Hello car enthusiasts!
The car I’m reviewing today is very special for me, and for several good reasons. The main one is that this is my real first car, as I just bought it with my money. And, for the ones who dream to have something and, much later, exclusively with their own effort, manage to make that dream come true, the feeling is something unforgettable, a genuine milestone!!!
And that’s my case. A car enthusiast since 1997, when the, then new, Mercedes-Benz SLK made me awake to the “car world”, my car dreams always went around the aforementioned SLK and, occasionally, other cars that, by their time, were very appealing (the last one was the Opel Astra GTC 1.6 Turbo with 180hp, exclusively for Portugal). Even so, the SLK dream was omnipresent. It was standing deeply in my heart, and the choice was very obvious. It only depended on the time needed to afford a nice second-hand unit.
The smart roadster never managed to “tickle the box” the way the SLK did. I even remember the first time it was seen as a prototype, at the 1999 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show. I remember to think “that front is horrible, and this is a stupid car compared to the city-coupe”. But, in 2002, the final version was presented, and, if remarkably similar, it seemed to look considerably better than the IAA prototype. Maybe the tweaking to the original lines worked very well. Really? No. Now I think the design just grew on me, and I say it because, now, I love those prototype’s lines. And that was the beginning of the roadster dream!
Ridiculously high-priced when new, only a handful of drivers bought this car. Why? For a start, the driver had to be wealthy, mostly because a two-seater, convertible and almost boot-less car cannot be the only car for 95% of people… So, it was most likely to be a second car, maybe third. A weekend toy, and that makes it look even more expensive than it already is. So, generally speaking, that driver had to be older, unless we are talking about a kid with rich parents. And that brings yet another problem: entering, and especially exiting the car, is hard for anyone but young, fit or not very tall people. So, kids were ok, as well as not-very-tall and fit drivers, but everyone left outside this group were likely to regret their buy…
Another problem very exposed by the time was the automated gearbox: slow and rubbish gear changes made it unsuitable for 100% sporty drivers, despite handling abilities among the very best you can think of. In the fortwo it was already criticized, and that was only a city car. In a true, light, uncompromised sports car it was a no-no for many automotive journalists, for some people who actually drove the car and, probably, for thousands of car-magazine readers who never actually drove one.
So you see how specific the target owner of this car was. And that helps to explain poor sales, and why Mercedes-Benz took the decision to end production in late 2005, after only about 43 000 units had rolled off the Hambach factory. By the time, many of them were still in the factory’s parking lot…
For me, the only issue was it’s by-the-clouds price tag, so, when I first heard it was going to be discontinued, I was… well, sad. That was the end of my smaller, down-to-earth dream, so, I went back to the used SLK plans while not thinking a lot about it.
But, when I first searched for used roadsters, I was astonished by the low prices. Really, a 40% discount over a new one, with 30k to 40k kilometres and two to three years is something to think about. And that’s just what I did. Furthermore, it’s cheap to insure and cheap to run, even if maintenance is due approximately at 10k kilometres periods and prices are quite high (more than 300€…). So, it’s a racional decision as well. Let’s rock!
Mine is two years old and has had covered only about 21k kilometres. So, it’s virtually new, the downside of its condition being the exterior paint somewhat spoiled by city dust (no garage car)… With some options fitted, like air-conditioning, additional instruments for the turbocharger pressure and engine oil temperature, electric and heated rearview mirrors and radio, nothing is missed. Not even the power steering, the low weight and small wheels being responsible for a slightly heavy but acceptable steering wheel movement, despite being very direct. The upside is that communication between driver and machine is genuine and simple, with a feeling I had never experienced before. But the brilliant steering is just the tip for a fantastic handling.
For a kick-off, the driving position: extremely low, stretched legs and very short gear lever movements means pure pleasure. Only the steering wheel is disappointing, being somewhat big and thin, and the fact it’s only a two-spoke don’t help to make it look nice. Together, the very low driving position, the superb noise from the engine and the bad insulation from the exterior mean you always feel you are going faster than you really do. If you open the soft top, that feeling is exaggerated even more (from 80 km/h, listening to the radio is… hard). That allows you to have fun safely, everywhere and with low fuel costs. But mountain-road driving really is the ultimate driving experience. It’s low weight, together with the short gear ratios, narrow tyres, rigid structure and tolerant ESP (yes, almost irreverent!) means undiluted driving fun. Oversteer appears very easily but it’s as easy to control and to play with, at least with the ESP on. Reactions are very progressive and, let’s never forget, you are not travelling very fast, so the risk is small. But, when given the chance, the small engine accelerates the car ridiculously well for its size, while delivering a fantastic sound. Here, the gearbox is not as bad as people say. You just have to anticipate corners a little but, if you do so, it won’t change gear in the middle of a corner or, even best, it won’t kickdown (in manual mode, of course). The only real downside are the brakes, pure old-style-Mercedes brakes. Don’t misunderstand me, they do stop the car easily, but the first (long) three quarters of the pedal travel do almost nothing, and only then the brakes start to bite. And they squeak... The final nice part is that ride comfort is, relatively speaking, very good, mostly because of the very nice seats and tall tyres. Only high-frequency pavement irregularities are badly absorbed, but that’s mostly a problem for small-town, stone-paved streets, once again exaggerated with no roof, and it probably has to do with the short wheelbase.
At the highway it always feels planted, even at very high speeds, and cross wind is no problem either. Here, the biggest downside, especially in long trips, is wind noise, very high from 130 km/h (80 mph) on. Insulation is no strong point, and the same applies for interior materials. Build quality is slightly better.
Fuel consumption is excellent: around 4l/100 km (59 mpg) while driving carefully and less than 5,5 l/100km (43 mpg) while driving fast (my week average stands at around 4,5 l/100km – 52 mpg). Boot space is limited, the front one being the most usable (the rear one only has space for a laptop and a few, similar-shape objects). Interior practicality is not better, as storage spaces are few and very small, but a (big) friend I have, who is almost 2 metres tall, fits… almost perfectly (he got in with no roof...).
So, the smart roadster is not versatile, has poor rear visibility, an horrible automatic-mode gearbox, it’s noisy at speed, attracts a lot of attention (even today) and it can be very hard to get in/ out while in narrow parallel parking. And yet, its limitations only help to make it more desirable than it already is. It’s, by far, the most astonishing car I ever drove.
Verdict: the most stylish, amazing and cheapest approach to a genuine sports car.
Vital data:
Engine and transmission:
698 cc, inline-3 cylinder, 2 valves per cylinder, turbo (petrol)
82 hp/ 5250 rpm
110 Nm/ 2250-4500 rpm
Red line: 6000 rpm
6-speed automated manual transmission
Dimensions and weights:
Empty weight (incl. driver): 865 kg
Boot: 59 (front) + 86 (rear) litres
Petrol tank: 35 litres
Tyres: Bridgestone B340 185/55 R15
Official performance:
Top speed: 175 km/h (109 mph)
0-100 km/h (0-62 mph): 10,9 seconds
Fuel consumption (urban/extra-urban/average): 6,3/ 4,3/ 5,1 l/100km (37/ 55/ 46 mpg)
3000 rpm, 5th gear: 80 km/h (50 mph)
3000 rpm, 6th gear: 106 km/h (66 mph)
3500 rpm, 6th gear: 121 km/h (76 mph)
Price in 2007: around 21k €
Driven: from March 2009
Main equipment: air conditioning, dual front airbags, ABS+BAS+ASR+ESP, radio with CD-player.
Rate: 18 out of 20
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