4k zed replacement....how about a smart Brabus?
Discussion
Morning all,
I'm driving myself mental and would be interested in some thoughts on my dilemma...last Saturday my beautiful HR 350z was driven away by it's new owners meaning I'm now on the hunt for a replacement...and this is where I'm struggling.
The reason for moving the zed on after 3 years was to free up some cash for home improvements meaning I would look to buy myself something for around 4k, 4.5k at a push and aim to get back in to something like a 370z in a year or so.
Initially my search took me to view a trophy clio (I owned 2 clio williams many moons ago) however as fun as it was the ride was just to harsh for me as i do some motorway miles, I then went and viewed a EP3 civic type R which i enjoyed, i felt it would be better for daily use as it will cruise in 6th and was not as harsh a ride as the trophy however the lack of tourqe meant that when i planted my foot for some fun it seemed to make a whole lot of noise but not really get anywhere. Another thing is that for my budget they are high milers some with sketchy history.
I then had a go in a friends E46 325i auto and that was rather nice (although not very exciting) so i started looking at 330's, I went to view a few but most had a few rough edges and patchy history's meaning I'd have to lay out money straight away.
Another car on my list and i'm test driving one on Monday is the Ford ST220 mondeo, no idea what to expect by they have a nice big engine and are better priced and the BMWs so I'll see how i get on with it....but this is where things took a slightly different direction.
I got shoved out of the way on the M25 by a lad in a 2005 plate Brabus smart car and i must admit i really liked the look of it, i did a little searching online and found a few i wanted to view so yesterday i drove all over the place and tried 4, all similar price, similar mileage and all were quite good fun.
I wondered what views people had on the Brabus? anyone owned one?, any look outs? any insight in to living with one? I will do 15k a year including town and motorways as my job takes me all over Essex, North London and in to hertfordshire....my thinking currently is that for my budget i can get one with low miles, good history and from a resale point of view i imagine them to be fairly easy to move on.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
I'm driving myself mental and would be interested in some thoughts on my dilemma...last Saturday my beautiful HR 350z was driven away by it's new owners meaning I'm now on the hunt for a replacement...and this is where I'm struggling.
The reason for moving the zed on after 3 years was to free up some cash for home improvements meaning I would look to buy myself something for around 4k, 4.5k at a push and aim to get back in to something like a 370z in a year or so.
Initially my search took me to view a trophy clio (I owned 2 clio williams many moons ago) however as fun as it was the ride was just to harsh for me as i do some motorway miles, I then went and viewed a EP3 civic type R which i enjoyed, i felt it would be better for daily use as it will cruise in 6th and was not as harsh a ride as the trophy however the lack of tourqe meant that when i planted my foot for some fun it seemed to make a whole lot of noise but not really get anywhere. Another thing is that for my budget they are high milers some with sketchy history.
I then had a go in a friends E46 325i auto and that was rather nice (although not very exciting) so i started looking at 330's, I went to view a few but most had a few rough edges and patchy history's meaning I'd have to lay out money straight away.
Another car on my list and i'm test driving one on Monday is the Ford ST220 mondeo, no idea what to expect by they have a nice big engine and are better priced and the BMWs so I'll see how i get on with it....but this is where things took a slightly different direction.
I got shoved out of the way on the M25 by a lad in a 2005 plate Brabus smart car and i must admit i really liked the look of it, i did a little searching online and found a few i wanted to view so yesterday i drove all over the place and tried 4, all similar price, similar mileage and all were quite good fun.
I wondered what views people had on the Brabus? anyone owned one?, any look outs? any insight in to living with one? I will do 15k a year including town and motorways as my job takes me all over Essex, North London and in to hertfordshire....my thinking currently is that for my budget i can get one with low miles, good history and from a resale point of view i imagine them to be fairly easy to move on.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
My wife had a SMART Four Four a few years ago, and I absolutely loved it, great car for the money, she actually misses it and wishes they still made them.
We had a Roadster (not brabus) as a courtesy car and I loved that (she didn't) I think it had an 800cc engine in it?? but it was nippy and really good fun.
