Smart Fortwo

malazn mafia · 20-10-2012, 07:04 PM

Has anybody had any experience with this car? Noticed quite a few of them going really cheap and am considering buying one for a female friend of mine.

BAXR8_Ute · 20-10-2012, 09:53 PM

My parents had a smart for4. Black and white, we called it the panda. Mum loved it! It was unfortunate a guy fell off a balcony and landed through the sunroof... But good reliable car. Nothing ever went wrong with it from memory. They're great in the city.

EDManual · 21-10-2012, 11:37 AM

they are terrible on the highway though. Somewhere from 8 - 10 litres per hundred on the highway at 110ish (may as well be driving a falcon!), in the city more like 5 litres per hundred.

wrongwaynorris · 21-10-2012, 11:47 AM

Is she a good friend ? If so tell her to steer well clear , these things make a Cherry look like a safe car . I believe there are some golf carts and skateboards that are marginally safer .

Cambo351 · 21-10-2012, 05:08 PM

There was an incident over here about 12 months ago, where a Smart Fortwo was t-boned at an intersection, mate of mine was a witness. Driver & passenger died on the scene. Wasn't that big a hit, being in a larger car would have saved them.

I won't go in one ever again.

graham7773 · 22-10-2012, 12:08 AM

$19900 to $25000??? for a dangerous little box? (750Kg, 999cc). Why? I can think of a half dozen different cars I would prefer to buy ahead of a Smart Fortwo.

IceValk85 · 22-10-2012, 01:16 AM

probably much better off with a 2 or 3 year old manual polo, or a golf for the same money.

that said, brabus did a forfour, 175 BHP, turbo 1.5. big rims, brakes leather everything. id have one of those :P

Ice

MAGPIE · 22-10-2012, 06:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Has anybody had any experience with this car? Noticed quite a few of them going really cheap and am considering buying one for a female friend of mine.

Buy her a pair of walking shoes instead, she'll be better of walking.

pursuit2359 · 22-10-2012, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Has anybody had any experience with this car? Noticed quite a few of them going really cheap and am considering buying one for a female friend of mine.

Haven't owned one personally, but are you looking at the C450 (2004-06) or the C451 (2008-on) generations?

The C451 received a four star rating in Euro NCAP crash testing, so I'd hardly call it "unsafe" relative to other cars in its class. My main concern with these cars would be the cost of replacement parts. For that reason, I think the Fiesta and Mazda2 would be better bets.

MAD · 22-10-2012, 08:16 AM

But a smart fortwo means you can do a Smartuki upgrade...

au adam · 23-10-2012, 06:29 PM

Google smart car accident

Ben73 · 23-10-2012, 07:16 PM

The only smart thing to do would be avoid it.

Yellow_Festiva · 23-10-2012, 07:34 PM

I don't think they would serve all that well as a daily driver unless you lived in the inner city and did most of your driving there.

They are what they are. Small, nimble and economical. One of the youtube clips shows one hitting the wall at 70 mph and the structure was still quite intact.

I have always seen these as a replacement for a scooter rather than a replacement for a car.

The first time I saw one was in a Taxi from Rome airport to our hotel. We were doing around 140km/h and this small black thing went past us doing 160ish.... They are everywhere in Europe, for much the same reason as I mentioned in the first line of my reply.

I quite like the sports car version of them. Would buy one for certain if I had the parking space for it.

As for safety.... well I owned an over powered, under braked 59 Bugeye Sprite with no crumple zones and -47 stars safety rating for several years... Was the club car as well as my daily driver in Summer. Didn't honestly bother me in the least. Much the same as anyone who drives a bike, or a 10-15 year old small car.......

To the OP.... if the car is what she wants, and it suits her needs then buy it.....

http://www.drive.com.au/editorial/ar...eID=52490&pg=1

Yellow_Festiva · 23-10-2012, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EDManual

they are terrible on the highway though. Somewhere from 8 - 10 litres per hundred on the highway at 110ish (may as well be driving a falcon!), in the city more like 5 litres per hundred.

I find the HWY figure you quote impossible to believe..... How can older, heavier small cars with larger engines achieve 6-7 on the freeway?

This car has been designed to be as economical as possible for the European market.... The review sites say the HWY figure is 4, city Figure is 5.9 with a combined figure of 4.7 and I would tend to believe that is pretty close.

Saying it consumes the same as a Falcon.... Ummmm perhaps if you floored it all the time while towing a horse float up mt Everest in a head wind....

