Who here has driven a Smart car?

[GrahamT]

Never have, never will. I have a friend who was a doctor and he flew with the EA Air anbulance until retiring . . He is still completely evangelical in counselling against the 'Smart,', based on the accidents involving them which he had attended.

 

[grober]

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[C43AMG]

We have the Brabus 451 which i had mapped (125bhp ) Absolutely lovei it. The paddle shift is great after that was mapped.

 

[100%Bitch]

I had a 2014 Brabus which was one of the last 451 chassis cars. I had it remapped to 125BHP and it was truly a rocket - pretty bumpy though with fast road bushes in though.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Never have, never will. I have a friend who was a doctor and he flew with the EA Air anbulance until retiring . . He is still completely evangelical in counselling against the 'Smart,', based on the accidents involving them which he had attended.

Amen to that. When asked about "good starter cars" for young drivers, I always make the case for the small engined Focus or Golf. Cheap as chips, easy to resell, and very strong.

But interesting and safer than a motorbike, bicycle, or electric scooter....

 

[davymead]

Smart ForTwo residuals are some of the best. Try finding ( still looking) a 453 Brabus Cabrio at anything under a barmy price. Clearly made of some form of precious metal.

 

[Red C220]

I rented one in Nice years ago and drove it to Monaco, drove around as much as the F1 circuit as possible in it.

It actually made a lot of sense in Monaco. Perfect city car.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I rented one in Nice years ago and drove it to Monaco, drove around as much as the F1 circuit as possible in it.

It actually made a lot of sense in Monaco. Perfect city car.

Lawksamercy, don't remind me about trying to park in the underground car parks of Monaco: definitely Smartcar sized.

So narrow, so tight....

 

[HappytalkAgain]

Here’s ours:

Awesome towing car too eh???

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Awesome towing car too eh???

When I get to the destination I can park it in the caravan’s wardrobe.

 

[nyssa7]

Owned a smart passion Cabrio for 3 years in the mid-2000s as my daily drive was 55 mile trip round the M25 and back, mostly done without exceeding 60mph

current work hack is the Roadster Coupe - I have 2, the scruffy cheap one for work and an almost perfect restored one nearing completion. Averages 50mpg despite playtime on the dual carriagewaySi and roundabouts of Milton Keynes

like all non-Mitsubushi based smarts, has a robotised manual gearbox so a little more ponderous than either a standard manual or auto. Leave mine in auto mode rather than use the paddles, gets caught out sometimes but not the end of the world. Because it has auto mode and no clutch pedal, DVLA class it as an auto for those that did auto only tests (not me!). Handing mine over to daughter-in-law shortly as she has been learning in autos and has no intention of ever driving a manual

 

[C43AMG]

Never have, never will. I have a friend who was a doctor and he flew with the EA Air anbulance until retiring . . He is still completely evangelical in counselling against the 'Smart,', based on the accidents involving them which he had attended.

You should look at the Youtube test on the 451. I think it was Tiff Needell, very impressive

 

[grober]

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While cabin structural integrity may well be maintained in these new smaller vehicles the lack of the deacceleration provided by larger frontal body structures would lead in many cases very high G forces on the occupants- and the result of that is probably what the air ambulance Dr may have experienced ?
"ye cannae change the laws o physics captain " as Scotty might have put it

 

[SmartAmg]

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While cabin structural integrity may well be maintained in these new smaller vehicles the lack of the deacceleration provided by larger frontal body structures would lead in many cases very high G forces on the occupants- and the result of that is probably what the air ambulance Dr may have experienced ?
"ye cannae change the laws o physics captain " as Scotty might have put it

So the moral of this, is
don't run into large concrete blocks.

 

[Phil1968]

Mind you, I did commute daily from Chatham to Woolwich, a 60 mile round trip, for 6 months in a Fiat 126 Bis back in the mid 90s. A 700cc twin cylinder buzz box with non servo brakes

 

[GrahamT]

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While cabin structural integrity may well be maintained in these new smaller vehicles the lack of the deacceleration provided by larger frontal body structures would lead in many cases very high G forces on the occupants- and the result of that is probably what the air ambulance Dr may have experienced ?
"ye cannae change the laws o physics captain " as Scotty might have put it

Precisely !

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

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While cabin structural integrity may well be maintained in these new smaller vehicles the lack of the deacceleration provided by larger frontal body structures would lead in many cases very high G forces on the occupants- and the result of that is probably what the air ambulance Dr may have experienced ?
"ye cannae change the laws o physics captain " as Scotty might have put it

Unfortunately, even a larger front crash structure is unlikely to reduce the rate of deceleration sufficiently for such an impact to become survivable, because the crash structure is short and deforms quickly.

Traditional cars with a very long bonnet likely have a larger front crash structure than one with very short bonnet, but not by as much as many imagine, because much of that length is incompressible (eg engine).

 

[slsprototype]

Hi
I have a 2005 smart for two passion cabrio.
best

 

[Petrol Pete]

2013 . Some kind of 'stolen' test footage.

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I seem to remember one of the selling points is that it could be parked with its rear towards a kerb because of how short it was.....but parking it like that would be illegal in the UK because of lack of red/white reflectors.......or did I dream that

 

[clk320x]

I seem to remember one of the selling points is that it could be parked with its rear towards a kerb because of how short it was.....but parking it like that would be illegal in the UK because of lack of red/white reflectors.......or did I dream that

Yes I heard something like that too… it would take a traffic warden who REALLY loved their job to enforce though I imagine…