Smart Roadster
Discussion
Cosworth750 said:
Seen a few nice examples of these on Autotrader for little as £2.2k.
Anyone own one of these or has owned? What did you think of it? Quite tempted myself
Hrmm. 700cc. Even the Brabus one is only 100bhp. Bit leaky.Anyone own one of these or has owned? What did you think of it? Quite tempted myself
If mid-engined is your thing, save up for an elise S1.
If sportscars are your thing, save up for an MX5.
If slightly weird old models from a half-dead manufacturer with leaky roofs and mid-engined is your thing, go for the smart, or the lotus.
C
CraigyMc said:
Hrmm. 700cc. Even the Brabus one is only 100bhp. Bit leaky.
If mid-engined is your thing, save up for an elise S1.
If sportscars are your thing, save up for an MX5.
If slightly weird old models from a half-dead manufacturer with leaky roofs and mid-engined is your thing, go for the smart, or the lotus.
C
True not powerful but apparently they are quick enough and the appeal is solely in the fun driving experience.If mid-engined is your thing, save up for an elise S1.
If sportscars are your thing, save up for an MX5.
If slightly weird old models from a half-dead manufacturer with leaky roofs and mid-engined is your thing, go for the smart, or the lotus.
C
55mpg and cheap tax along with good value on the second hand market. There is plenty of appeal there for someone wanting a bit of fun with affordable running costs for little money
Not looked at the link posted, assume it is the thread I have probably posted in, gearbox aside they are fantastic little cars.
You know when people refer to the classic Mini as a great car than handles like a go kart, and what they actually mean is it is wretched little death trap with suspension akin to a harden pile of dog s
t. The Smart Roadster is actually like a go kart, they feel incredibly fast even though they are not, and a country road they are just a complete hoot to drive.
First car that has brought a genuine smile to my face in a long time, the first car that has also made me pull over and wait for traffic to clear just so I can enjoy the car.
They are not without their faults, and some of them air costly, only two reasons I don't own one.
1. The gearbox
2. Not so much poor mpg, but tiny tiny tank, when you pull up at Shell, and you whack half a tank of V power in thinking "yeah, double points for me, gotta be 40 points here" and you actually end up with about 20 points, is somewhat annoying, almost motorbike fuel capacity/range
Stick a manual box in, and a bit more weight in the front end, and maybe a bit more power and the car will be amazing
You know when people refer to the classic Mini as a great car than handles like a go kart, and what they actually mean is it is wretched little death trap with suspension akin to a harden pile of dog s
t. The Smart Roadster is actually like a go kart, they feel incredibly fast even though they are not, and a country road they are just a complete hoot to drive.First car that has brought a genuine smile to my face in a long time, the first car that has also made me pull over and wait for traffic to clear just so I can enjoy the car.
They are not without their faults, and some of them air costly, only two reasons I don't own one.
1. The gearbox
2. Not so much poor mpg, but tiny tiny tank, when you pull up at Shell, and you whack half a tank of V power in thinking "yeah, double points for me, gotta be 40 points here" and you actually end up with about 20 points, is somewhat annoying, almost motorbike fuel capacity/range
Stick a manual box in, and a bit more weight in the front end, and maybe a bit more power and the car will be amazing
I have one. I brought it after a long term track car project finally failed and my idea was to buy the roadster and put a bike engine in it.
Some years ago I also owned a SMART ForTwo (an early one which was LHD) so I had an idea of what to expect with regards performance and the gearbox.
There is a site which contains the official repair instructions for remediation of the various leaks that may occur http://www.evilution.co.uk/408.
The gearbox is something that you adjust to. The Brabus models do have a more responsive gear change but the best advice is to make sure you don't use the automatic mode because it's pretty awful.
The failed project was a Clio v6 which is another car which either you get or you don't get. Try the SMART out for yourself, you'll know very quickly whether it's right or not for you. For me it has character and is different enough from the defaut choices that makes it appealing.
The v6 was the best car I'd owned, the roadster has stolen that top spot comprehensively. If/when it finally dies I may return to the idea of putting a bike engine in it but there's a sense that as the car stands today it's a very balanced package (power, steering, handling) and significantly changing one of those may polute the character of the car.
Some years ago I also owned a SMART ForTwo (an early one which was LHD) so I had an idea of what to expect with regards performance and the gearbox.
There is a site which contains the official repair instructions for remediation of the various leaks that may occur http://www.evilution.co.uk/408.
The gearbox is something that you adjust to. The Brabus models do have a more responsive gear change but the best advice is to make sure you don't use the automatic mode because it's pretty awful.
The failed project was a Clio v6 which is another car which either you get or you don't get. Try the SMART out for yourself, you'll know very quickly whether it's right or not for you. For me it has character and is different enough from the defaut choices that makes it appealing.
