Smart Cars

poppasmurf_bewdley

fivetide wrote: »

You forgot WAS made. Past tense simnce that is what you are talking about.

You made a stupid generalisation and you can't admit it.

It seems that you and you alone in this entire thread are the only one stupid enough not to realise the conversation was about the ForTwo. Mind, given your form I'm not surprised. Another care in the community day is it?

No shock.

Looks like your knowledge on 'Smart' cars is about as good as your knowledge on tyre wear - ie you haven't got anything positive to say because you don't know anything about either subject.

My initial comments about quality of build and reliability applied to ALL 'Smart' cars including the FourTwo and the Roadster but you choose to ignore that. It just so happens that the quote from Wikipedia referred only to the Roadster and its quality, and DID mention that it wasn't made any more.

But I'm not going to lower myself to your level of 'Care in the Community' or any other slur on anybody's mental state. I'm sure others on this Thread don't want to listen to a slanging match between you and me so I'll leave it now with what I said at the start - 'Smart' cars (that's all types) have a reputation for poor build quality and poor reliability.

Just Added: My reason for including the quote from Wikipedia about the sports car was because one poster had claimed it was phased out of production because it hadn't met sales targets whereas it was stopped because of so many complaints and warranty work made it uneconomical to continue with production.

almillar

Yep, the Smart division hasn't made a profit yet. the ForFour was a styling exercise on a Mitsubishi Colt that people saw straight through.
You're missing the point though.
Please stop comparing it to the Aygo/C1/107. They're cheapo 4 seaters. Smart is a premium 2 seater, and so is the iQ (OK 3 seats at a push). I'm sure OP already realises that they can buy a car with more seats for less money.
Turbo lag - flip me. It's like 60bhp and you complain about turbo lag?! With an automatic gearbox and the car not being that fast in the first place, I'd be surprised if anyone noticed any turbo lag! I think it's fine on the motorway at 70mph, and gets up there fast enough. It's not an overtaking machine, but neither are any of the other cars mentioned, especially if you actually fill all their seats...
poppasmurf - you're going off topic with the Smart Roadster - you say it's unreliable, that's a different topic - we're talking about the Smart Coupe here. Most people, when asked what a Smart Car is, would refer to the Coupe.

rodenal

I didn't want to nit-pick earlier but it sounds very much to me like it's a poor engine / gearbox set up rather than turbo lag (i.e the car changes gear and drops off boost or can't get on boost quick enough from a standstill as the engine is so small rather than being in the right rpm range but waiting for the turbo to spool).

No modern car I've ever driven actually has bad turbo lag

interstellaflyer

rodenal wrote: »

I didn't want to nit-pick earlier but it sounds very much to me like it's a poor engine / gearbox set up rather than turbo lag (i.e the car changes gear and drops off boost or can't get on boost quick enough from a standstill as the engine is so small rather than being in the right rpm range but waiting for the turbo to spool).

No modern car I've ever driven actually has bad turbo lag

Actually I found pulling off quick from a standstill not a problem, it's when you slow down from say 30mph to 10mph or less when aproaching a roundabout then need to get out fast to take advantage of a gap, this is where the turbo lag and hopeless auto box can catch you out, ok you can learn to live with it but it is still dangerous especialy as this is the type of scenario a town/city car should be good at.

Badger_Lady

I absolutely adore my Smart Roadster (which is, yes, a type of Smart car):


It's the lushest ride I've ever had - bought for £5,100 at 4 years old with 30,000 on the clock. It's incredibly economical (I bought it for a motorway commute and my colleagues were very jealous of my fuel consumption)... it's also much easier than most cars to park, being small and neat. I love the semi-automatic (the gearbox isn't exactly high performance but I put up with it), and mine came with integrated iPod dock which is awesome too.

It always turn heads - very often people don't know what the make is without inspecting the rear logo - it feels smooth and gorgeous, handles wonderfully and turns its nose up at petrol.

And when it gets toooo steamy in there, I can just knock the roof down.