TC200six · 24-10-2012, 06:57 PM

I don't think I would ever buy a Dumb Fortwo if I ever needed a micro car to get around a tight city.

I would more likely get a Volkswagen Up instead. I see them selling new at even cheaper prices than most second hand Smarts, unless someone here says they should be avoided also.

EDManual · 24-10-2012, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

I find the HWY figure you quote impossible to believe..... How can older, heavier small cars with larger engines achieve 6-7 on the freeway?

This car has been designed to be as economical as possible for the European market.... The review sites say the HWY figure is 4, city Figure is 5.9 with a combined figure of 4.7 and I would tend to believe that is pretty close.

Saying it consumes the same as a Falcon.... Ummmm perhaps if you floored it all the time while towing a horse float up mt Everest in a head wind....

Theres even a review by wheels where they took 1 across the nulla. they had to take jerrys and get fuel at every opportunity! they have no torque to easily stay at speed and bad aero.

Bossxr8 · 24-10-2012, 09:50 PM

I laugh when I see one. Its like driving a shoe.

graham7773 · 25-10-2012, 08:07 PM

"I find the HWY figure you quote impossible to believe"
Yellow Festiva, my VT Commodore returned 7l per 100k to Brisbane and back. The VT V6 switches off up to 4 injectors (I think it's 4) when the car is cruising at a regular speed, in my case 110-115kph so it does get hard to believe economy for a 1600kg wagon

Dezza · 25-10-2012, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

They are what they are. Small, nimble and economical. One of the youtube clips shows one hitting the wall at 70 mph and the structure was still quite intact.

The structure might be intact but with with such small crumple zones to accept the force of the impact, it gets transferred through the occupants instead.

Yellow_Festiva · 25-10-2012, 08:39 PM

Yes.... You have just proved my point that a lightweight car with a tiny engine designed and engineered for economy can not have a consumption as high as was suggested.

Yellow_Festiva · 25-10-2012, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC200six

I don't think I would ever buy a Dumb Fortwo if I ever needed a micro car to get around a tight city.

I would more likely get a Volkswagen Up instead. I see them selling new at even cheaper prices than most second hand Smarts, unless someone here says they should be avoided also.

You must be looking in the wrong places. 2nd hand Smart cars start at around 6k, new Up! starts at around 15k.... Hardly in the same ball park.

Funny you mention the Up!... If you look up that thread many say the same about the Up as they say about the Smart.. Too small, Death trap etc etc etc.

Yellow_Festiva · 25-10-2012, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAD

But a smart fortwo means you can do a Smartuki upgrade...

And at 3.5 grand what a way to start that project ;)

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d...ck&sort=~Price

Actually.... nah... the Mr's will kill me....

TC200six · 25-10-2012, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

You must be looking in the wrong places. 2nd hand Smart cars start at around 6k, new Up! starts at around 15k.... Hardly in the same ball park.

Funny you mention the Up!... If you look up that thread many say the same about the Up as they say about the Smart.. Too small, Death trap etc etc etc.

I must have been looking at later model Smarts, but I've since realised Hyundai i20s are selling cheaper than the Up, so that would be the mirco car I would rather go for.

Dusty1 · 25-10-2012, 10:36 PM

A Google search show some stuff that can't be unseen.

Bag of bones comes to mind. But I just did a search on Smart Car accident.

Bossxr8 · 25-10-2012, 10:46 PM

Crush space is next to non existance, so the car can only crumple so much before its starts mashing into flesh.

MAD · 25-10-2012, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

And at 3.5 grand what a way to start that project ;)

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d...ck&sort=~Price

Actually.... nah... the Mr's will kill me....

Wow, that is perfect for it!
Oh how can I convince the minister for war and finance...

Mick K. · 25-10-2012, 11:13 PM

I drove one in the UK for a few months 10 years or so ago.

Got up to about 80mph on the motorway, but at that speed the steering got pretty light and it was pretty noisy. The tyres are quite tall and narrow and handling wasn't that good. Parking was great. Good pick up and take off from the lights.

The "boot" space is just the parcel shelf on top of the engine, so only room for a small suitcase or a few bags of groceries.

The sequential / tiptronic gearbox was pretty slow to shift even in those pre-DSG days.

Not much else available for the price if you're after a 2 door rear engined, rear wheel drive, turbocharged coupe with sequential gearbox! But, there are better more conventional cars out there for the price.

MK