JThw8 wrote:Luke wrote: In an ideal world, the new Fiat 500 would be like these things. Imagine an Abarth version! Maybe with a slightly longer wheelbase...You dont really have to imagine, they just pronounce Abarth as Brabus
Except the Brabus Smart was only an appearance package. It was just as slow as the standard car.
if smart brings back the coupe'... I will really have to reconsider my dislike of buying new cars
Alan Cesar wrote:JThw8 wrote:Except the Brabus Smart was only an appearance package. It was just as slow as the standard car.Luke wrote: In an ideal world, the new Fiat 500 would be like these things. Imagine an Abarth version! Maybe with a slightly longer wheelbase...You dont really have to imagine, they just pronounce Abarth as Brabus
Sadly yes, in the 450 model it included a turbo but the current package doesn't have any go fast goodies.
mad_machine wrote: I will admit I keep getting tempted by the smart. Especially now that used prices are so low. With my 12 mile commute.. I would never have to fill her up.
I haven't seen them really drop in price around here. A new on is $13k and used ones are around $10.5k to $11.5k. That doesn't seem like much of a drop to me. Now, if they were in the $7500 range.....
-Rob
It's a shame it hasn't caught on more.
I think the main problem with them not catching on more is they cost too much for what you get (imo they should be 8-12k) and they get crap mileage for what they are. There are a lot of cars out there for the same money that have twice the seats, 3 times the space, and only get 2-3mpg less.
I paid $3800 for my Insight, which probably has a little less cargo versatility because of the layout, but is the same size, same weight, roomier in the passenger part, just as fast (i raced a smart, about even at low speeds), and gets 50-60mpg depending on your drive conditions.
Im curious as to how different they are at high speeds. I have no trouble passing people at 80.. thats in the heart of the powerband for me, about 4500 rpm in 3rd (and an un-honda-like 3000 in 5th). I can get up to 105 pretty easily so there's not much i can't pass.
Did I miss where you said what your MPG was during your ownership?
Otto Maddox wrote: Did I miss where you said what your MPG was during your ownership?
Yes, it was in the first post. My overall average was 43mpg.
I have been able to get into the 50s multiple times if I dont drive like an idiot (ie. keep it at 65) but I cruise at 80 so I took an economy hit for that.
It's not a car for everyone, no doubt, but until very recently there were not alot of new cars on the market that could get 40+
The extra seats and cargo room argument always perplexed me, I dont need either so why worry about it. Noone ever lectured me on only having 2 seats when I drove a miata or a corvette.
Vigo with all due respect you paid $3800 for a used Insight, hardly comparing apples to apples. Very few cars can offer 40+ mpg, with heated leather seats, auto lights, auto wipers and a host of other high end amenities for $15k. If you dont want the amenities you can get a base model for 11k right in that target range you said they should be priced at. Roomier in the passenger part? Do you mean carries more passengers? As far as front seat room I'm 6' tall and 220lbs and I have to move the seat forward to drive it, there's more than ample room. My co-worker who is 6'5" 300lbs used to ride in it comfortably all the time.
80 is my comfort zone with this car, they are computer limited to 90, when I say pass I mean the ability to drop hammer and blow someones doors off at 80, its a useless feature but one which Im enjoying (and will surely get me in trouble) with the M3.
I visited the Brabus factory in Essen, Germany, it was a trip! Imagine any colour combination possible, hand-stitched leather interiors, all sorts of funky rims. I've driven the Smart many times, in diesel, gas, electric and Brabus variations... even on track. Handles well, but that auto tranny is horrible. It would be so much better with a stick.
Lesley wrote: Every single car, ever made, in the history of the universe, for all time, until the end of the world, and for 3 days after would be so much better with a stick.
FTFY
Our smart now has just over 56K on the odometer. Worst part of ownership by far has been the 3 hour distance to the nearest dealership. Not much of a problem now that it's out of warranty as I can get pretty much anything online and evilution.uk has great information about repair work on its site.
That being said I wish my wife had opted for the paddle shifters. She got a pure (base model) and added only the electric power steering ( I think unnecessary) and the base stereo. We paid 11,500 for it in early '08.
She also won't let me take it to the AX. So I have to make due with finding the limits of top speed on the highway (amazingly docile at 90, btw) and driving it up and over the mountain on rte 17 in Vermont.
Used car dealers around here are still asking for 10,000 or more!?!?!? Saw a Brabus for 16,500 recently. Too bad just an appearance package.
Datsun1500 wrote: Is she just getting her license as in 16 years old? I got grief for putting mine in a MINI, I can't imagine what people will say about a new driver in a smartcar.
Don't need to worry about safety if you aren't in an accident. The best way to avoid anything is to not have it happen in the first place! 
I think he is in NJ... 17 years old to get a license
In reply to Datsun1500:
True. I'm under the impression, though, that a Smart is a relatively safe place to be in an an accident?
I'm not a huge fan of the "put my inexperienced driver in a behemoth so when they screw up they'll only hurt other people" approach.
JThw8 wrote:JoeyM wrote:Yeah, I know everyone gets all worked up about the roadster but for some reason it never did it for me. Rumor has it though that Smart is talking about bringing back a new roadster an a new version of the forfour.JThw8 wrote:FTFYLuke wrote: In an ideal world, the new Fiat 500 would be like these things. Imagine an Abarth version! Maybe with a slightly longer wheelbase...You dont really have to imagine, they just pronounce Abarth as Brabus
I loved the looks of the roadster, but I hear that it had quality issues
I'm sure alot of people will give me grief for it but the alternative was something older with much less safety features. I believe in the safety features this car has and don't have any fears of her in the car.
