Thursday 10th May 2012

Spotted: Smart ForFour Brabus

Exclusivity assured with this slice of turbocharged hot hatchery

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The train of thought that initiated this particular Spotted was, literally, the very action of spotting the car in question on the M25. Having driven the Brabus ForFour back 'in period' seeing one on the road was like a blast from the past and got me thinking, wow, that must be one rare car.

And it is, just 275 cars showing on howmanyleft.com. Two of these are currently advertised in the PH classifieds, this one perhaps the most appealing of them.

Smart (groan) little car for four grand

So, why would you? Well, it's certainly something different and, though perhaps a bit of a folly and a commercial failure, as a used buy it's certainly got some plus points. £4K isn't quite cheap as such but 177hp and that 1,090kg kerbweight are respectable figures and a healthy margin over the mechanically related Mitsubishi Colt CZT, which made do with just 147hp.

0-62mph in 6.9 seconds and a 137mph official top speed are nothing to be sniffed at and the muscular power delivery ensures it feels as exciting as it sounds. A quick browse about reveals that the 1.5-litre Mitsubishi engine does have a little headroom for additional tuning too, should that be your desire. Heck, there's even one that races in Britcar.

As memory serves the Brabus'd ForFour is entertainingly raw and a little uncouth, with plenty of turbocharged torque (steer) and a fairly uncompromising ride. That relative lack of weight works in its favour though and what it lacks in the last word in finesse it makes up for in punch. The electric steering was never the most feelsome but the relative lack of weight and general flingability are appealing, ditto the relatively reasonable 40mpg+ and 159g/km running costs. Those plastic panels give the ForFour a distinctive look too, the black on black of this car diluting that effect somewhat but in contrasting colours as many were making the four-door Smart look genuinely a bit different. Fair to say the rear three-quarter view works better than that disappointingly 'soft' front end but it's not without appeal.

Brabus tuned Mitsubishi 1.5-litre has 177hp

The Brabus trimmings help lift it a bit too, those lovely Monoblock VI wheels looking as good as they do on hot Mercs and the bits of Brabus bling in the interior helping to distract from the grey plastic that dominates.

What else might tempt you for the money? Well, the purist's hot hatch of choice from this period would be a Clio 182 of some description but good ones are going to cost you a bit more than this. A Mini Cooper S might tick some of the same boxes too but you'll be paying as much as double for the privilege. Perhaps not the obvious choice then but if you value individuality and fancy a hot hatch with a difference it could well be worth a look.

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SMART FORFOUR BRABUS
Engine: 1,468cc 4-cylinder, turbocharged
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Power (hp): 177@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 169@3,500rpm
MPG: 41.5mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 159g/km
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 72,500
Price new: £17,195
Yours for: £3,995

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See the original advert here or have a browse through similar cars in the new PH classifieds.

 

[HorneyMX5]

Really great little cars. I had a standard one as a hire car for a weekend and really enjoyed it. A refreshing change from the ususal Euroboxes. Good VFM in Brabus spec as well.

Nick

[CatScan]

Interesting, and pretty damn quick off the line. How's the quality? Mate's Smart Roadster fell apart after a few years.

[TomTVR500]

There are so many bargains out there for about £4,000 I would struggle to spend it on a smart car.
Although to be fair nothing about them has ever appealed to me so I am a bit biased.

[MrScrot]

I imagine the costs if it broke down would be significantly higher than most euro hatches, though this is only a guess. You would be in an exclusive club if you owned this though.

[Dazed & Confused]

I ran one for a year as a runabout car. Massively under-rated, and a real sleeper, as even petrol heads often don't knows what it is. Saw many an Audi driver go pale as they realised they weren't going to be able to cut up the silly little car as they'd first assumed, with the traffic island in their 'right turn only' lane fast approaching.

Pretty bullet proof. No build quality issues like the Roadster. The main issue is that those gorgeous alloys are very soft, so, combined with the very firm ride, often led to sqaure wheels. People in the know swap them out for Brabus Monoblock A wheels instead.

Not as pure as the Clio I had before it, but simply a great fun, surprisingly practical car (very few small hot hatches are 5 doors).

Never saw anything like 40mpg, though.

[Podie]

Pretty sure a PHer had one of these..?

ETA - Yep, Mr Brabus - http://www.pistonheads.com/members/showcar.asp?car...

[PaulG40]

CatScan said:

Interesting, and pretty damn quick off the line. How's the quality? Mate's Smart Roadster fell apart after a few years.

Ah yes, because everywhere you turn there's Roadster parts cluttering up the roadside.

[iggysport]

Love these, love the looks, love the interior, love the rarity!

[melvster]

Very cool little car.

[Marc W]

The car that competes (occasionally) in Britcar Production;



There is a second one under construction too.

Edit: I can't get it to show up but if you click on the x it goes to my Flickr account.

[Agoogy]

I remember one of those giving me a very hard time as I was learning to get to grips with a recently purchased 944 turbo... couldn't shake the fecker

[Mermaid]

iggysport said:

Love these, love the looks, love the interior, love the rarity!

+1 would have loved it be to be rwd or fwd

[Tahiti]

I didn't know you could get one of these for £4k. I quite like it.

[MrNova]

Just saw one (RHD on german number plates) yesterday and it remembered me how interesting they are. Unfortunately they start at around 8000€ over here so not as interesting as in the UK.
But that is a general problem with used cars in Germany, they are always much more expensive compared to the UK!

[Decibel]

I hope its not as unreliable as the normal ones...

Had two of these as promotion vehicles for nightclubs, were the most unreliable cars we've ever had, both were forever going back to the smart centre for electrical and engine faults.

Management bought them when they had the buy one get one half price offer for businesses.

[bigrich4]

I've worked for Smart for eight years now and these were brilliant fun back when they were being produced. Funnily enough a customer of mine part exchanged her Brabus Forfour a couple of months ago, I had it for a weekend and it brought a massive smile to my face

[anything fast]

I was getting ready to throw a tirade of abuse at this car, but then I read the article... not a bad deal, £4000 hmmmm 0 to 62 in 6.9 is decent.. all in all a classy little car! me like, but still would not buy one

[Twincam16]

Haven't driven a Brabus, but I hope they changed the steering from the standard model - I used to drive one regularly as a company hack and it felt like the steering column was made of recently-jetissoned snot.

[Jimbo89]

A mate of mine had a standard diesel Four in black and when it got warm in summer the plastic doors would expand so much you couldn't shut them. She had to tie them together with belts across the inside door handles. Other than that she seemed to like it.

[lindrup119]

Never really liked Smart cars thought they looked like kids toys but slap the Brabus name on it and I'm interested!