle of the road. It's predictable though, so as long as you either remember to change down to first or keep your foot on the accelerator a bit to keep it in second, and it's fine. Not the most engaging, but fine.
For me it's also perfect as a city and town car, is nippy, tiny and I'm getting just under 50mpg after driving most places with my foot on the floor.
Can even get my golf clubs in the boot.
They get a lot of stick, but personally find it a better proposition than a Mk3 MR2, the engine is a lot more characterful and for me it's worth putting up with the tardy automated gearchange.
Thought I'd share regardless - I know there have been plenty on here in the past (some even faster than TVRs, I'm told), but not seen any for a while.
Incidentally, here are a few of my older little cars that I'm comparing it against. Not as much fun as the Elises, but a decent replacement if you're on a tight budget.
Edited by pthelazyjourno on Tuesday 30th January 14:48
Luke. said:
Did you really prefer it to the MR2? In the market for a small roadster and had discounted the smart.
I also prefer it to my MR2 Roadster; really disliked the engine. Had a lot of work done on it - started off as a pre-facelift car and ended up with an engine out of a 2005 MR2 with a few tweaks, but was still hugely underwhelming. I think it was just too linear - you can rev the nuts off it but it just felt a bit pointless to me, probably be a lot better with a 2ZZ. You can be more of a hooligan in the MR2 - the Smart Roadster has more intrusive traction control - but then again it's not like you can do huge powerslides with 130bhp or whatever it has (unless it's raining or greasy, then it's a lot more fun).
Just prefer the torque of the Smart, the sounds it makes and the fact I can put the roof up or down at whatever speed I want. Plus cheaper tax, insurance (for me), fuel, and, from what I've seen so far, parts.
I'd say definitely try one, and also get the owner to drive it as well - in theory you can then see what the gearbox could be like if they know how to drive it properly. I'm sure plenty of people have tried it, seen the worst side and gone away without ever realising what it could be like.
Then again you may hate it, but nothing to lose from having a go of both.
Thanks all.
Bit surprised by all the positive comments, I thought it'd be more polarising.
It'd probably understeer more in the hands of others, but I find it pretty good on that front - as said have already covered 15k miles in it so have got to grips with most of its foibles.
It's probably more of a 9/10ths car though - push it to the limit and it all gets a bit ragged. Stay a bit below and it's really rather fun - it's so narrow that you can really thrash it on a b-road and still have plenty of space to move over where necessary, and then you look at the speedo and you're doing 50 something mph. Makes me laugh, seems like the ideal car for speed camera mad Britain.
Unlike the Lotus I've got no real desire to take it on track though.
Since buying it have made a few changes, including the speakers and stereo, as I also seem to spend a fair bit of time stuck in traffic. The old setup seemed to be missing something...
Have fitted new discs and pads (£40!), new Toyo tyres (considered going with something like the AD08s I was running on my old car but it already seems a bit over tyred for a car with 80bhp), new brake lines and rear brake cylinders, new dampers, a full service and a couple of new light bulbs. Plus an MOT. Fair bit of work but then again I will go buying cars worth the same as a sofa.
After that lot, I believe it owes me somewhere in the region of £600. Which although not insubstantial for a shed, didn't seem too bad considering I've spent more than that on dampers alone previously. It's a bill that's also easily covered by the saving in fuel and tax over the Lexus IS or my 28mpg Cooper S, both of which seemed to throw up much bigger bills on top (you don't want to know how much some garages quote to supply and fit an electronic steering rack for an IS 250!!).
Will keep updating as I go regardless.
Bit surprised by all the positive comments, I thought it'd be more polarising.
It'd probably understeer more in the hands of others, but I find it pretty good on that front - as said have already covered 15k miles in it so have got to grips with most of its foibles.
It's probably more of a 9/10ths car though - push it to the limit and it all gets a bit ragged. Stay a bit below and it's really rather fun - it's so narrow that you can really thrash it on a b-road and still have plenty of space to move over where necessary, and then you look at the speedo and you're doing 50 something mph. Makes me laugh, seems like the ideal car for speed camera mad Britain.
