Smart cars

[190ian]

would you say a smart car is part of mercedes or not

 

[keith100]

MB seem to think its a part of the group- this is part of a recent press release:

About Mercedes-Benz Canada
Mercedes-Benz Canada is responsible for the sales, marketing and service of the four brands within the Mercedes Car Group in Canada; Mercedes-Benz, smart, AMG and Maybach. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Mercedes-Benz Canada employs approximately 1,050 people in 19 locations across Canada. Through a nationwide network of 14 Mercedes-Benz owned retail operations and 36 authorized dealerships, Mercedes-Benz Canada sold 24,117 vehicles in 2008, the best year ever reported for Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.

 

[hawk20]

Certainly Smart is part of Mercedes; it is wholly owned by Mercedes and has lost a fortune every year since they started it.

The Fortwo has been a sales success -though heavily loss-making.
The other models have not been successful. The ForFour was a flop and was discontinued. The Roadster was also discontinued. And the 4x4 Smart was dropped shortly before the planned launch.

The two seater ForTwo is funky looking and fun. It is surprisingly roomy with good legroom and comfortable seats. But once you drive it, the ride is awful on all but the smoothest of roads. The gearbox has generally been described as somewhere between poor and dreadful. It is dear to buy and to service and comes with only a two year guarantee. MB dealers cannot service it; you must go to Smart dealers -they are few and far between.

 

[C180 Chris]

I think they even do a BRABUS SMART!

 

[hawk20]

I think they even do a BRABUS SMART!

Indeed they do and you can pay over £15,000 for one, without extras!

 

[Alex M Grieve]

would you say a smart car is part of Mercedes or not

Even if it's a Smart car Ian, is it a smart choice?

 

[C180 Chris]

I think i would feel a bit unsafe on a motorway with real Merc's bearing down on me!

All the best,

 

[jberks]

They're not that bad. My Mum loves hers. I have driven it and yes the gearbox is awful, but you get used to it and will time can get a farily smooth change out of it.
Ride isn't that bad and allegedly (according to my Dad) it runs surprisingly well on motorways (and he has a 211!).
Hers is a 2003 model though. The new one is allegedly vastly improved.

What I find odd about them is the way that if you climb out and stand up, you're actually standing behind the car! Very odd feeling. Doddle to park though, which is their main appeal and we've never had a problem getting it serviced at our local dealership (also sell Smart - Don't all merc dealers?) and at the indie.

 

[hairyg]

I have just returned from Shelsley Walsh after watching the practise session for tomorrow's hill climb.

One of the entries is a Smart car. It was running on the hills last year in fairly standard form but this year it has been given a bit of an upgrade.

It now has the engine and transaxle from a Toyato MR2 shoehorned into the back. Today was the first outing with this 2 litre engine and the driver is complaining that the steering goes very light when he is accelerating

 

[PanzerMcGrory]

I think they even do a BRABUS SMART!

seen it at the motor show last year.

 

[peterinleamington]

Had a smart for two before i got my slk 320 ... great fun car, easy to park in those spaces that no one else can get into ... interesting in a cross wind

 

[outsmartsmart]

Had a LHD Smart 4-2 and it was brilliant. Rough gear changes are because nobody eases off the gas when gear changes so it lurches. Its not an auto but an 'automated manual' (think Aston Vanquish for similar......) so ease off the gas when the 'clutch' goes and it's perfect. Huge amount of room for 2, you can pack tons of IKEA flat pack in as passenger seat folds flat (as astounded watchers found out at IKEA Walsall when tittering "he won't get that in there"). Fairly expensive to service but plenty of indy dealers and really useful forums like this one.

Brilliant car, will have another some day........

 

[Blobcat]

We hired one in Madeira and took it off roading I would have one for commuting and am thinking about getting one (or a super scooter) at the moment. No issues with the ride and I did get the hang of keeping it in 2nd for acceleration by not over-revving it.