Most of the Roadsters had issues with leaking, generally from the wing mirrors, during rain. My simple solution is to keep a waterproof cover over it, although I have to confess that I haven't seen any leaking even when I am out in heavy rain.

almillar

interstellarflyer - that's wholly the gearbox and not the turbo, it waits until you go to accelerate to change into the right gear, say in your example from 5th to 3rd, causing the delay. Lots of autos do this, but the Smart one is just particularly slow at giving you a gear.
I just wanted to mention about my mum's Smart again. She had it for 7 years, mostly very short runs and she only did about 30,000 miles in it in all that time. Only problem it had was a flat battery (blame the short runs) and a puncture, which made my dad squirm when he saw the price of a little Smart tyre! So much so that he got all the tyres filled with puncture proof gunk. Smart has no spare wheel BTW.

jaqui59

interstellaflyer wrote: »

Actually I found pulling off quick from a standstill not a problem, it's when you slow down from say 30mph to 10mph or less when aproaching a roundabout then need to get out fast to take advantage of a gap, this is where the turbo lag and hopeless auto box can catch you out, ok you can learn to live with it but it is still dangerous especialy as this is the type of scenario a town/city car should be good at.

I have a 53 plate Smart FourTwo, and I will never purchase another Smart again for the reason stated above, as it is, without doubt, very dangerous!

Always come to a dead stop when approaching any give way line, even if you think the coast is clear ... Drive one, and you will see what I mean.

Badger_Lady

jaqui59 wrote: »

Always come to a dead stop when approaching any give way line, even if you think the coast is clear ... Drive one, and you will see what I mean.

Or knock it into manual

The gearbox really is the let-down of the car. I haven't actually experienced the problem you guys describe, but I have been caught out trying to do a quick three-point turn during a gap in traffic, only for the gearbox to refuse to engage 'reverse' halfway through. It gets there in the end, but the swearing and revving as a queue of angry cars builds up either side of you, I could do without...

atrixblue.-MFR-.

poor mans merc. hate the things should never have been out on the road. PITA in the get engine parts for at decent price most parts are main dealer and cost an arm and a leg, a timing chain failed on one i had the pleasure of repairing £134 for the timing kit compared to 50-80 for most cars on the market with small engines, merc fitted a horrible end link chain resulting in a weakness of the chain if the tensioner ever became worn and the the link snaps causing damage, new endless chains are now available giving more durability.

want to change a bulb? go to merc, you risk dropping spring clip into the lamp, and a full front end removal to get the clip out is required.

turbo fails quite often, and when i hear a dump valve go on the turbo charged cars i laugh heavily, because their dumping boost rather than releiveing excess boost in the pipe, that will cause oil residue to be thrown over the engine and damage to the turbo. the e clips on the waste geate under the car near the exhuast rust and fall off resulting in no turbo at all and have to find an e clip the same size to fit it is a PITA.

stearing racks can fail if you tracking is not kept up with. another common failure is piston ring and crank oil seal rings failing and causing scraped boires and cycilnder head mess.
and gearbox actuator for autoboxs fail quite often resulting in poor gearchanges and a hefty bill

lil.smartie

Oh Kaayyy....

1. More people complain than compliment esp on internet forums!
2. I have owned my own smart for 12yrs
3. We run a busy independent smart garage and so have seen more than most

Common faults..

1. Exhaust manifolds, actually VERY rare for a turbo to fail but they are sold as a one piece part along with the exhaust manifold which commonly crack at around 50,000 miles
2. Engine issues, piston rings stick in pistons, can then cause oil to pass and burn on the valves. Happens sooner with poorly maintained cars, ones run on mineral or semi-synthetic oil but does also happen on properly maintained cars too. Strangely we have many cars that have done more miles post rebuild than prior to it!
3. Safety, it's like driving around in a roll cage. There was a 5th Gear episode where the drove one into a concrete barrier at iirc 70ish mph, doors still opened & closed, the passenger shell rarely deforms.
4. Economy, the older (98-07) model or the CDi is better than the newer petrol
5. Gear change, it's not an auto, it's an automated manual. I always drive in manual mode, better economy and actually very smooth... lift off the gas as you change as you would in a manual & change down gears as you approach a roundabout as you would in a manual... did I mention it's a manual??
6. Space, boot is bigger than a C1/107/Aygo. My sister had a 107, my daughters buggy wouldn't fit in that but was fine in Smartie.
7. iQ... Hmm owned one for a year (also had a MINI Cooper) can seat 4 but no luggage space or leg room, fold back seat down and boot is about the same as a smart fortwo.

End of the day I love my car, wouldn't change it for the world, I owned 5 cars earlier this year, the only one I kept was Smartie and I replaced the rest with a Beetle! OP go and drive one and see what you think.

Kate