Just thinking what my 17 yr old daughter is going to own and drive when she passes her test, soon hopefully.

Been through all the usual suspects, but keep thinking SMART, two seater, 600 cc.

Looks cool for a gerl, £30 RFL, seemingly good fuel consumption, not too quick, low insurance group presumably, and most importantly, CANNOT be crammed with loads of free loading pushy mates.

Just how reliable are the older ones though, say in the £1-2k bracket?

Anyone on here got or had one in the family, past or present?

Common faults to be aware of? Servicing and repair costs?

Cheers in advance.

Drop lfc958swmbo a pm she had a mk1 and is currently on a mk2 (new shape)

No clutch pedel so would forget how to use gears properly very easily.

Cheep to run, servicing is a little more expensive though, nippy when they need to be, amazing on petrol, easy to park, lots to have a tendacy to go pop at 60k miles, guy at work is having to get his head rebuilt at 90k though, the older ones are limited in speed (89.4 mph iirc)

Give her the idea though as would be a good one

Drop lfc958swmbo a pm she had a mk1 and is currently on a mk2 (new shape)

No clutch pedel so would forget how to use gears properly very easily.Cheep to run, servicing is a little more expensive though, nippy when they need to be, amazing on petrol, easy to park, lots to have a tendacy to go pop at 60k miles, guy at work is having to get his head rebuilt at 90k though, the older ones are limited in speed (89.4 mph iirc)

Give her the idea though as would be a good one

No manuals available at all, past or present?

I quite fancy one myself tbh. :yes:

Nope no manuals. Drove a brabus one and gearchanges took a while

Mums got one had it from new 53 plated on about 56k now, its starting to give up, Gearbox has gone sloppy so it has to be driven in Semi-Auto now instead of Auto

Apart from that its still going strong, no major problems with it, Decent MPG (Alot better than my TDI) and also...... it will reach 90mph

Yea the new ones are limited to 90 i had one and ended up chopping it in.

Martyn: when you say you drove a brabus was it the 4.2 or the roadster as they are meant to be 2 completely different drives.

No manuals as they are a city car design. There is one floating round somewhere in the UK with an a-series 1275 engine???

lol i keep thinking about one of these just for work and back. Will keep an eye on this thread

matt

I also did a lot of reading up with regards to getting a Smart. The general engine issues put me off, (especially the one about needing work at 60k miles) as to me this didn't constitute a Smart being reliable long term. As long as your aware of this you can make a better buying decision.

I had one as a (dis)courtesy car once.

The gear change is horrid. If you are making any progress it's a real lurch as it changes up for you.

And the ride over 55mph made me feel seasick. It really wobbles about if there is any wind at speed.

Feels great about town though as it's easy to place. It's so small it feels like a go-cart.

OK for local trips. But any distance, forget it IMO.

Oh and the short wheelbase can be interesting over speedhumps. At 20mph I felt like I was doing 50mph. It was rather uncomfortable, so I slowed right down and had people driving right up my chuff. Tailgaiters are not intimidated by a Smart.

Martyn: when you say you drove a brabus was it the 4.2 or the roadster as they are meant to be 2 completely different drives.

One of these but in black http://www.fultonleasing.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/brabus-smart-car.jpg

Had an X-reg CDI - was bulletproof, despite general neglect (first owner covered 13k in 5 years without servicing it). Interior was very well put together, and the engine never gave me any problems and on a run could easily return 80mpg. You get used to the gear change, I'd argue that it helps teach you to anticipate better as you can't leave it 'til the last minute to think about changing gear.

There are some excellent specialists out there anyway so you don't have to pay for Mercedes labour rates.

And for insurance it's worth checking out MSM Insurance (one of their specialities is insurance for smarts).

As Vrs Sunroof has said I am on my second Smart. I have had a Pure ,Peanut (Headlight) 53 plate (700cc)and currently driving a 57 plate Pulse (998 ish cc,bigger wheels and flappy paddleshift) This is a Mitsubishi engine, so hopefully! will go for longer than the older engines.As a family we have over the years had 2 pures a 52 plate and 53,a roadster and 2 57 plate Pulses. Pure was the base model,Pulse the Sportier and Passion being the luxury version. Then the Brabus was the tuned one with extras.

If the new driver is taking the full driving test and not the auto then I don't think it would be a good idea as a first car. The reason for this is that after 7 years of driving a semi auto I have lost confidence in my ability to drive a manual. Got to work at getting it back!!

If you are interested in a smart still then let me point you in the direction of Smartmaniacs. Like Brisky it is a friendly and very helpful forum, The car is definitly Marmite, you either love or hate them. I love my Smartie, but am actually thinking of changing, fancy getting a Roadster. Mind you I am not sure I can part with my Smartie.

Do not believe the fuel consumption figures for the petrol engines. These little cars are fun to drive and the go faster pedal is hard to resist. Earlier ones were limited to 83 ish current ones are 90ish. They can reach these speeds(next time you are on a motorway have a look at what lane most Smarts are in........................outside ) and are limited for a reason. In my opinion the reason is stability.

