2002 smart fortwo - city coupe Pulse 0.6 from UK and Ireland
Summary:
To get FUN back into your commute then drive this car - and wave to all the other owners please!!
Faults:
Nothing has gone wrong with my car (fingers crossed - touch wood!).
General Comments:
Such amazingly great fun! I've been driving over 10 years now and this is the only car that still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it!!
It's prone to drifting in light wind on M-ways, and understeers on tight corners - still it adds to the fun and challenge!
The cabin is innovative (if short of storage space that is closed from prying eyes) and massive inside - a constant comment from new passengers is the huge amount of legroom on their side and how wide the cabin is. They can sit cross-legged and still not intrude in my area.
Beware of rear-view mirror - can't se much out of it, and it creates a new blind spot for me when going round corners (out the front screen).
Have consistently got 55MPG from it - mainly 16 mile a day town commute, but also the odd Costco or IKEA dash down the M1 (from Luton).
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 9th September, 2002
2nd Apr 2003, 18:10
I have just terminated my short affair with the sexy smart. Well, it wasn't a mutual affair as I actually had to fork out a tenner to 'own' the car for two days, courtesy of course, of Stellios Haji-Iannou. Anyway.
I have three major gripes about the MCC Smart Pulse. First of all, the steering is dull and lacks feel. It is heavy. This is especially felt when I did a side parking.
Secondly, the gear is slow to shift. There is an option of automatic or semi-automatic mode. The automatic mode will give you a 'boat riding the wave' sensation when it up shifts. The semi-automatic is smoother, provided you know when to shift the gears. By the way, downshifting can be left for the car to handle, although you can force the gear to downshift when the need arises.
Thirdly, the pathetic pedals. I expected these to be at least as smooth as that of the A-Class Mercedes. Dissappointed I was. The brake pedal is especially annoying. It requires a much bigger amount of kick to apply the brakes.
My conclusion, smart indeed, fuel efficient indeed, fun indeed, all it needs are refinements in the above three categories.
2nd Mar 2003, 12:10
The Smart may be good, but look at it - it looks awful! It does 0-60 in 18.0 seconds, slow or what! The dashboard looks like something out of a childrens creche!