Unlike the Lotus I've got no real desire to take it on track though.
Since buying it have made a few changes, including the speakers and stereo, as I also seem to spend a fair bit of time stuck in traffic. The old setup seemed to be missing something...
Have fitted new discs and pads (£40!), new Toyo tyres (considered going with something like the AD08s I was running on my old car but it already seems a bit over tyred for a car with 80bhp), new brake lines and rear brake cylinders, new dampers, a full service and a couple of new light bulbs. Plus an MOT. Fair bit of work but then again I will go buying cars worth the same as a sofa.
After that lot, I believe it owes me somewhere in the region of £600. Which although not insubstantial for a shed, didn't seem too bad considering I've spent more than that on dampers alone previously. It's a bill that's also easily covered by the saving in fuel and tax over the Lexus IS or my 28mpg Cooper S, both of which seemed to throw up much bigger bills on top (you don't want to know how much some garages quote to supply and fit an electronic steering rack for an IS 250!!).
Will keep updating as I go regardless.
Edited by pthelazyjourno on Wednesday 31st January 17:38
Sycamore said:
If you have the standard radio etc, you can buy a cable online for ~£10 which you just plug into the back and feed back into the cabin giving a simple 3.5mm Aux connection for a phone etc.
Join up on the site Evilution. membership was £10 a year and there are guides on how to do pretty much anything on pretty much any Smart car.
Thanks a lot. I think I used that for reference when changing the plugs on my ForTwo, didn't realise it was subscription. Seems worth it regardless, lots of useful info. Join up on the site Evilution. membership was £10 a year and there are guides on how to do pretty much anything on pretty much any Smart car.
Somebody had already changed the head unit for something with spangly blue lights, needed to change it as it was reflecting in the mirror from the rear window at night, kept thinking I was seeing emergency lights!
Luke. said:
Any more updates? Your post has really got me looking at these. In fact, I'm viewing three on Saturday.
What did you think of the ones you went to see? Love or hate... Always interested to hear first opinions, mainly because of the gearbox. Have done a few bits and bobs to the interior, will update at the weekend if it's nice and can take some pics. About 200 miles away from 100,000 miles, still running well.
Concentrating on my ForTwo at the moment, maybe I should add that to the thread, is time for me to fit the £35 worth of discs and pads!! If anybody thought the gearchange on the Roadster is bad, they should try my other Smart, time taken to change gear is measurable in rotations of the moon around the earth! That said it's another car that really amuses me, and although it's flawed there's so much to like about them too.
Luke. said:
Any more updates? Your post has really got me looking at these. In fact, I'm viewing three on Saturday.
Actually tell a lie, I do have the most minor of updates (and probably not in keeping with petrolhead mentality, as it's literally sticking stickers around the heater vents!). Before:
And after:
Granted, I think most of the difference is in the fact that I've actually cleaned it for the first time since I bought it!!
Also with new stereo. Just wanted something that had a similar screen colour and Bluetooth. Does the job, although quite a world away from the 13 speakers and Mark Levinson head unit in my last car...
Other updates include new seat covers, floor mats and hopefully the first wash of 2018, the excitement.
Stick with me, occasionally my threads are more exciting than sticker updates!! (This was previous fun project..):
SloppyClock said:
I test drove one of this a couple of weeks back to see if I am sure I want to get one.
Was a fairly fun drive, the steering wasnt as light as people have made out to be honest and bloody ell it did feel nimble. This was a 82 hp bogo model so I'm hoping the Brabus is pokier, sharper and stiffer.
Just need to sell my car and hope to get one.
Keep the updates flowing, its good to see another person going through ownership as it provides insight into a future car for me
Glad to hear this thread is of some use! The big wheels put me off the Brabus, along with the fact I can easily justify quirks, foibles and leaks in a £1k car, not quite so much in something costing 5x that. I will get mine remapped, however, would be interested to see what one with 100bhp goes like. Are you looking at Coupes or the ugly one like mine? Was a fairly fun drive, the steering wasnt as light as people have made out to be honest and bloody ell it did feel nimble. This was a 82 hp bogo model so I'm hoping the Brabus is pokier, sharper and stiffer.
