Smart forfour brabus, any good?

[Borely]

A friend of mine is looking to buy a car soon and fancies some no hassle fun. He has linked this car to me and asked what i think..

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

Now, i know NOTHING about these cars and the search function doesnt seem to be working. So..

pros:
The MPG seems reasonable at 41.5 combined
Its nippy enough
Quite modern being a 2006
Looks, erm, nice
Hes out the country most of the time so he wants as low insurance as possible.

Questions...
Is it good value?
How much are parts and repairs on these?
What to look out for when viewing?
What other options are there to fit the bill?

Thanks all ;-)

[Engineer1]

Aren't they the a platform share with the Mitsubishi Colt of the same era?

[Mr Fenix]

I used to be very into smart cars back in the UK. I even considered a Brabus 4/4, its roomier inside than you think. Most sold came with all the tech goodies (sat nav was crap, but steering wheel mounted controls were good). The alloy wheels look great but scuff and corrode easily. Dealerships were prone to sticking on cheaper skinnier tyres leaving an alloy "lip" around the whole wheel. Obviously these would get annihilated the second you hit the kerb during a parking maneuver.

I believe they came with 177bhp out the tin and with some careful mods can be tweaked to a reliable 230bhp. Fuel economy wasn't that great as you tend to floor it everywhere so expect mid 30's realistically.

My mum test drove one and was put off by the price tag (wayyy back in 2006) she ended up going for the Mitsi COLT CZT instead and loves it.
The CZT is less fussy inside, has less power but she averages 42-48mpg when driven carefully. Even when I borrowed the car for a month and caned the dibbles off it I didn't get anything less than low 30's. Nothing gone wrong in 4 years apart from replacement of wiper arms which scratched the rear window.

Check out www.smartmaniacs.co.uk other smart forums for further info.