As my crappy old L-reg derv Pug 106 died a horrible death, I splashed out on something a bit more comfortable the other month and bought a '02 plate Smart City Passion Cabriolet.

Granted, it's gayer than Graham Norton and camper than a scout jamboree, but it puts a smile on my face everytime I drive it; and makes the current "off-the-road" status of the Impreza just that bit easier to live with! Plus, other Smarts wave just like Impreza owners - I was cautious to start off with, but I'm pretty confident it's just not gay men who've taken a shine to me..

So out of curiosity, anyone else here currently own a Smart?

 

used to have left hooker passion city coupe.loved it .more fun than it has a right to be.im awaiting the electric one then may buy another.

 

Im sorry but any man who can drive one of those out of choice deserves to be castrated

So in answer to your question.....hell no!

Simon

 

I have a 57 plate Passion 84hp.
Quite quick, esp in 3rd gear on boost.
Been reliable, only sips fuel and is a reasonable spec.
Use the Smart for getting to the office and shopping and when I dont want anyone to notice me ... gets washed once a year.. have something much better in the garage for when I need something thats a bit more upmarket.

 

Yes... I use to own this.

 

Didn't realise how many bummers were on this forum. Well I am off to the blue oyster bar for a babycham.

 

I was puzzled over the claim on the Smart website that you can fit a washing machine in the back of a new one......is that some kind of bull****? because I saw an older one in the car park today and I doubt you could fit much more than a laptop in the back of it tbh............

Any guy who can drive one of these "Fair play to them" I say, I just wouldn't be able to myself.

I had enough anxiety driving a Ford Ka Courtesy car

 

You get over its gayness quite quickly when you realise a)its a good car if it fits your needs they are great little machines b)you are not worried about your own heterosexuality being questioned

For me, with a 4 mile round trip to work each day down side roads its perfect. The mrs uses it when she goes shopping and if we go out for something to eat in town I dont mind leaving it parked up down a side street. If I did this with my Porsche I am fairly sure I would come back to a wreck!!

£27 to fill the tank, £35 a year road tax, <£200 insurance... cant go wrong IMHO.

 

I wouldnt call it Gay .... But I have always found a car with no roof enjoyable

 

I hope no-one is misinterpreting my post. I realise its stupid to have the misconception I do and was annoyed at myself for getting annpued at the builders who were giving me the signs they were whilst driving the Ka courtesy car.

I'd love to give one a go just because I think it would be such a different driving experience to a normal car. Two things put me off, one is the point made above and the other is the reputation of the semi-automatic gearbox for changing when it wants rather than when you want.

I'd def drive the Lotus though.........that is for sure!!!

 

Not really, just having a bit of a joke with you big boy....

The gearbox improved a bit on the post 2007 cars, still not "fast" by any means but a little slicker. Engine still sounds quite meaty, 3 pot motor has a kind of Porsche type engine note...

The 84bhp version is currently being tweaked to about 110bhp with a couple of minor mods and a map. I think there are a few people out there running 130ish now. The engine is made by Mitsubishi...

 

Yep!

I`ve owned a 2003 Mk7 Passion since new. It was originally for the wife but since the arrival of kids I`ve used it for the commute to work.

I love it! There`s a strange satisfaction to driving it smoothly and it`s taught me quite a bit about driving.

All my mates hate it (another plus point!) but it costs peanuts to run and I can`t think what I`d replace it with to be honest.

 

good fun car take it to www.smartsrus.com and tune the **** off it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prL9J...om=PL&index=15

 

My next door neighbour had the Smart coupe and thought he'd race me, that didn't last long....

LOL

dunx

P.S. At least I could get the dog in for the run to work...

 

Those that have one......do you have power steering, is it really necessary ?

 

No power steering required.

 

Thanks, thought that might be the case.

 

OK, I'm in

See what you mean about the knack of driving smoothly, it takes a bit of getting used to as you need think a lot more about what gear should I be in or need next. loving it so far.