Just need to sell my car and hope to get one.
Keep the updates flowing, its good to see another person going through ownership as it provides insight into a future car for me
An extra 30bhp made a big difference in my Elise, so imagine it'd be a similar case with the Roadster.
In the meantime, a few holes and water damage meant that my seats were looking tatty. I planned on stealing the heated leather seats out of the ForTwo but the damn thing keeps on running, so decided to get some cheapo covers instead. Need to take the seats out to attach the bases properly, which I haven't done yet, and it's not as good as a proper retrim or new seats, but still brightens up the interior a bit. Excuse the mess, is my daily at the moment.
In other news, mpg according to the trip has dropped to 48.7mpg over 15k miles. The shame. It spent months on 51mpg too.
Captain Smerc said:
Who sells the seat covers ? They look good .
Thanks. It's some company in Greece: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SMART-ROADSTER-LEATHERE...
They fit pretty well, impressed with the quality of them. They do loads of different colours too, which is handy.
DMN said:
The remap makes a big difference to how the car drives. I got the SW remap on mine which put it at around 115bhp. Thats quite a big step up from 80.
Can I ask how much it cost? That's a massive difference, the good thing about forced induction I guess. What's the remap like - any random flat spots or does it feel OEM? How durable was the engine afterwards...Cost me £2k to get another 30bhp out of my K Series, so looking forward to much cheaper tuning!
Yeah I prefer the Coupes too.
Mine has grown on me - I actually like the look of it without the roof bars and windows down (as in first pics on here), but doesn't look anywhere near as good as the Coupe with the roof up.
Biggest thing that put me off the Brabus was the fact that we ended up with a couple of dented alloys on my last car, and on the Cooper S, and the potholes around here (on NSL dual carriageways where swerving isn't necessarily an option) are getting ever worse. As in stretch 4ft across the lane and unavoidable worse. Kept reading that Brabus alloys are easily knocked out of shape, and they don't appear to be cheap.
Be interested to hear how you think they drive after comparing with a standard car, and if the power is indeed the biggest factor. They do look good though - prefer the colour-coded bits - and heated leather is nice if you can find one - seems to wear a lot better than fabric, and easier to keep clean if it leaks.
Mine has grown on me - I actually like the look of it without the roof bars and windows down (as in first pics on here), but doesn't look anywhere near as good as the Coupe with the roof up.
Biggest thing that put me off the Brabus was the fact that we ended up with a couple of dented alloys on my last car, and on the Cooper S, and the potholes around here (on NSL dual carriageways where swerving isn't necessarily an option) are getting ever worse. As in stretch 4ft across the lane and unavoidable worse. Kept reading that Brabus alloys are easily knocked out of shape, and they don't appear to be cheap.
Be interested to hear how you think they drive after comparing with a standard car, and if the power is indeed the biggest factor. They do look good though - prefer the colour-coded bits - and heated leather is nice if you can find one - seems to wear a lot better than fabric, and easier to keep clean if it leaks.
Expensive week on the Roadster front.
Been waiting for some nicer weather to swap the spark plugs - switched the top three when trying to diagnose a missfire, but the bottom three prove more time consuming.
Certainly not the most accessible consumables in the world!
Mileage now at 101k, running well.
Already had the spark plugs, so this week's expenditure was around £2 for a new key case after the button on the last one popped!
That's it for now. Still haven't cleaned the poor thing!
Been waiting for some nicer weather to swap the spark plugs - switched the top three when trying to diagnose a missfire, but the bottom three prove more time consuming.
Certainly not the most accessible consumables in the world!
Mileage now at 101k, running well.
Already had the spark plugs, so this week's expenditure was around £2 for a new key case after the button on the last one popped!
That's it for now. Still haven't cleaned the poor thing!
irocfan said:
well done you! Mine was far from shed money - but I have to say that it has put a smile on my face!