I wouldn't want to do 15K miles a year in it though.
We had a Roadster (not brabus) as a courtesy car and I loved that (she didn't) I think it had an 800cc engine in it?? but it was nippy and really good fun.
I wouldn't want to do 15K miles a year in it though.
g7jhp said:
If you're going 15k per year there are probably more comfortable cars to be in.
I also wouldn't want to be involved in a crash driving a Smart car!
Did you ever see the Fifth Gear crash test of a Smart Car - you'd be amazed at just how strong they are. I also wouldn't want to be involved in a crash driving a Smart car!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EY1fMXpdqQ
I assume by "Smart Brabus" you are referring to the roadster. (I seem to recall they did Brabus versions of some of the others (or was just a few styling options?))
Anyway, the main problems with the smart roadster (brabus or otherwise) as a I see them are:
- The interior is a bit toy town.
- Reassurances about "safety cells" or whatever is basically the Health and Safety version of man maths.
- Owners on the forum assured me there would be significant bills every so often when I asked about reliability.
- It's meant to be noisy.
- There are better options for a car of that size and configuration.
I find it hard to justify the Smart over a mk3 mr2 where you get Toyota reliability, more power, a propper gearbox and still very reasonable mpg. It's just a shame the better car is the worse looking.
At the end of the day, with the Smart, if it didn't look good, you wouldn't want it.
If this post sounds jaded it's because I want one as well and it annoys me that it isn't as good a car as it should have been.
You'd also be buying one at the worst possible time of year, price wise, although same goes for anything with two seats.
Anyway, the main problems with the smart roadster (brabus or otherwise) as a I see them are:
- The interior is a bit toy town.
- Reassurances about "safety cells" or whatever is basically the Health and Safety version of man maths.
- Owners on the forum assured me there would be significant bills every so often when I asked about reliability.
- It's meant to be noisy.
- There are better options for a car of that size and configuration.
I find it hard to justify the Smart over a mk3 mr2 where you get Toyota reliability, more power, a propper gearbox and still very reasonable mpg. It's just a shame the better car is the worse looking.
At the end of the day, with the Smart, if it didn't look good, you wouldn't want it.
If this post sounds jaded it's because I want one as well and it annoys me that it isn't as good a car as it should have been.
You'd also be buying one at the worst possible time of year, price wise, although same goes for anything with two seats.
Edited by Bennet on Thursday 10th April 10:46
Bennet said:
I assume by "Smart Brabus" you are referring to the roadster. (I seem to recall they did Brabus versions of some of the others (or was just a few styling options?))
Anyway, the main problems with the smart roadster (brabus or otherwise) as a I see them are:
- The interior is a bit toy town.
- Reassurances about "safety cells" or whatever is basically the Health and Safety version of man maths.
- Owners on the forum assured me there would be significant bills every so often when I asked about reliability.
- It's meant to be noisy.
- There are better options for a car of that size and configuration.
I find it hard to justify the Smart over a mk3 mr2 where you get Toyota reliability, more power, a propper gearbox and still very reasonable mpg. It's just a shame the better car is the worse looking.
At the end of the day, with the Smart, if it didn't look good, you wouldn't want it.
If this post sounds jaded it's because I want one as well and it annoys me that it isn't as good a car as it should have been.
You'd also be buying one at the worst possible time of year, price wise, although same goes for anything with two seats.
Seems fair feedback to me, I'm not talking about the roadster though, it is the brabus version of the wee dinky Smart fourtwoAnyway, the main problems with the smart roadster (brabus or otherwise) as a I see them are:
- The interior is a bit toy town.
- Reassurances about "safety cells" or whatever is basically the Health and Safety version of man maths.
- Owners on the forum assured me there would be significant bills every so often when I asked about reliability.
- It's meant to be noisy.
- There are better options for a car of that size and configuration.
I find it hard to justify the Smart over a mk3 mr2 where you get Toyota reliability, more power, a propper gearbox and still very reasonable mpg. It's just a shame the better car is the worse looking.
