Rose Chap
MB Enthusiast
Since Rose Chick is getting a new job and we're going to be moving, I'm facing the very real possibility of a 90+ mile commute every day. Now, doing this run in the CLK is of course possible, but this means I will be buying 100 quid's worth of V Power each week, which given my feelings towards Gordon Brown infuriates me.
Therefore, given that there will be a 'sensible' car available in the form of whatever the better half gets, I was thinking of getting a Smart Roadster for my commute, given that its economical, cheap to run, and a bit of a laugh to boot.
So, come Saturday morning with hangovers intact we rocked up at Purslows in Basingstoke and took out a little yellow Roadster.
Fantastic fun! Since it was such a beautiful day we didn't waste any time in getting the roof down and after a period of protracted searching for the release button gave up on the idea of putting the roof bars under the bonnet where they are supposed to go and put them in what's laughably described as the boot, so we had proper open top motoring.
Its slow to pull away, but once its moving it feels quite nippy, and this was just the 80bhp version. The three cylinder engine sounds pretty cool too, and the noise of the wastegate doing its thing during wide open throttle upshifts put me in mind of Rally cars on a special stage, which goes without saying is cool. Though its small, there was quite a lot of room in the cabin area, and the handling (when you're used to driving big heavy Mercedes' like me) felt razor sharp and the steering was direct.
The worst thing was the gear change, it was slow to respond and made pulling away briskly quite a challenge. Also, whilst I had the option to use the sequential function, this is quite Benz-like in its mollycoddling, so if you rev it too hard when you're in say second, it will change up to third for you, and if you come to a halt, it automatically changes into first. Factor in that there are 6 ratios and its hard to know what gear you're in means that I tended to leave it in full auto mode, but maybe this is something that you get used to in time.
The other thing was that it really wasn't that fast. Feeling quick is one thing but it would be upsetting to be charging down your favourite B road clipping apexes and feathering the throttle only to be inadvertently holding up a bemused housewife in her Volvo estate.
All that said, it put massive grins on our faces, dispelled the last vestiges of our hangovers, and getting back into the CLK afterwards was a model exercise in chalk and cheese.
Now, if I was going to get one of these little beasties, I think it would have to be the Brabus version. It has more power (101 bhp vs 80 bhp) and apparently the gearbox software allows for faster shifts. It also looks a bit more purposeful and dare I say it a bit less girly.
Question I have is, does anyone have or has driven or has access to a Brabus Roadster, and would they be able to share their impressions of it?
Obviously I've looked on the web and read test reports, but its good to hear the opinions of like minded MB drivers.
Thanks
RC
Therefore, given that there will be a 'sensible' car available in the form of whatever the better half gets, I was thinking of getting a Smart Roadster for my commute, given that its economical, cheap to run, and a bit of a laugh to boot.
So, come Saturday morning with hangovers intact we rocked up at Purslows in Basingstoke and took out a little yellow Roadster.
Fantastic fun! Since it was such a beautiful day we didn't waste any time in getting the roof down and after a period of protracted searching for the release button gave up on the idea of putting the roof bars under the bonnet where they are supposed to go and put them in what's laughably described as the boot, so we had proper open top motoring.
Its slow to pull away, but once its moving it feels quite nippy, and this was just the 80bhp version. The three cylinder engine sounds pretty cool too, and the noise of the wastegate doing its thing during wide open throttle upshifts put me in mind of Rally cars on a special stage, which goes without saying is cool. Though its small, there was quite a lot of room in the cabin area, and the handling (when you're used to driving big heavy Mercedes' like me) felt razor sharp and the steering was direct.
The worst thing was the gear change, it was slow to respond and made pulling away briskly quite a challenge. Also, whilst I had the option to use the sequential function, this is quite Benz-like in its mollycoddling, so if you rev it too hard when you're in say second, it will change up to third for you, and if you come to a halt, it automatically changes into first. Factor in that there are 6 ratios and its hard to know what gear you're in means that I tended to leave it in full auto mode, but maybe this is something that you get used to in time.
The other thing was that it really wasn't that fast. Feeling quick is one thing but it would be upsetting to be charging down your favourite B road clipping apexes and feathering the throttle only to be inadvertently holding up a bemused housewife in her Volvo estate.
All that said, it put massive grins on our faces, dispelled the last vestiges of our hangovers, and getting back into the CLK afterwards was a model exercise in chalk and cheese.
Now, if I was going to get one of these little beasties, I think it would have to be the Brabus version. It has more power (101 bhp vs 80 bhp) and apparently the gearbox software allows for faster shifts. It also looks a bit more purposeful and dare I say it a bit less girly.
Question I have is, does anyone have or has driven or has access to a Brabus Roadster, and would they be able to share their impressions of it?
Obviously I've looked on the web and read test reports, but its good to hear the opinions of like minded MB drivers.
Thanks
RC
