Smart Roadster Brabus Review: The Car That Took 20 Years To Make Sense

CarVertical: The History Checking Service Use this link or code "JAYEMM" for a discount! www.carvertical.com/gb/landing/v3?b=1e4c9523&a=Jay…

It was great meeting and sharing my car with you James, thanks for making it happen! Colin

I bought a non brabus smart roadster coupe for 1.2k and I absolutely love it. The roof doesn't leak and the turbo flutter is amazing. Unfortunately I don't use it very often so it will be up for sale soon. Gutted to see it go!

If I acted on every Jayemm video when I said, oh yeh I really wanted one of them, I’d be homeless, and bankrupt, and most likely long divorced

It's all about the visceral mechanical experience. I'd say 7 times out of 10 I choose to take my Brabus over my 460bhp Porsche. We do the shopping in the Brabus, weekend tours around the UK with the roof down. Absolutely love every minute of it, manually shifting that slow gearbox is more fun than shifting through an 8 speed Porsche PDK gearbox!!

Your issue Jay is you are slowing down for the corners, just keep it flat and it will fly round. I loved mine, especially when the tyres were new you could lift the outer front on turn in grip alone, you could out corner anything your were likely to meet in day to day driving on any B road. Took mine to the IoM and it was brilliant, apart from being a bit too low for the ferry ramps. I also loved the 45mpg at a 90mph cruise (in Germany). Just a shame it had to go back as it was on the Mercedes-Benz employee scheme and by the time I wanted another they had stopped making it. So had to have a C230 Sports Coupe instead, and that was crap.

My mum had the city coupe and put me on the insurance one summer when i was back from university. Words can't describe how terrible the gearbox is, the gear changes are so unbelievably slow it was painful to drive

I remember back in the day Smart showed the coupe/roadster concept at a press/analyst thing and all was going well - I loved it - then I asked the price. I mean it was as if no one had done marketing basics. The whole Smart problem was always that they believed they were prestige. Prestige and respect are the same - both are earned - simply yelling at people to respect you or yelling you are prestige are not effective strategies. With the right pricing smart could have flown - now it’s barely alive.

Had one for a couple of years, had it remapped to just over 125bhp & with more torque lower down the rev range it made a real difference to the driving experience. Wish I’d never sold it now!

i love jayemm pointing out the first gen honda insight at 15:20, only a car enthusiast stops mid sentence to point out a car they find interesting lmaoooo

I've owned my roadster finale for 15 years now. and it still looks as good as new. its like part of the family, both my wife and daughter love going out for a drive in it. The only things I've had to do with it is regular servicing , replace the front ball joints and have the wheels refurbished. The only issue i have with it is a slight leak over the door mirrors in heavy rain, which is kept in check by treating the door seals with a regular coating of pure silicone lubricant ( from ebay). but as it only comes out when the sun comes out, its not a problem. a brilliant fun car that makes a fantastic noise. definitely a future classic. Ill only sell it when i can no longer get in it.

they always made sense ,,, just not to everyone. But look it ,,, what a looker , they look 20k more expensive than they are .

Had mine for 3k 10 years ago! Will never sell it! It's my perfect car. I'm a British/French dual national who works in Switzerland, so it's a perfect fit.

Loved mine, loved the 50mpg , nippy performance, great handling, amazing looks, hated the leaks !

Sounds like that one needs it's gear oil changed. It became a regular service item for our car and the gearbox never gave us any trouble with that regime. I couldn't stand auto mode and always used the paddles, whereupon the gearbox was entirely predictable. No it isn't a 3 speed with overdrive, though there are two final drives, neither has a ratio >1 and it's not a bolted on epicyclic. It's a bespoke triple shaft Getrag box. Pub fact: technically it has 2 reverse ratios. We took ours from 40 to 120k miles and had several memorable driving holidays in Scotland (from Sussex!). We have very fond memories of our little notch-back, and only sold it when my wife got pregnant. Replaced with a ForTwo which we still have, and our son is now 9 :)

I do so enjoy your personality. Always makes me smile with your turns of phrase and wit! Thank you, James!

I saw one of these in my local town and thought it was perfect for Jay to review. Looks like my wish came true!

Always loved this Brabus version. Put in a Hayabusa engine with the gearbox and it would be perfect

I had the basic roadster, and the handling was still brilliant. Also had decent power. Low fuel consumption. I found the seats really comfortable on long trips. Also mine was a hard top version. Leaking can be handled with putting silicon grease on the seals to keep them supple. Door handle can fail if pulled from both sides simultaneously. Ignition lock can collapse in randomly. But for both there are permanent fixes from the support forums. Overall, a fantastic car, I would buy one again in a heartbeat

I'm so happy you reviewed a Smart Roadster. I have a Coupe 82hp. Such a fun car. Not the fastest on straight line but great on twisty roads. Great review!