igratton

My wife is thinking of purchasing a cute little rollerskate (Smart Pulse or Passion) - the Brabus is just too much for a little car - no matter how good it looks.

She will mainly use the car for commute between derby and notts and as a shopping trolley. She also needs to fit her horse saddle in - which it *should* have room to do.

Anyone on here have experiences or ownership ???

Can anyone recommend any 'must have' or 'don't bother' options ?

All views welcome.

Ian
(trying hard to resist temptation to 'start playing' with the engine)

Ralf Paris

I had one, brought it for some fun, it was great. Mine was a Pulse.

I think they are all much the same except for the Pure which doesnt have a fully auto mode and has less power - steer clear IMO.

PeterPerfect

Owned a Mk6 Pulse for a year covering 10k miles.
Great fun and very economical.
It was even better once I had the DigiTec engine remap performed
Oh yes..options...
Well, air con is a real must, CD player with sound upgrade is very good, paddle gear change is fun

[Edited by PeterPerfect - 11/16/2003 11:57:47 PM]

nigel s

Don't own one myself but my best mate does, we have travelled many, many miles in his. Go for the passion with air con and glass roof & more BHP. Problems. £10-£12 to fill the tank makes it apealing, manufacture claims about 65mpg. Gone through 3 windscreens which provided Autoglass plenty of trouble. They had not fitted a smart screen before and the replacement kept leaking. Engine just blown up @ 100,000 (bog standard), apparently engines are not designed to we worked on, just replaced.
Bought second hand engine as offical dealer wanted arm & leg to fix. Fun little cars, seams nippy in traffic which can catch out bigger cars off the lights.

CrisPDuk

I have driven a mates dad's left hooker, and was very impressed, apart from the massive delay when changing gear, although I believe this has been vastly improved on the newer ones.

BT52b

They are great fun.
Go for a Passion, they get air-con and full-auto mode as standard.
Pulse has an extra 6 bhp 8 second 'overboost' over the passion, but doesn't have air-con.

Since £300 will get you a Digi-tec remap upto 75bhp on either the Pulse or the Passion it makes sense to get the better specced Passion.

Beware the dealers though. Incompetent at best, downright dishonest at worst.

Mark

subevo

ive owned an all silver passion now for 3 years from new.no problems to date.great fun.50 plus m.p.g.cheapest car to own and run.£75 road tax /year.

igratton

Cheers folks.

All very useful comments.

As for the Pulse and Passion - I think the 2003 spec cars now both have 61bhp - so I'm thinking the only difference between the two is the fact one has aircon as std etc.

Does anyone have experience of the power steering ???. The reason I'm asking on here and not the smart forum is because I imagine they maybe have less 'driver-oriented' members. For a light car I imagine its fine without the power steering. I'm just wondering if we had it fitted it would ruin the feedback through the wheel. I appreciate a smart isn't going to be the most dynamic chassis out there but I'd still like the feedback to be as good as possible. I guess we can request we drive both this weekend on saturday.

We are also going to drive the roadster - its not really suitable for what my wifey wants - and by the time you've spec'd it up its into silly money - still it will be interesting to have first-hand experience of yet another car.

Keep those tips and thoughts coming.

Ian
(now - what size nut is on the actuator arm 15mm ??? can I be the first to get a smart to run 2bar of boost ??? )

George W Bush

Impreza will kill it in the twisties..

I'll get my coat..

BT52b

I didn't even know PAS was available on the Smart!
Unassisted it feels very nice. Lots of feedback, almost Elise-esque.
However, it is a VERY slow rack, meaning approx 27 turns from lock to lock. Keeps it light for parking, but you have to twirl your arms a lot. Once upto speed the steering doesn't feel too slow but I would have prefered a quicker rack.

Whether the PAS gives you a quicker rack I don't know, but you'd think it does. On the other hand that could mess up the feel.

I forgot the mk7 with the 700cc engine means 61bhp for the passion.
Presumably the £300 digitec gives more like 80bhp on that.

I've had a 700cc car for a day while my digi-tec 600cc was in for a service. It felt just as quick as my digi-tec car and the gearchange is a bit quicker. Also far less turbo lag and much better throttle response generally. Full auto mode is a bit naff but well worth it for lots of stop start London style driving.

The 700cc also has proper ESP rather than the rubbish Trust+ system which is a big improvement. (Trust+ fuse pulled in our car, it cuts power dangerously mid corner if lateral-g reaches a certain level!)

Mark

PeterPerfect

I traded my Pulse in for a roadster 2 months ago. Yes they do look expensive if you tick all the option boxes
Just waiting for my remap now....