The v6 was the best car I'd owned, the roadster has stolen that top spot comprehensively. If/when it finally dies I may return to the idea of putting a bike engine in it but there's a sense that as the car stands today it's a very balanced package (power, steering, handling) and significantly changing one of those may polute the character of the car.
I've not owned one, but I've driven a few.
The gearbox ix woefully slow; the steering is (IMO) too slow and doesn't have as much feel as it should; most of them leak; they aren't particularly reliable; they aren't particularly fast;... on the other hand there's just something about them that's fun - I think "characterful" rather than objectively "good" really sums the car up. Try one.
I'd love a 'busa powered one with a slightly quicker steering rack.
The gearbox ix woefully slow; the steering is (IMO) too slow and doesn't have as much feel as it should; most of them leak; they aren't particularly reliable; they aren't particularly fast;... on the other hand there's just something about them that's fun - I think "characterful" rather than objectively "good" really sums the car up. Try one.
I'd love a 'busa powered one with a slightly quicker steering rack.
I've owned my Roadster for 6 years now. I had a few little mods done when I first bought it and it now has an output of about 106 bhp, which is plenty. It's fairly quick, very chuckable and loads of fun to drive!
The gearbox is the main bugbear, but it's not impossible to live with by any means. If you leave it in full automatic, I find he car uses more petrol and changes up too late, so it's better to change your own gears. It is a slow box, but it's easy to get around that by simply using it slightly differently to a manual gearbox. You just anticipate your gear changes and change earlier. It's not a problem.
Some of them leak, so I gather, but mine never has so I'm not qualified to comment on that.
I get almost 300 miles out of the tank, which is perfectly reasonable.
I keep meaning to sell mine because it's nothing more than a fun spare car. But I can't bear to part with it! It costs so little to run that I may as well hang on to it. It's handy to have a spare in case my RR won't start at any time. And for the money, it's a fab little car.
The gearbox is the main bugbear, but it's not impossible to live with by any means. If you leave it in full automatic, I find he car uses more petrol and changes up too late, so it's better to change your own gears. It is a slow box, but it's easy to get around that by simply using it slightly differently to a manual gearbox. You just anticipate your gear changes and change earlier. It's not a problem.
Some of them leak, so I gather, but mine never has so I'm not qualified to comment on that.
I get almost 300 miles out of the tank, which is perfectly reasonable.
I keep meaning to sell mine because it's nothing more than a fun spare car. But I can't bear to part with it! It costs so little to run that I may as well hang on to it. It's handy to have a spare in case my RR won't start at any time. And for the money, it's a fab little car.
My roadster was about a year old when I bought it but and I didn't have the problems with mine with leaks and bad build quality etc like most.
But mine was very well looked after and only came out of the garage on the odd sunny weekend.
Myself I wouldn't buy one now as the earliest ones are coming up to 10 years old and I don't think the roadster was built to last.
I hate to admit it but if I was after a cheap reliable roadster it would have to be an mx5
But mine was very well looked after and only came out of the garage on the odd sunny weekend.
Myself I wouldn't buy one now as the earliest ones are coming up to 10 years old and I don't think the roadster was built to last.
I hate to admit it but if I was after a cheap reliable roadster it would have to be an mx5
CraigyMc said:
Cosworth750 said:
Seen a few nice examples of these on Autotrader for little as £2.2k.
Anyone own one of these or has owned? What did you think of it? Quite tempted myself
Hrmm. 700cc. Even the Brabus one is only 100bhp. Bit leaky.Anyone own one of these or has owned? What did you think of it? Quite tempted myself
If mid-engined is your thing, save up for an elise S1.
If sportscars are your thing, save up for an MX5.
If slightly weird old models from a half-dead manufacturer with leaky roofs and mid-engined is your thing, go for the smart, or the lotus.
C
First post on PH, having just been randomly browsing for stuff on the Roadster. We bought one just under a year ago and haven't regretted it for a moment.
Picked up a late '03 model Roadster-Coupe, black/silver tridion, with heated leather seats, paddleshift, and the 16" Spikeline alloys, plus a 100bhp remap for £2,750. So far absolutely nothing has gone wrong in a year of pretty much daily use.
I'll start with the bad points first:-
1) It does leak. Not badly compared to some, but usually get a few dribbles atound the door mirrors. No probs with the roof or bulkhead though, which would be more of an issue.
2) Yes, the gearbox. The auto mode is not actually that bad, but it does hold onto the gears far too long, which becomes irritating and goes through fuel far more quickly with no benefit to performance. Using the paddles is much better, but hard to make a swift getaway sometimes as it can tend to bog down a bit off the line or coming out of mini roundabouts for example. More of a problem when you're trying to drive 'sensibly' - when you're on it, it seems to fall into place much better.
3) Noise! I don't think ours has the standard exhaust to be fair, but it's pretty darn loud above 3k rpm which unfortunately is where you end up at 80mph in 6th. So not the best long distance tool purely due to that (wouldn't be bad otherwise).
