'Er indoors wants a Smart car. Always did. Last time I palmed her off with a Fiat 500 but now our neighbourhood gay boy (yes literally) has bought one and she loves it We are toying with the idea of the electric cabrio. The use would be purely local: trips to the nearest market town five miles away, the gym three miles away, the big city of Norwich eight miles away, occasional trip to the coast thirty odd miles. Never leaving Norfolk basically. However the nearest MB Smart dealership for the electric version is in Loughton which is on the limit of the car's range ('87 miles' claimed.)

Obviously the running costs and numbers all need checking. MB do a 'rent the battery' option which would cover the big imponderable of Lion battery replacement. Break even point at £55/month is just shy of six years. Without an internal combustion engine many of the support systems that deteriorate with age are absent - fuel, cooling, oil, precisely engineered moving parts, cambelt/TCT, metal-on-metal (the engine) - so in my eyes it is just a roller coaster with modern comforts driven off the battery. Price is a bit steep even after the 25% discount by Government.

To my mind a big risk is the UK grid losing power stations and relying on heavily-subsidised wind power. Might consider investing in storing electricity off my PV panels on the roof. The space saved in the garage by the shorter car would leave space for heavy-duty storage batteries.

Thoughts or any experience with the regular Smart cars would be welcome

 

I had a petrol version back in 2002 - great fun despite the awful gearbox. I used to love winding up traffic wardens by parking nose against the kerb.

But I think there are better, more economical town cars available now.

 

I personally agree however this is a fashion accessory too and the Skoda/Up!/Yours doesn't hack it ...

 

If she truly loves it then that love will overcome all deficiencies such as performance, handling and that gearbox!

Very safe in a crash though despite how exposed you feel.

 

I used a Smart ForTwo coupé for 6 months whilst awaiting delivery of my first Prius; it was a 90 mile commute and I have to admit to being smitten with it. And generally everyone who tried it was impressed for what it is and what it's intended for. My youngest daughter is very keen to have one for tooling around Bristol.

Mine was a Pulse with paddle-shift (non-auto') gearbox and I drove it like a maniac. It always returned about 50 mpg even driven in that manner and it was also - somewhat surprisingly - brilliant in the snow. An acquaintance fitted M&S tyres to the rear of his and it would go anywhere.

The Cabrio' is great fun and whilst I can't really comment on the economics of the electric version, I would go for the petrol as I suspect a spreadsheet exercise will show it as having the best bottom-line (presumably that's what your other half's gay friend was really interested in... fnarrr, fnarrr.).

The one thing to be aware of is servicing costs; they are eye-watering. As they are invariably at Mercedes dealerships, be prepared for an attempted ass-rape every time you take it in.

 

No but I think he will be going into the servicing side of things with his cheeks clenched

The spreadsheet exercise will be the determinant of which model and if second user etc but colour and cabrio options are not my call. I am curious to find out about the residuals for electric, as this is the green way. There are no hybrid options but if that means dual fuel i.e. petrol if out of juice otherwise electric, I suppose the sheer weight and space needed makes no sense in a small city car. Which in our case would seem to suit our country life too, given there is another car available for long trips. Weirdly enough our children who all live and work in London are quite interested.

Costs seem a bit steep at least as at February 2012 according to this Telegraph article.

 

PM Bassoctopus. He ran a Smart Roadster for a while ...

 

FWIW I had a Mitsubishi MiEV on loan for a short while and it was mightily impressive; it's a kinda stretched Smart, albeit with extensive use of aluminium and a space-frame chassis - and 4 seats too.

The dealer is still trying to sell a 2010 model MiEV with 7K miles for £12K.

Range anxiety is the big hurdle with them; Mrs P is a perfect candidate for one given her commuting requirements and I tried long and hard (oooh... errr... another double entendre) to get her into one. But the once in a blue moon requirement for her to use her car for a long trip ruled it out for her.

 

Thanks for the advice but for this one, the would be one day maybe next Mrs Arsie, 'car' is a style issue as much as function and there is only one Smart car. The trouble is, as someone said, there are many more capable 'city' cars out there but the Smart looks quirky and has a style all of its own and not trying to be too many things for too many markets. The rest look of a muchness, various flavours of the typical modern day bloated small car for all purposes on steroids and not nearly as cute.

With electric I wonder if she will even venture out? With the dog wagon if I let it get below 1/4 full anxiety sets in - yet that is the 'full charge' range of the electric Smart. I will always wait until the warning light comes on when there is still a good gallon in the tank but if that happens while we are driving all hell breaks loose ... Love em really

So apart from the financial angles and which of the knotchety best of a bad job gear changing options to pick, we are down to test drives I suppose. Anyway I await brochures and daresay salesmens follow up calls soon after. £6grand seems like average for a three year old on fifteen-twenty thousand miles though the finer gradations for options I have yet to learn.

 

Buy a petrol one