Albert

A must is a sump and oil filter conversion kit. This gives you a sump plug to drain the oil without having to resort to sucking the stuff out of the dip-stick hole, and give's you a spin on oil filter instead of a cartidge type.

RobinSherwood

We are now on Smartie No.3

1, Was an early Silver/True Blue passion we brought in as a personal import.

2 Was an all Black Passion, one of the first RHD cars

3 Which we took delivery of about 3 weeks ago is an all Silver Brabus Coupé.

The fact we have had three tells you a lot in itself, we love them and the Smarts have always been used in preference in our household to the (BMW) Mini Cooper we also have in the 'family fleet'.

We have had very few problems, the worst ironically being the Brabus was delivered with more faults than the other two cars suffered in the entire time we owned them. The issues were promptly resolved though in fairness. Though also to be fair that may have something to do with the fact I have had a couple of discussions with Jeremy Simpson (Head of Smart UK) about our experiences of Smart ownership and appalling treatemnt be dealers. As has been said the dealers are can be awful. I do believe though from my discussions that Mr Simpson has the right attitude to sort this out given time. Also fair to say that the staff at Smart Mayfair were fantastic and particular thanks to Angela (now at Smart Chelsea) and Giles who were brilliant thoroughout.

We have Power Steering on the Brabus, being an electric system I was all ready to hate it. I would say it is not as good in terms of feel as the unassisted steering, but it is not that bad and I am actually very impressed by it.

I would say the paddle shift is a must have accessory and even if you don't go for the Brabus car, Brabus wheels are essential as they improve the ride, braking and grip. Both our two previous Passions were fitted with Brabus wheels and we would not have one without.

We also have had the sunroof fitted in the Brabus and find this a much better compromise than the all glass roof that is standard fitment on Passions.

Radio boost is another worthwhile addition as mentioned above and we wouldn't be without the heated seats (one of those things you dont think you want then once you have had them you wont want to be without them!)

The throttle response and gearchange are vastly improved in the Mk7 cars (though of course our car being a Brabus helps as well). Ride is better too. The other useful addition on the new cars is they dont roll back on a hill when you move your foot from the brake pedal to the throttle.

I hope some of that is helpful, if I've missed something please ask

Kind regards

Robin

subevo

yes you have to develop left foot braking as the cars roll back on hills unlike a true automatic.on the older cars anyway.the gearbox may at first seem jerky but you soon adapt and after a short while you can do seamless gear changes.air con is useful in winter to demist windows.power steering is not required i.m.o.

PaulT00

I regularly drive a Mk7 Passion which belongs to a friend - he's had it remapped, and some wider wheels fitted, plus it has paddleshift and the upgraded stereo. It was good before the remap, now it's just a mobile grin generator - you can simply cane it absolutely everywhere, it sounds like a miniature 911, flipping up and down the gears with the paddles with the dump valve chattering frantically every time you back off or change gear...

It probably does 0-60 in just over 10 seconds with the remap, which might not sound that fast but is really pretty quick for such a tiny vehicle. It's definitely quick enough to scare drivers of other, theoretically faster machinery and you don't notice any particular lack of grunt when driving it.

I'm told the gearchange is much quicker on the Mk 7 - I've driven an Alfa selespeed and the Smart is much, much better. The handling was very understeer-y because of the extremely narrow front tyres, putting on the wider wheels and tyres has transformed the handling by improving turn in and bite, and also improved braking - the brakes were pretty good before, pedal feel is a bit spongy anyway, but the extra front end grip means that it feels much better under firm braking instead of feeling like the front end will just skip and slither straight on.

I've also driven it on the motorway at 90ish - it felt just as stable as my MY00 scoob, although it wasn't a particularly windy day.

Oh - and I can get a full weekly shop for two people in the boot, even when that includes stocking up on the cat litter and beer. It's amazing how you can pack stuff in.

If I needed a second car I would definitely go for a Smart.

igratton

OK,

the wifes Fiat Punto GT has sold (in fact I could have sold it 14 times over - shame I don't have any more LOL).

We can get our smart this weekend

The choices we have are:

JackBlack Passion, Leather, Strikeline Wheels (glad of the width - not sure of the design), CD + Speaker Pack, NO PADDLE SHIFT - option to have Brabus exhaust etc.

JackBlack Brabus, PADDLESHIFT, leather, more power, better handling plus all other usual Brabus bits.

We can't test drive a Brabus so we are a little unsure as to if the near extra 2K is worth spending. I know we could get quite a lot of other cars for this sort of cash - but my wife loves them and it makes sense to do so.