4) I'm struggling now. Brakes are pretty spongy on ours, but could just need fluid/pipes/adjustment so wouldn't tar them all with that brush. Can also be hard to find in a car par if you are parked next to a larger vehicle (such as a Ka or Yaris...).
The good:-
1) Pretty lively but more importantly I have NEVER driven a car which feels like you're going so much faster than you really are. If you like the sensation of speed, but love your licence just as much, this could be the car for you.
2) Handling. Steering hasn't got a lot of feel, but strangely it just doesn't seem to matter. Anyone who's owned an original Mini will feel right at home with the lack of roll and the eager turn-in. Awesome.
3) Ride/comfort. For a car like this, the ride is pretty damn good, better than our C-class on some roads in fact. You can really feel the lightness, in a good way. Seats are excellent, supportive and very comfy even on a long run.
4) Running costs. Tax is low, tyres get a pretty easy time of it, and it'll do 35-40 mpg even on the station run. 50+ mpg is achievable on a run but in my experience it's too much fun to thrash to see that sort of figure very often! Also discs, shocks etc are same as the City Coupe and are pretty cheap by modern standards.
5) Practicality. A week's worth of shopping will go in the front boot, and an equal amount (or more) in the back if you have the coupe. Long items can also be carried quite easily which has come in handy several times. FAR better than MR2 mk3 or Elise.
6) Build quality. OK, we may have been lucky. But the interior plastics, despite looking a little cheap hace stood up well to 8 yrs & 72k miles. No rattles at all, nothing's fallen off, all electrics still hanging in there. Feels like a solid, 'proper' car.
7) Size. It'll go in practically any parking space and is a lot less intimidating to thread down a narrow country lane than...most things.
In summary - it'll never be a car for everyone but if you want something with real character that won't break the bank then there's little else quite like it. Try before you buy though!
Geoff
Picked up a late '03 model Roadster-Coupe, black/silver tridion, with heated leather seats, paddleshift, and the 16" Spikeline alloys, plus a 100bhp remap for £2,750. So far absolutely nothing has gone wrong in a year of pretty much daily use.
I'll start with the bad points first:-
1) It does leak. Not badly compared to some, but usually get a few dribbles atound the door mirrors. No probs with the roof or bulkhead though, which would be more of an issue.
2) Yes, the gearbox. The auto mode is not actually that bad, but it does hold onto the gears far too long, which becomes irritating and goes through fuel far more quickly with no benefit to performance. Using the paddles is much better, but hard to make a swift getaway sometimes as it can tend to bog down a bit off the line or coming out of mini roundabouts for example. More of a problem when you're trying to drive 'sensibly' - when you're on it, it seems to fall into place much better.
3) Noise! I don't think ours has the standard exhaust to be fair, but it's pretty darn loud above 3k rpm which unfortunately is where you end up at 80mph in 6th. So not the best long distance tool purely due to that (wouldn't be bad otherwise).
4) I'm struggling now. Brakes are pretty spongy on ours, but could just need fluid/pipes/adjustment so wouldn't tar them all with that brush. Can also be hard to find in a car par if you are parked next to a larger vehicle (such as a Ka or Yaris...).
The good:-
1) Pretty lively but more importantly I have NEVER driven a car which feels like you're going so much faster than you really are. If you like the sensation of speed, but love your licence just as much, this could be the car for you.
2) Handling. Steering hasn't got a lot of feel, but strangely it just doesn't seem to matter. Anyone who's owned an original Mini will feel right at home with the lack of roll and the eager turn-in. Awesome.
3) Ride/comfort. For a car like this, the ride is pretty damn good, better than our C-class on some roads in fact. You can really feel the lightness, in a good way. Seats are excellent, supportive and very comfy even on a long run.
4) Running costs. Tax is low, tyres get a pretty easy time of it, and it'll do 35-40 mpg even on the station run. 50+ mpg is achievable on a run but in my experience it's too much fun to thrash to see that sort of figure very often! Also discs, shocks etc are same as the City Coupe and are pretty cheap by modern standards.
5) Practicality. A week's worth of shopping will go in the front boot, and an equal amount (or more) in the back if you have the coupe. Long items can also be carried quite easily which has come in handy several times. FAR better than MR2 mk3 or Elise.
6) Build quality. OK, we may have been lucky. But the interior plastics, despite looking a little cheap hace stood up well to 8 yrs & 72k miles. No rattles at all, nothing's fallen off, all electrics still hanging in there. Feels like a solid, 'proper' car.
7) Size. It'll go in practically any parking space and is a lot less intimidating to thread down a narrow country lane than...most things.
In summary - it'll never be a car for everyone but if you want something with real character that won't break the bank then there's little else quite like it. Try before you buy though!
Geoff
Edited by GeoffC3230 on Saturday 19th January 13:27
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