2008 smart fortwo - city coupe Passion 1.0 petrol from North America

Summary:

A lot of fun to drive, but comes at a cost

Faults:

Clutch replaced at 15,000 km (Upgraded to 2009 clutch system).

Valve replaced.

Driver door latch replaced.

General Comments:

Although the car has costly maintenance ($200-$300 per service), it is a blast to drive. When I was looking for a new car, the rest bored me.

Acceleration is moderate, but these cars were not built for drag racing. Top speed is limited to 140 kmph, and I've managed to get mine to 145 kmph.

It's a love hate relationship with this car, but overall I am pleased with my decision.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd December, 2009

2008 smart fortwo - city coupe Passion Cabriolet 1.0L 3 cylinder from North America

Summary:

Smart, fun, cute and looks like a GIPPER!

Faults:

Seat belts would not retract, Mercedes ordered parts, drove 2 hours to take the car in for this service, which was going to be covered under warranty. Waited at the dealer for 3 hours to get no results and was told there was a part missing.

Made second trip two hours for the same issue, to be told that if I take the seat belt out of the seat belt holder on the side of the seat, that they retract fine...

Plastic rocker moldings not holding to the car, defective clips were replaced. Again another 2 hour drive each way to Mercedes.

Shifter not shifting... Replaced shift box under warranty.

Seat material is fraying in unusual places, which you would think would never wear.. Dealer escalated this to a field service manager manager, who said no to replacing seat covers.

Positive battery cable melted the outer plastic harness. Mercedes is cheap and just decided to splice the cable and re-fasten it back to the battery.

Also they had the car in twice to recall some stupid stickers that I will never see on the exhaust.

Shift knob non functional stuck in either park or drive or vice versa.

Premature brake wear at 25,000KM... time for another visit..

General Comments:

All in all fantastic idea, 26.00 of gas for 600 KM.. Excellent choice, you just need a lot of days off to go see the Mercedes service department.

They have been great at giving us a smart loan car since I am a distance from their dealer.

Would I buy another one, YES I would; the value of this car on blackbook is excellent.

Would I recommend this car to anyone interested in buying one... For sure..

Price wise I think it could be a bit of a better value, or else keep the price the same and improve the quality of the interior and plastic's as well as seat material.

The Cabriolet Passion costs 21,500 Canadian, and where is the leather interior that only would cost them 200.00 to install?? I don't know; instead I have crappy cloth seats that show so much as even a small spill of simple water!!!??

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 13th August, 2009

14th Feb 2011, 12:34

Wear on the seats can happen if you have Velcro-type grippers on your clothing, not just to smarts either. This happens when rear pocket flaps on trousers are not closed properly and the 'male' side of the fastener pulls threads out of the 'female' seat material! I couldn't figure out why my seats were fraying until I sussed the cause. Cure is to unpick the 'male' sides from the clothing and throw them away...

2008 smart fortwo - city coupe Passion 1.0 71 bhp from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Makes you stand out from all the others

Faults:

Nothing whatsoever.

General Comments:

Great little car, although this site still sees it as a city-coupe, it's called a ForTwo Coupe.

The gear box is fine if you ease off the go pedal just as it changes, and you have zero gearbox jerk.

Only downside is when you close either the doors or glass hatch, you need to close them with some force because of the pressure inside the car.

It handles motorways fine at 75mph.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th September, 2008

2008 smart fortwo - city coupe Passion from North America

Faults:

A minor door rattle. Dealer tightened the door hinge in less than an hour.

Suggestion: Diesel for the U.S. market.

General Comments:

The 1.0 liter 3 cylinder mid engine powertrain is quite peppy. Ergonomics are more for city driving, however the little Smart held the road quite well at 95 mph.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th April, 2008

21st May 2008, 13:31

On paper it's slow by today's standards, but from what I hear and read, driving one feels quite peppy. My little econobox is slow on paper, but feels quite peppy too. That's the advantage of a light-weight vehicle. It doesn't take much power to propel such a light-weight vehicle. It's only a 3cyl. engine after all.