Talk:Smart Roadster

Hi all smart enthusiasts,

I have been looking all over the internet for official total sales and production figures for the smart roadster and roadster coupe, without success. Who can help?


 * About 43.000 cars were built according to the German Smart Roadster Board —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.145.245.83 (talk) 16:03, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

-no mpg rating?
? 45-55 imperial, aas measured myself on mine...equivalent to the prius Galf 14:35, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

45mpg inside London, 62mpg on the motorway. Strangely enough the top speed was well above the published figures at 125mph (roof down). Never properly measured the 0-60 time but the main bottleneck was the gearbox, not the engine. All measurements with my standard 80bhp roadster coupe before I sold it. From what I'd read of the ECU remaps, 115bhp is possible and it improves the gear changing (possible in a semi-auto gearbox) and (relevantly here) fuel economy - you can use lower revs as the torque curve is better even off the turbo. 10:45, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

Smart.
I would suggest ordering a booklet from smart (the official website) it looks as if they have a lot of junk in it but also a few statistics and new DATA on the 'Smart Car' if you don't know already - www.smart.com

According to the owner's messageboard on the smartclub.co.uk (now in abeyance) if you got better than 50mpg (Imperial) you wre either driving far too gently, or a wimp. Personally, I never saw better that low 40s mpg. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Slimjim99 (talk • contribs) 17:44, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

In my experience (with the Brabus version), mpg (based on imperial gallons) is about 40. It is sometimes claimed that, "driven sensibly", the car would do about 47 mpg, but this is not a vehicle that anyone would drive "sensibly". Where running costs are concerned, it is worth noting that the cars really need high-octane fuel. This improves performance and seems to improve mpg, but, obviously, at a cost. --Vvmodel (talk) 14:51, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Leaks
There is no mention in this article about the serious design issues regarding water leaks. The majority of Smart Roadsters produced leaked to some degree. For many this affected the electronics of the car (SAM unit) and eventually rendered the car inoperable. This must be one of the reasons the car was discontinued.

[addition] this IS the reason the car was discontinued. They used the new fortwo as an excuse but there was no other reason for them to stop production —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.108.73.47 (talk) 15:38, 2 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Who told you that? Production was ceased because the prices were to high for a relatively small and low powered car. Leaking roofs were not the problem that led to the end of production. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.145.245.83 (talk) 15:57, 26 June 2008 (UTC)

Seconded about the pricing, from personal experience I've not found a roadster that leaked, and usually a company will revise the seals rather than take a car out of production if it is a design fault. 10:45, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

From personal experience, it was not leaks from the roof that were the problem, the footwells would just fill with water, usually rendering various electronics useless, and the car undriveable. I've heard (but cannot cite a source) that Smart were spending £3000 (4000euro) on warrany costs per car. This makes 1970 Austin/Rover seem paradigms of reliability —Preceding unsigned comment added by Slimjim99 (talk • contribs) 17:57, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

I've had personal experience of this problem with my Brabus Xclusive version - the footwells filled up with water, not through the soft-top but through the body. The car was completely revamped at Mercedes' expense, costing about £1700, but later I had electronics problems as well. I'm pretty sure that it was the leakage/warranty issue which ended production, as sales were well on target and reviews were positive. The price issue is often cited, but this seems to have been a specifically British complaint - my understanding is that the cars were far cheaper in continental Europe than in the UK.

This said, I should emphasise that the Roadster-Coupe, in Brabus format, is a superb vehicle. Rumour has it that the Brabus version was the brainchild of the designer of the MacLaren SLR - can anyone confirm this?

I suspect that the "Smart" name was a marketing disadvantage for a sports car, as the name is linked in the public eye with the diminutive ForTwo. Many owners have removed the Smart badges. If the cars had been produced in Brabus format, but rebranded as Mercedes (perhaps "SLL" - with "L" meaning "light"?), sales might have been stronger. --Vvmodel (talk) 14:48, 13 December 2009 (UTC)