At the end of the day, with the Smart, if it didn't look good, you wouldn't want it.
If this post sounds jaded it's because I want one as well and it annoys me that it isn't as good a car as it should have been.
You'd also be buying one at the worst possible time of year, price wise, although same goes for anything with two seats.
Edited by Bennet on Thursday 10th April 10:46
Crusoe said:
7k mile service intervals on the brabus are a bit of a pain when you are doing decent milage. Good fun though and easy to get 50mpg+ see if you can live with the gearbox (not as bad as it seems once you get used to it but would be a lot better as a manual).
Interesting about the service intervals, I was having trouble findout what thtey were, so it is 7k or 12 months whatever comes first? only the few i've looked at have service historys that seem to have been done in line with mileage rather than annually Bennet said:
I find it hard to justify the Smart over a mk3 mr2 where you get Toyota reliability, more power, a propper gearbox and still very reasonable mpg. It's just a shame the better car is the worse looking.
I'd not considered the MR2, just having a look now and they seem well priced, as a chap of 6'2 and 15 stone I do wonder how snug the fit will be but that said i had enough room in the smart do i'm sure I'd be fine.Edited by Bennet on Thursday 10th April 10:46
I don't think you'll have a size problem - I'm 6ft4 and 14 stone and have a smart fortwo as a spare car. Was actually given it in lieu of payment on a job. Thought I'd sell it immediately but found it to be surprisingly nippy and so damn easy to park - sideways in a standard spot sometimes. It's the 700cc turbo version with semi auto box and paddle shift. 64bhp? It's noisy/bumpy but it does have low profile tyres as standard.
The only thing that would deter me from actually buying one would be the engine lifespan issue - generally the engine seems to need a rebuild at 60k, some times earlier. I've just rebuilt the turbo and can see why the tiny lump might give up the ghost earlier than other engines - tiny and stressed IMO.
The brabus spec looks more comfortable.
If you're ok with potential short engine lifespan go for it..... but I would buy the Toyota IQ if I was in the market for a smaller car.
The other cars I have are the DS4 and an E46 330ci Msport
The only thing that would deter me from actually buying one would be the engine lifespan issue - generally the engine seems to need a rebuild at 60k, some times earlier. I've just rebuilt the turbo and can see why the tiny lump might give up the ghost earlier than other engines - tiny and stressed IMO.
The brabus spec looks more comfortable.
If you're ok with potential short engine lifespan go for it..... but I would buy the Toyota IQ if I was in the market for a smaller car.
The other cars I have are the DS4 and an E46 330ci Msport
heretheygo said:
I don't think you'll have a size problem - I'm 6ft4 and 14 stone and have a smart fortwo as a spare car. Was actually given it in lieu of payment on a job. Thought I'd sell it immediately but found it to be surprisingly nippy and so damn easy to park - sideways in a standard spot sometimes. It's the 700cc turbo version with semi auto box and paddle shift. 64bhp? It's noisy/bumpy but it does have low profile tyres as standard.
The only thing that would deter me from actually buying one would be the engine lifespan issue - generally the engine seems to need a rebuild at 60k, some times earlier. I've just rebuilt the turbo and can see why the tiny lump might give up the ghost earlier than other engines - tiny and stressed IMO.
The brabus spec looks more comfortable.
If you're ok with potential short engine lifespan go for it..... but I would buy the Toyota IQ if I was in the market for a smaller car.
The other cars I have are the DS4 and an E46 330ci Msport
How was the 330 to live with? The only thing that would deter me from actually buying one would be the engine lifespan issue - generally the engine seems to need a rebuild at 60k, some times earlier. I've just rebuilt the turbo and can see why the tiny lump might give up the ghost earlier than other engines - tiny and stressed IMO.
The brabus spec looks more comfortable.
If you're ok with potential short engine lifespan go for it..... but I would buy the Toyota IQ if I was in the market for a smaller car.
The other cars I have are the DS4 and an E46 330ci Msport
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