RE: Spotted: Smart ForFour Brabus
Discussion
The "Little Duncs" love the sliding rear seats.
it is a small car, and I have the drivers seat fully back, yet there is more rear seat leg room than anything else I have ever owned, except for the long wheel base range rover.
Until of course, you want to put something in the boot, and slide the seats forward. I have to say though, it is a good idea, and I am surprised that it is not a feature on more cars.
it is a small car, and I have the drivers seat fully back, yet there is more rear seat leg room than anything else I have ever owned, except for the long wheel base range rover.
Until of course, you want to put something in the boot, and slide the seats forward. I have to say though, it is a good idea, and I am surprised that it is not a feature on more cars.
These cars are superb for the money...
Great power delivery, low weight, v v reliable.
Plastic panels gleam in the sun... they dont expand.... The door cables stick in hot weather but this is one of the only "faults"
This car will beat a cooperS, focus st, etc and the drive-ability is great. The britcar forfour runs pretty much standard throughout and over the 24hr race, not much went wrong..... Not bad for a unique entrant.
MPG around town under 30 if you drive it like its meant. 40 on a run is easily possible. And running on v-max type fuel is essential.
If you want bargain hot hatch that people actually take notice of then this is your car...
JJ
Great power delivery, low weight, v v reliable.
Plastic panels gleam in the sun... they dont expand.... The door cables stick in hot weather but this is one of the only "faults"
This car will beat a cooperS, focus st, etc and the drive-ability is great. The britcar forfour runs pretty much standard throughout and over the 24hr race, not much went wrong..... Not bad for a unique entrant.
MPG around town under 30 if you drive it like its meant. 40 on a run is easily possible. And running on v-max type fuel is essential.
If you want bargain hot hatch that people actually take notice of then this is your car...
JJ
Clios build quality is quite poor in comparison and every man and his pitbull has one 
The Clio has a great engine and is fast but it's not in the same ball park in terms of refinement and quality - leather, climate etc all standard.
The Mitsubishi turbo DOHC power plant delivers excellent bhp and torque across the rev range ... It's defo not a car to discount as it will continue to accelerate up to its +130mph and defo surprises the CTR set
JJ
The Clio has a great engine and is fast but it's not in the same ball park in terms of refinement and quality - leather, climate etc all standard.
The Mitsubishi turbo DOHC power plant delivers excellent bhp and torque across the rev range ... It's defo not a car to discount as it will continue to accelerate up to its +130mph and defo surprises the CTR set
JJ
BIG DUNC said:
I have not driven a "decent" clio 182 (if one even exists) so cannot comment.
I assume you have driven a smart Brabus before making judgement?
No I admit I haven't, but I have driven a 182 and it is a great little car for the money. I assume you have driven a smart Brabus before making judgement?
problemchild1976 said:
Clios build quality is quite poor in comparison and every man and his pitbull has one
The Clio has a great engine and is fast but it's not in the same ball park in terms of refinement and quality - leather, climate etc all standard.
The Mitsubishi turbo DOHC power plant delivers excellent bhp and torque across the rev range ... It's defo not a car to discount as it will continue to accelerate up to its +130mph and defo surprises the CTR set
JJ
Full fat 182's come with leather seats, air conditioning, cruise control, xenon's and a few more bits also. I agree the build quality isn't great, in fact in some it's pants.The Clio has a great engine and is fast but it's not in the same ball park in terms of refinement and quality - leather, climate etc all standard.
The Mitsubishi turbo DOHC power plant delivers excellent bhp and torque across the rev range ... It's defo not a car to discount as it will continue to accelerate up to its +130mph and defo surprises the CTR set
JJ
I've owned one of these for almost 2 years now and it's been fantastic. I'd say 40mpg is very optimistic - 30 around town and mid-30s long distance is about average - but then for the performance on offer that's more than acceptable!
I spent a lot of time choosing a car before deciding on a 44Brabus (Cooper S, Clio 182, Fiesta ST), but these all came with drawbacks that I was keen to avoid (Price, image, it's an old nag)
The only drawback really is that nobody knows what it is, so selling it on might be a challenge when the time comes! And square wheels of course
I spent a lot of time choosing a car before deciding on a 44Brabus (Cooper S, Clio 182, Fiesta ST), but these all came with drawbacks that I was keen to avoid (Price, image, it's an old nag)
The only drawback really is that nobody knows what it is, so selling it on might be a challenge when the time comes! And square wheels of course
Nice to see the (mostly) positive talk about this great, if somewhat overlooked, little hot hatch. A good excuse to finally ditch my long-term lurker status here.