 

Nice one

It certainly looks in rude health!

It`s more about anticipation to be honest, I`ve learnt more about reading traffic since I`ve been commuting in mine, the trick of course is to hang back a little entering junctions so the car doesn`t come to a halt and then use the momentum to join the flow.

I take it you`ve been on the usual Smart sites?

 

Cheers, bodywork is near perfect considering it's done 60K, has newish tyres and full service history.

Yes, already found Evilution, Smartmaniacs amongst others, amazed at the amount of information out there. I intend to try and run this as cheaply as possible, so will be doing all the servicing, have already looked into which fully synth oil I need.

You were right about the power steering, definitely doesn't need it.

I'm expecting a few issues, although nothing looks very expensive to fix. I do have a strange smell inside the car, one of the forums has suggested it might be a leaking rear window, (which I do have), although the carpets aren't wet so don't think it’s that.

Need to get some decent mats and a CD player, maybe some wider alloys at some point, cargo net for the back.......did I say this was going to be cheap

 

Evilution is brilliant!

Servicing is quite difficult to do due to the lack of an oil sump plug and access to the spark plugs. I get mine done at a Smart specialist for a fraction of the price of franchised Smart dealers.

 

looking at getting one of the pumps that sucks the oil out. Smarttune has one on offer at the moment including free oil filter, for £25.

 

I thought about getting one, was just too idle in the end! I use Mobil 1 oil by the way.

 

Think you might be getting confused with the Smart FourTwo. Missus has a Mitsubishi Colt which is essentially the same thing, floor pan, running gear, etc. Can get a washing machine in the back of that no problems. With the rear seats out it's like having a little van

Also had a dishwasher in it

 

A bit of a resurrection - but I forgot all about this post! ;o)

I'm still loving the smart..

They are brilliant little cars (IMO) - although, as has been said, they do require you to develop a peculiar driving style in order to make surprisingly good progress.

 

looks nice Prasius.

I know on the Smart forum we were discussing engine rebuilds. Fudge had a look at mine last week and passed it OK, just had a B service in the end.

The Scoob has now been relegated to full time weekend car, although it's not even being used for that at the moment. The Smart is getting used for everything, it's so much fun. Can't see me ever being without one of these now.

 

I'm keeping a very close eye on my oil usage at the moment. There is a good chance it is nothing but paranoia on my part to be honest, but once the Subaru is back on the road (fingers crossed sometime in the next two weeks) I'm tempted to just make the jump and get it done. In a way I think my heavy foot (and wellsmart remap!) might have done it some good!

I'm looking forward to getting the roof off again!

 

How safe are they? It looks like you wouldn't stand much chance in a crash.

 

Plenty safe. The size of a vehicle isn't a indication of how it will cope in an accident, and the design of the main body "cage" means that the structure of the car remains generally intact in a collision.

The only thing with the Smart is that it is likely to get punted out of the way by a significantly heavier vehicle - but this can actually work in your favour, as in many other cars the larger vehicle could ride over your lower sills and cause intrusion into the passenger compartment.

I know people talk about "if a truck hits you in that at 70mph..." - but the bottom line is that you'd be pretty screwed regardless what car you were in! Same with hitting any significant object at those kinds of speeds. Again, if you get caught in between vehicles you're in trouble regardless if travelling at speed - but the higher sills and light weight might help you get pushed out of the way - rather than just getting squished in the middle.

I don't feel any less safe in the Smart than I do in the Impreza - or any other newish car I've driven; and I feel safer in the Smart than I do any 15 year old+ car.

 

Mine is also going strong. Only minor issue I had was a clutch problem (car would not go into reverse) - which MB sorted FOC (new clutch plate) and other than that its just been normal running.

It works out super cheap to run.

I think come the end of this year when I hand it back - the total cost will have been <£10k for 3 years ownership.

Not many cars that you can run for that kind of cost.

I am one of those sad people that keeps a spread sheet with *everything* on it... will report the grand total at the end of the year!