Category: Roadsters 
Price Range: £13,515 to £17,290
Highly entertaining, cute looks, durable construction, great handling, versatile roof, cheap to run, a cult car.
Slow sequential gearshift, poor rear visibility in Coupe, soft throttle response, power steering lacks feel, poor panel fit, small boot, expensive for what it is.
An exotic-looking car at a reasonable price and a hoot to drive. But there are compromises and the prices are high for such a small-engined vehicle.
Smart has the design and engineering might of Mercedes-Benz behind it, and its cars are built to the same standards as those bearing the three-pointed star despite their relatively low price. So the Roadster echoes other Smarts in being very well made out of high-quality materials. The Smart reliability record has been good to date, with the engines, and clutches, proving able to last well over 100,000 miles despite their small size, though there have been some minor problems with the transmission: insiders report issues with 'false neutrals', when it won't go into gear, though apparently this is quickly solved by re-booting the software. One note to Brabus buyers: the wide alloys, with their rubber-band tyres and protruding rims, are very easily scuffed and kerbed.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Smart Roadster Coupe
wrote on 07 07 2008