smart car

scheming_gypsy

intel wrote:

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

i agree, they're awful. This century's version of the Robin Reliant.

gkf

Husband and I collected daughter's car today as she was at work. Very impressed, loads of legroom, definitely feels like a much bigger car inside. Daughter loves it as well.

tomstickland

If they made the Smart Roadster with a manual gearbox and a revvy 1.3 16v engine then I'd buy one.

MrSmartprice

You are right about the room inside. I am 6' 3" tall and there was plenty of legroom and also loads of headroom. Far more space than most bog standard small cars. Obviously the gypsyman hasn't been in one, sounds like he drives a Rover!

As for the Roadster, don't even be tempted. Unlike the original Smart, they were released far too soon and have been plagued by all sorts of problems. I believe they are now going out of production.

tomstickland

Yes, they stopped making them a while back. They are lot more fun than the numbers would suggest though.

scheming_gypsy

MrSmartprice wrote:

You are right about the room inside. I am 6' 3" tall and there was plenty of legroom and also loads of headroom. Far more space than most bog standard small cars. Obviously the gypsyman hasn't been in one, sounds like he drives a Rover!

i just don't like the look of them to be honest. Probably are a nice drive but they look gay.
For the record i drive a Golf VR6

intel

scheming_gypsy wrote:

i just don't like the look of them to be honest. Probably are a nice drive but they look gay.
For the record i drive a Golf VR6

They look Gay..... yes yes they do.

Should be called tha Fag Car. :rotfl:

david29dpo

i have one and love it. saying they are " gay" is very childish. for the "record" i have a lotus esprit, but what that has to do with it, god only knows.

intel

david29dpo wrote:

i have one and love it. saying they are " gay" is very childish. for the "record" i have a lotus esprit, but what that has to do with it, god only knows.

Lotus are Gay aswell :rotfl:


Were only having a joke... they are both very nice cars

---lee---

funkydom wrote:

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.

Just thought I would add the reason they put ESP on them is because they are inherently unstable and therefore need it to be able to stay upright.

NCAP star ratings are class based. Obviously a huge 4x4 with a 3 star rating can’t be compared to something like this.

You say smart have put a lot of thought into safety but manufacturers like Renault have 5 star cars and these are the basic models with ESP etc.