I'm the opposite to you since I refused to even look at the notch - it had to be a hatch or nothing since I also was determined to get a hard-top, I don't trust people not to try and vandalise where I have to leave it. Ended up buying from a dealer who put right just about everything as he promised.
Mine's an 04 with 45k and the 16" wheels. I decided in July(ish) to relegate the SLK55 to weekend duties rather than the daily commute and was instantly rewarded with 57mpg!
In all honesty I have been totally (and pleasantly!) surprised by the lack of leaks (even in the torrential downpour this last few days). The ride is hard but not harsh and I will agree with the comment about HGVs and buses - it can get a little nervy.
The one thing I didn't like about some I looked at was the lack of idiot gauges so mine does have the extra pods (boost and temp) and the paddle-shift is, IMO, a must. It really transforms the driving experience.
Problems? None - a stone has broken one of the headlights so I'll be replacing that, ditto the windscreen which is a little annoying. All that said I'd be absolutely pissed if that had happened to the SLK so it's all good, and somewhat cheaper to resolve.
It was hatch or nothing for me too when I had £5-10k too - with the roof up they look a million times better. Problem is, whenever I've had that sort of money I've always ended up with an Elise (x3 so far!). I'm the opposite to you since I refused to even look at the notch - it had to be a hatch or nothing since I also was determined to get a hard-top, I don't trust people not to try and vandalise where I have to leave it. Ended up buying from a dealer who put right just about everything as he promised.
Mine's an 04 with 45k and the 16" wheels. I decided in July(ish) to relegate the SLK55 to weekend duties rather than the daily commute and was instantly rewarded with 57mpg!
In all honesty I have been totally (and pleasantly!) surprised by the lack of leaks (even in the torrential downpour this last few days). The ride is hard but not harsh and I will agree with the comment about HGVs and buses - it can get a little nervy.
The one thing I didn't like about some I looked at was the lack of idiot gauges so mine does have the extra pods (boost and temp) and the paddle-shift is, IMO, a must. It really transforms the driving experience.
Problems? None - a stone has broken one of the headlights so I'll be replacing that, ditto the windscreen which is a little annoying. All that said I'd be absolutely pissed if that had happened to the SLK so it's all good, and somewhat cheaper to resolve.
I think I'd have struggled to find anything decent hatch wise at under £2k, and just wanted to get back into cheap and cheerful motoring again.
That said I'm not really doing the shed thing in terms of running it - I rather like it so much like everything else I've had I'll be trying to get it into tip-top condition irrespective of cost, never really got on with the whole running a car into the ground and then scrapping it thing. Is just perfect for my needs, can't imagine getting rid of it now.
Oddly enough a hard top wouldn't have helped on the leaks front, mine is f
ked around the wing mirrors. Pax side possibly fixable, drivers side somehow has both rubber seals on the inside of the window so water just goes straight down the window and into the door. Suspect the easiest fix is just to change the door, will have a look in the summer. Any pictures of yours?
Johnny5hoods said:
I've always really wanted to like them, and I kind of do. I'm just aware of the compromises, I need a daily driver, and I've only got parking space for one vehicle.
It's a great concept. How many threads do we see on here lamenting cars getting bigger and heavier? Isn't small, lightweight and RWD what every petrolhead eventually matures into wanting after they realise 300BHP has its drawbacks.
It's a great little car. My heart aches to see a car like this, with one or two alterations. As much fun as an Elise for a lot less money.
There are definitely compromises, but it's surprisingly good as a daily. Considering the weight it's also nice to have things like cruise control, trip computer, auto lights, wipers etc. Oddly enough the irritating gearbox makes it pretty handy when you're stuck in traffic.It's a great concept. How many threads do we see on here lamenting cars getting bigger and heavier? Isn't small, lightweight and RWD what every petrolhead eventually matures into wanting after they realise 300BHP has its drawbacks.
It's a great little car. My heart aches to see a car like this, with one or two alterations. As much fun as an Elise for a lot less money.