As for long journeys I have taken mine from Dover to Liverpool and back on a few occasions. They can handle this really well, the main problem is you get a numb bum about half way there, but that can happen in lots of cars.. Parking........well the car is short so you can park in tight spaces, however!! it does not have power steering as standard so you have to work at getting the car into the space.Find a garage selling one and have a test drive.It is the only way to tell if you like them.

If you are worried about freeloading mates then take the back seat out of whatever you buy

Kathy

You serious! Mr Ree? I wouldn't put any of my family in one of those, they are a little short of crumple zones. I know my daughter would not want to be seen in a Smart car, she would think I am punishing her.

You serious! Mr Ree? I wouldn't put any of my family in one of those, they are a little short of crumple zones.

Im sick and tired of reading/hearing this. go and look at the NCAP test and review what you have just written :wonder:

all this whohar about crumple zones, you need crumple zones or cars are not safe at all..... :wonder: give me strengh

Edited 25 July, 201114 yr by vRSsunroof

Pretty hopeless in the snow apparently, according to my neighbour anyhow who dropped hers after a few months for a LR Disco (perhaps one of the more radical car swaps..??). A young lady down the road has a pinky one which looks very feminine..!

Pretty hopeless in the snow apparently

Never had any problems with mine...the skinny tyres worked really well in the snow. It was in the dry where it was "interesting".

I saw a smart vs an artic and it didn't come off well, but then I'm not sure how well any older (or new car) would have after having the trailer wheels take a go at it.

No idea if the occupants survived or not (I only guess they did as the road was not closed totally) however I doubt it's any worse than any other car you'd put a new driver in.

I saw a smart vs an artic and it didn't come off well, but then I'm not sure how well any older (or new car) would have after having the trailer wheels take a go at it.

No idea if the occupants survived or not (I only guess they did as the road was not closed totally) however I doubt it's any worse than any other car you'd put a new driver in.

nothing would come up to well in that situation, not even a landy!

Alls i will say is they are bloody safe cars! if i had a kid and they wanted one, i wouldent stop them, apart from the lack of clutch thing

Forgot to say that my older son was hit by a police Volvo when he was in his Smart. He was doing nearly 70 and the Volvo was chasing an armed robber at ?? Deffo more than 70..Clipped the smart due to a numpty in a TT. Smart careered across the 2 lanes of the A2 and into the central barrier then bounced back to the verge. Car was not written off (just) the only injury was to his then Gf's neck due to whiplash. They are very tough little cars and I feel as safe as you can in a small car. The car is not a complete crumple zone, the Tridion (usually Black or Silver) is in fact a safety shell to protect the passenger compartment.

Snow:- If you know Folkestone hill up to Capel ,well this winter my little baby got me up there when there was ice and snow on it. Cars coming down ,with their handbrakes ON!! were sliding out of control.My little baby did not like being stuck behind "Proper" cars that were spinning their wheels so after someone had passed me I thought that I would try the outside lane.Slow and steady she slithered to the top of the hill leaving the proper cars behind. I was at no point reckless, but I did feel that if the queue caused me to stop then I would not have got going again.

The previous winter I had to get home from Canterbury to Dover along the A2.Blizzard conditions and she behaved beautifully.

Most people have only been in a Smart as a passenger. I have to admit that due to the vast amount of space that you have in the passenger seat I can see how some poeple feel unsafe. I much prefer being the driver. Mind you i do not like being the passenger in my own car

Kathy

ESP when I'm driving it

The NCAP ratings are for staged accidents and the manufacturers design a car to pass these tests, what is not mentioned on how they protect occupants in other situations. The Smart has 4 stars and so does the 107/Aygo/C2, I know which one myself and family would be happy driving.

Having seen an Aygo in a motorway crash as well as the smart in one, I think I'd probably say the newer smart tbh.

Having seen an Aygo in a motorway crash as well as the smart in one, I think I'd probably say the newer smart tbh.

He he like. Tbh out of the 4 I'd rather be in the smart too

Just thinking what my 17 yr old daughter is going to own and drive when she passes her test, soon hopefully.

Been through all the usual suspects, but keep thinking SMART, two seater, 600 cc.

Looks cool for a gerl, £30 RFL, seemingly good fuel consumption, not too quick, low insurance group presumably, and most importantly, CANNOT be crammed with loads of free loading pushy mates.

Just how reliable are the older ones though, say in the £1-2k bracket?

Anyone on here got or had one in the family, past or present?

Common faults to be aware of? Servicing and repair costs?

Cheers in advance.

I don't have kids, and I completely take on board your point about your daughter not having a car full of mates but.............

Would you rather she has 3 or 4 mates in the car with her, or that she's a passenger in a similar car?

Dad had a smart roadster coupe which he ran until silly mileage..reliable and nothing major went wrong. Servicing was expensive as it had to be done at mercedes (very few specialists) at this point. Brilliant little car apart from lorry drivers "not seeing you" lol