I've had mine since January 2010. Bought for £8.5k in showroom condition. No wonder, the previous owner had only managed to clock up 5k miles in a little over 3 years!
It's now up to 26k in my stewardship.
It's very true that the vast majority of people don't have a clue what it is apart from just another Smart. This gives me ample opportunity to 'educate' them by way of a sharp traffic light getaway. Needless to say I've yet to be out-dragged
It's worn bog-standard four spokes since I got it which helps the Q-car status no end (the mint Monoblock VI wheels reside in my garage, safely away from road salt and potholes )
Besides the performance, which is startling and pleasingly old-school, I love the practicality afforded by the sliding rear seats and five doors. It has a very nice sound system with subwoofer under the passenger seat for 'entertaining' the other half and the quality of the leather trim is beyond reproach, I've driven £30k+ Mercs which felt cheaper inside. That said, the silver painted plastic is a bit rubbish. It can just about manage 40mpg if I drive like Victor Meldrew but more realistic is 25-33, less if you give it the stick it craves 
It NEEDS V-Power or BP Ultimate too, don't be fobbed off with Tesco super as it doesn't really like it in my experience.
Silly little things I don't 'get' include the auxiliary pods on the dash. It already has a clock and water temp gauge so why replicate them? Also, the two clocks never seem to agree after a couple of days so I'm constantly re-synchronising them
I'd much rather have a boost gauge and oil pressure...perhaps a future project when time allows.
Apologies for the big post but it's rare that I get to voice an opinion on the 'Bra Bus' as I call it, much to my GF's chagrin. Hope it's of interest to potential owners of the rarest pocket rocket of recent times.
I've had mine since January 2010. Bought for £8.5k in showroom condition. No wonder, the previous owner had only managed to clock up 5k miles in a little over 3 years!
It's now up to 26k in my stewardship.It's very true that the vast majority of people don't have a clue what it is apart from just another Smart. This gives me ample opportunity to 'educate' them by way of a sharp traffic light getaway. Needless to say I've yet to be out-dragged
It's worn bog-standard four spokes since I got it which helps the Q-car status no end (the mint Monoblock VI wheels reside in my garage, safely away from road salt and potholes )Besides the performance, which is startling and pleasingly old-school, I love the practicality afforded by the sliding rear seats and five doors. It has a very nice sound system with subwoofer under the passenger seat for 'entertaining' the other half
and the quality of the leather trim is beyond reproach, I've driven £30k+ Mercs which felt cheaper inside. That said, the silver painted plastic is a bit rubbish. It can just about manage 40mpg if I drive like Victor Meldrew but more realistic is 25-33, less if you give it the stick it craves It NEEDS V-Power or BP Ultimate too, don't be fobbed off with Tesco super as it doesn't really like it in my experience.Silly little things I don't 'get' include the auxiliary pods on the dash. It already has a clock and water temp gauge so why replicate them? Also, the two clocks never seem to agree after a couple of days so I'm constantly re-synchronising them
I'd much rather have a boost gauge and oil pressure...perhaps a future project when time allows.Apologies for the big post but it's rare that I get to voice an opinion on the 'Bra Bus' as I call it, much to my GF's chagrin. Hope it's of interest to potential owners of the rarest pocket rocket of recent times.
Best people to speak to about remapping would be Smarts4you who run the racing version. If it's possible they'll know.
http://www.smarts4you.com/
http://smarts4youracing.com/
http://www.smarts4you.com/
http://smarts4youracing.com/
Guff79 said:
Silly little things I don't 'get' include the auxiliary pods on the dash. It already has a clock and water temp gauge so why replicate them?
Those are for your passengers, although i always had them tilted towards me!Also agree Radio 6 is the one to go for (with underseat sub)
Twin face armrest is also very clever
littlebasher said:
Those are for your passengers, although i always had them tilted towards me!
Me too, though I still think they're a bit unnecessary. What would a passenger want with a water temp gauge I wonder...knowing when to switch off the heated seats? 
littlebasher said:
Also agree Radio 6 is the one to go for (with underseat sub)
Mine's got the Radio 5 but it's still a nice system. Room for a handy cubbyhole with that one too.littlebasher said:
Twin face armrest is also very clever
Oh definitely. I do find it fouls the handbrake though.I think I'll treat the little rascal to a full valet this weekend. It deserves a little bit of pampering...then a good hard b-road spank to clear out the cobwebs
I just bought one of these last weekend. Quality is excellent and the thing is just so different that its great fun, really refreshing. I'm keeping track of the fuel I'm putting in so hope to know the true MPG soon. My wife keeps trying to pinch it from me and offering me her Elise so that says something about how appealing it is.
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