Edited by Johnny5hoods on Friday 30th March 17:14
Feels like the Brit alternative to a kei car. It's just nice to be able to thrash it and have fun and not worry about speed cameras or losing your licence.
magooagain said:
I owned a brabus coupe for a while,I enjoyed it but just couldn't handle the paranoia,and that's from a fiat coupe owner. 
Second pic is it going back to the dealer!
Lol. It amuses me how people who buy one type of car also buy other types. Second pic is it going back to the dealer!
My Fiat cost me a fair few grand.
What scared you about the Smart? Have found my most expensive cars to own have been things like Toyotas, stuff that people rave about but cost an arm and a leg if the engine does ever blow up. Thing I like about the Roadster is that most things seem to be pretty cheap second hand if necessary, and will have a go at most jobs myself (SAM etc).
In the meantime it's cheap insurance, petrol, tax and consumables, so even if the engine needs rebuilding I should still be up in monetary terms.
Man maths probably, but it comforts me, haha.
em177 said:
What are these like at 60/70mph motorway jaunts? Both in terms of how they deal with it and mpg?
Mine averages 50odd mpg, round town, country thrashes and motorway jaunts between 60 and 80mph. It's as comfortable as any other car at 85, but gets a lot noisier over 65, hence depends whether I'm trying to get somewhere on time or prefer to saunter along listening to music. Lots of wind noise, that's the only irritating thing at higher speeds.
magooagain said:
One of the worst things of owning the Brabus was that I live down a long country road with loads of cow st etc and it was so nice and tidy that I feared for it. Also the chocolate wheels were a worry .
Also the engine management light was Allways coming on,I was also freaked out about water ingress on the ecu after reading all the horror stories.
I remember you from the coupe forum quite some years back I seem to remember you went onto a lotus?
My coupe is used just for track and hill climbs now and still going strong.
Aaah did think I recognised your name but figured it must have been from here. Yeah, I kept ending up with £1500 bills for the Fiat so thought I'd give Lotus a try instead! t etc and it was so nice and tidy that I feared for it. Also the chocolate wheels were a worry .Also the engine management light was Allways coming on,I was also freaked out about water ingress on the ecu after reading all the horror stories.
I remember you from the coupe forum quite some years back I seem to remember you went onto a lotus?
My coupe is used just for track and hill climbs now and still going strong.
5 years and some 50-60k miles in the first Elise, should have hung onto it really. Been looking for another car I get on with ever since.
I guess there's a different level of paranoia depending on price - at shed money I don't really worry about my Roadster, I'd probably be a lot more precious if it was already pristine (not dragging the back of it across the drive in the pissing rain on my own for starters, haha!).
Definitely lots of horror stories, but figured I can do most things myself if it breaks. We shall see!
Fiat looks good for a track car - looks stripped out, how much does it weigh?
magooagain said:
Yes it's stripped out with the various mods to bring up to about 325 hp along with other handling mods etc.
Gets along well.
I imagine it weighs about the same as a standard coupe with me and the mrs in it.
There are a few smart roadster forums about where parts can be bought if you don't know allready.
I'm enjoying reading your posts about the roadster.
Yeah, I can imagine that being fun. I liked my Coupe, just didn't trust it and the running costs were a different order of magnitude to the MR2 I had before it. The naivety of youth!! Gets along well.
I imagine it weighs about the same as a standard coupe with me and the mrs in it.
There are a few smart roadster forums about where parts can be bought if you don't know allready.
I'm enjoying reading your posts about the roadster.
Any particular forums you recommend? Have signed up to one for DIY advice, can't remember the name but was also mentioned on here by somebody else, seems like there's quite a bit of support for them.
Thanks - it's nice to share my experiences with it, all the other threads I've read seem to be either incredibly biased for or against it, so wanted to post what it's actually like to live with.
irocfan said:
Coupe definitely looks better. 
I think my ideal Roadster is probably your car with my wheels and a Brabus engine! Have got rather attached to my particular car now though so can't imagine swapping in the future unless somebody kills it.
They are also surprisingly practical little cars.
No other news to report.
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