smart car

cabrioman

i am thinking about buying a smart car, can anyone who has one tell me what they are like to own?

gkf

My daughter is also thinking of buying one so I would be interested in opinions on them.

vansboy

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk clik Car by Car Breakdown link.

Then go & by a Fiesta...or even a Ka, if you're desperate for a funky motor!!

VB

carl310166

Ask Martin,he's got one!

tomstickland

I've got a friend with a Smart Coupe - the little low down coupe thing. Good fun to drive, but the interior build isn't up to much. The main "roller skate" car is remarkably good on crash safety. A bit stupid though - tall, small wheels etc. A proper original mini is a much better idea for light, cheap to run (but not to buy) car.

TheChillPill

I used to have use of a company smartcar. Very economical (fill the tank for £12!), and surprisingly fun to drive. If you're only going around town, they're great - but they can be scary as hell on motorways. They are extremely light, so even just a small amount of wind can really move you between lanes.

They're not all that cheap to buy either - corsas etc are cheaper to buy 2nd hand, so it's all swings and roundabouts.

jjames_3

Yeah but a Smart is a much nicer car than a Corsa, which I have to say in 1.0l form is by far and away the worst car I have ever driven.

The bigger Smart car is a Mitsubishi Colt in plastic clothes. They pretty much are an "image" car, there's nothing particularly good about them to recommend. Being based on Mitsubishi/Chrysler mechanicals though they're generally tough and reliable.

intel

Please buy one as I cant stop laughing when I see one.

funkydom

I bought a smart car Pulse Cabrio 04 plate 6 months ago. Use it mainly to drive to work in (65 mile per day round trip, including motorway, A roads and urban driving), and I have to say I am very pleased with it.
It is extremely efficient, i'm getting over 300 miles on a roughly £25 full tank, and I don't drive particulary slowly. I did have the engine remapped when I bought it, so its a bit more nippy than the bog standard smart; I can wipe the smiles off the BMW and Mercedes drivers' faces if I catch them un-awares

When looking into buying it, I was worred about the comments i'd read about it being unstable, especially in high winds and at high speed on motorways but its not really been a problem for me. A couple of times i've felt a gust of wind, but if its windy I tend to just take it a bit slower and hold on to the steering wheel tighter and its fine. You just have to get used to it when you first drive it, once you are comfortable with being higher up you realise it is actually just as stable as any other car. And the mark 7 models (04 onwards I think) all have ESP (electronic stabliity control) which kicks in if it senses that you are losing control at all, and does its best to correct you.

>>The main "roller skate" car is remarkably good on crash safety. A bit stupid though - tall, small wheels etc.

The wheels are actually 15 inch, so no smaller than any other average car really. The design is such that the wheels stick out wider than the main bulk of the body which makes it extremely stable. The height isn't an issue.

One other thing to note is the safety - it has an NCAP rating of 3 stars, which brings it inline with much bigger cars. I think its the only mini car to have such a high rating. The shell is made from extremely hard metal and is designed to absorb the forces of impact and distribute them around the body. So if you crash, the car will probably be written off but the people inside should be unhurt. Its something they knew people would worry about so invested a lot of research into.

gkf

Thanks for that info, daughter has bought one - collecting it tomorrow. Looking forward to it :xmastree:

MrSmartprice

Mrs Smartprice had one for 3 years and had some great fun with it. The owners are all very friendly, and their events are excellent. The cars are amazing to drive, (ours was LHD too) and very quick if you have a remap. We didn't do too much long distance stuff in it, but after all they are town cars. The odd motorway trip is ok.

I don't agree that build quality is dodgy. They are far better than, say, a Ford, where in my experience bits fall off on a regular basis. The engines are surprisingly robust, but then they are Mercs. Have loads of fun in your Smartie!

Try the link too: http://www.thesmartclub.co.uk/main.html