Whadayareckon ???

Luke

A must is a sump and oil filter conversion kit. This gives you a sump plug to drain the oil without having to resort to sucking the stuff out of the dip-stick hole,
-----------------------------------------------------

Good enough for M3's in main dealer BMW garages....

BT52b

I wouldn't get the Brabus as it is far cheaper to get the power upgrades / exhaust etc elsewhere.
On the other hand, the Brabus might hold it's value a bit better in the same way that a Prodrive upgraded Scoob does over other upgrades.

Hang on, did you say £2k? I thought the Brabus was more than that.

Mark

RobinSherwood

I would defintely go for the Brabus

Don't forget (sorry Mark) that aside for the power upgrade the Brabus comes as standard with full leather, which in addition to that on the seats (as on the Passion) the Brabus ALSO has the dash and door trims in leather. Makes the interior a lot more special. The paddleshift is fantastic so to get the Passion without would be a mistake IMHO. Those wheels on the Passion are not as big as Brabus wheels so you would still need bigger wheels to get the improved ride, grip and braking. There are also all the other bits like the Ali Brabus handbrake etc.,.. and the Brabus bodykit to make it more special. If you were closer I would offer to give you a spin in our car.........

And as Mark said it is likely the official Brabus car will hold its value better than a modded one and no warranty worries either.

Any question regarding the Brabus feel free to mail me offline and I'll try and help.

Kind regards

Robin

[Edited by RobinSherwood - 11/25/2003 1:40:16 PM]

PeterPerfect

Ian, as well as using the FunkySmart forum (yes I have seen your posts), take a look at this bbs:
http://pub112.ezboard.com/bsmartclubukmessageboard
This is the one I use in preference to Funkysmart

igratton

Cheers Guys,

A Jack Black Brabus CityCoupe should be sat on our drive by 11th December. We managed to get a cracking deal whereby approx £700 of optional extras were 'thrown in' to secure the deal

Insurance has worked out at £330 instead of £570 for the old punto (so thats nearly a grand saved in the cars expected lifetime of 4 years). Mpg is almost doubled so thats also another massive saving.

Will post some pics when the little rollerskate arrives.

Hehehe...

Ian
(so now I need to figure out how to switch out the traction control for when the snow comes LOL)

BT52b

Here we go, the Brabus is over £4000 more than the passion, not £2000.
Brabus starts at £12400, which is a dit daft IMO.

Personally I'd live without the leather interior. Even accounting for depreciation you'd be better off upgrading a Passion for power, wheels and exhaust surely.

(Oops, too late. Didn't notice the 2nd page)

Mark

[Edited by BT52b - 11/27/2003 11:49:46 AM]

PeterPerfect

Good stuff Ian I think you'll really enjoy 'borrowing' the Brabus.
It feels and sounds like a mini-me scooby
You don't really want to switch off the traction or stability....ever remember the back end swapping Lancia Stratus i.e. short wheelbase

igratton

BT52b,

you are correct with the pricing... its just that the Passion we wanted was 2K away from the base brabus by the time we'd got leather seats (I am used to a heated bum in my PD150 - and my wife wanted some of the same LOL), wheels etc etc.

2K is a lot more I know - but I wanted this car to be special - its my wifes first ever brand spanker new car.

RobinSherwood

Congratulations Ian,

Sure you won't regret it (hope so too having told you to get the Brabus)

Have fun and I look forward to hearing what you think.

Regards

Robin

BT52b

Fair enough, if you want the interior then yep, the Brabus is the way to go.
To be fair, I have a bit more faith in their power and performance figures than I do the tuners too....

Now does anyone know how to remove the rattling sliding sun blind, it's driving me mad!

Mark

RobinSherwood

Yes lol,

Have the glass sliding sunroof fitted B)

Robin

igratton

Few people seem to be having glass roofs blow out - hope ours doesn't suffer the same fate.

Maybe some bluetac wedged into the runner - that would stop it.

Other than that - hacksaw the sliding bit out LOL.

[Edited by igratton - 11/28/2003 7:04:31 PM]

RobinSherwood

Hi Ian,

As far as I know it is not the sliding roof that has been a problem. It is the solid glass roof that comes as tandard on the Passion/Brabus etc.,.. You can now have a sliding glass roof as an option which is a smaller glass area but does away with the rattly blind mark was talking about.

Kind regards

Robin

flat4

car, test drove one a year back, loved it - might get one soon for a run about


i think they run 1.5 bar as standard