Smart W450 ride quality

[gaz_l]

Greetings, Citizens.

I'm considering a smart car as a local runabout. It'll be an early one, as I'm not going to chuck a load of money at it, but I've seen one that I'm potentially interested in.

I know they have the hateful slow-witted gearchange (I can probably learn to live with that for biffing backwards and forwards to work - 3 miles each way) but is the ride quality awful? I'm suffering a bit health wise at the moment and don't really fancy being shaken to bits; but on the other hand realise that a 3 foot wheelbase doesn't equal S class ride.

I used to own a Fiat Panda 100HP, by the way, the car with hardest suspension outside of a race track - I've no wish to go back there!

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[Smart320]

My wife had a Smart Convertible 2014 ( old model not the latest ) . Found it fine when we lived in Jersey and not too bad on our local country roads in West Wales, But if you live in an area with lots of speed humps and potholes then you will need to drive slowly , or risk losing your teeth! Overall though we liked it and once you get used to the gearbox you can make good progress quite smoothly. Worth a test drive.
We traded it in with 4 k miles on the clock last autumn and only got £4000 so if you are buying one negotiate hard , they are difficult to shift and there are plenty for sale

 

[MD5]

We have a 451 fortwo cab, and as Smart320 says, you will feel every bump and pothole. They are skittish, but what would you expect from a 3' wheelbase? Great little cars though, and If you go the 451 route, avoid the mhd models, which are prone to breaking v belts with harsh consequences. Visibility is poor for parking, so have blind faith in the fact that these upholstered roller skates will park in most places, and we get about 40 mpg out of the 84bhp turbo engine.

 

[grober]

Just as the current fashion of wheel/tyre combos with unfeasably shallow side walls has contributed to a harsh ride quality of many of todays cars so does the obsession with stiffening and lowering suspension to minimise body roll in the name of "better handling". Its very doubtful in normal driving that most owners would approach the handling limits where a reduced roll centre and increased roll resistance might prove useful. The Panda 100 is a case in point where a normally well sprung comfortable small car had its ride quality ruined to make it appear more "sporty" While it cannot escape the 3ft wheel base challenge there were detailed front suspension changes to the SMART 450 suspension in the early years where suspension travel was increased by simply reducing bump stop height as detailed here.
Broken-springs-click-to-read-this-first - Smart Parts Direct