Her mother and the grandparents have all done the research as well and they are encouraging her getting this as a first car.
And although I'm in NJ she lives in MD with her mom so 16 to get a license. She is also required (by me) to attend a Street Survival school as soon as she is eligible and there is one in our area.
Datsun1500 wrote:JThw8 wrote: And although I'm in NJ she lives in MD with her mom so 16 to get a license.16 and 6 months at the earliest, they changed the way it works. You can get a learners at 15 and 9 months, but you must have that for 9 months to qualify for a license. It was a way to raise the driving age without actually raising it
Works for me, she gets her permit next month and turns 16 in Dec. Her mom and already discussed and she can't get the car to herself until spring either way,I dont want her to be learning to drive in the snow.
Datsun1500 wrote: Wish her good luck from me. My daughter was 16 in April so I am in the middle of it now. Luckily we live in the boonies of Maryland so not much traffic while learning..
She's up in Hagerstown so she's got some good boonies to work with. Right now we are fighting the "the gas pedal is not an on/off switch" battle. I actually think the smart will help her with that as its a very light pedal and being drive by wire its slightly lagging in response (I doubt she'd ever notice but I do)
Now I feel like I'm learning to drive all over again. Going from 3.5 years in the same car to the M3 which needs to be driven not just have someone at the wheel, if you know what I mean, has me feeling pretty sloppy right now. Of course my life hasn't been without manuals, been driving the wife's kia at times and other cars in that time but the bimmer just requires more finesse that I need to re-develop.
I love that feeling. I go from my '88 GM truck to my dad's Miata every couple weeks, and for the first few miles I feel like a total dope. But when it starts to mesh again, all is right with the world.
Thanks for the update. I was thinking about these threads just the other day. Glad to hear you had a good experience. You must trust the car to pass it off to your daughter.
wonder how hard it would be to get the braubus body panels here in the US?
little extra boost, those panels.. just saying
To my friends that worried that my Miata and MINI offered little protection I would counter that they could have purchased a used Peterbilt for less than their SUVs, but didn't !
a used peterbuilt would be fun at the parking lot at work
mad_machine wrote: wonder how hard it would be to get the braubus body panels here in the US? little extra boost, those panels.. just saying
They sell the Braubus in the US so you should be able to get the panels too, not cheap however :(
Nothing special about the panels. The fenders have lip extensions that you can get through a variety of online sources. Lower front spoiler and rear lower valence are different too. Easy swap.
Interesting take, thanks for the post! I agree with pretty much everything.
I got one for my wife but she wants a track car. I want to get rid of the Smart but she adores it. It's like a purse dog... can't argue. I'm gonna get her an E36 M3 but I don't know if we'll keep the Smart. The new model offers several key options which I feel are sorely lacking - but she doesn't really care (namely cruise).
My main shock with this car is how a car so small can handle so poorly. I thought it would be a gokart with a body on top of it and it was more like a hotwheels truck with an engine. I refused to buy her the first generation because it was downright scary on the highway. The new one isn't exactly stable but it's ok.
The thing that bugs me most is the transmission. I think I could shift faster and more smoothly when I drove my dad's manual Lada in Russia when I was 8 years old. It's just awful, I can't think of anything it does well except maybe for the launches. It seems to be programmed to always be in the absolute tallest gear possible. Every shift is a power shift even though it takes forever. I can drive it smoothly by lifting between shifts but it still takes ages.
I could swear that my racecar with 900 lb linear coils rides better than this car. Any rut feels like I just hit a curb. With the dramatic way it crashes over things, I always feel like I should have a cracked rim.
And there's no spare... she got a flat tire once, had to wait an hour for a tow truck and another hour for me to get there and pick her up because the dealer was closed. They dealer threatened me with a new shifter mechanism because they couldn't get the car out of gear (said the tow truck driver must have forcefully yanked it to get it into neutral), then it turned out it just ran down the battery because the towtruck guy left the keys in the ignition. I gave that service manager a lecture in manners and assumed guilt before knowing facts. The curious thing to me is that I've seen MB clients bitch these guys out for absolutely nothing (like one guy who swore loudly at a service manager who refused to tow his car for free and replace a battery, which went flat after he parked the car and left the country for 6 months), so I wonder if they take it out on us Smart owners in turn.
Also if you let the transmission powershift the way it does, you gotta get used to other drivers flashing you at night because with the car flopping back and forth, the HIDs blind them off and on (or if you're on a rough road that makes this little thing pitch around like an epileptic).
The fuel economy is misleading because it takes premium, so the 40mpg costs you more like 36-37mpg in a car which takes regular.
Driving it on the highway is really annoying for me. I'm pretty OCD about driving in the middle of a traffic lane, and this car doesn't like to stay there, especially if there is any kind of wind. The steering wheel is tiny, heavy and sensitive, so being precise is a pain.
All that said, I actually don't hate it.
It's insanely roomy. The only dimension that's a bit tight is elbow room but even that's fine (and I'm a 6' 300 lb powerlifter). Like the OP, NO ONE ever believes me how much it can fit. If I'm proposing to put anything more than a coffee cup in the trunk, people laugh and say no way. Then I fit it with a Costco-sized weekly grocery trip and people just stand there with this "no E36 M3..." look.
At city speeds, it's drives just fine, and if you go downtown, it's a downright pleasure. While everyone else is fretting about how to squeeze somewhere, I can zip around and park like a bicyclist.
It's cute as hell. I dig being seen in it. I think I get a bonus inch or two on my perceived member size. My wife adores its herp derp appearance, which is probably gonna be the bottom line. The M3 is going to be her car, the Smart will be her jewellery.
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