This is my Smart! It was an absolute pleasure to have Ed up to review it! Delighted that he had as much enjoyment driving it as I do!

Best, most fun car I've ever owned. Local Smart specialist tweaked it to 112 bhp and kept the clutch properly regulated at each service. Well sealed; no leaks. If only it had room for our greyhound...😥

I have owned five Smarts, 4 x ForTwo and a Roadster. The best upgrade I had done, and there was a few, was the fitting of a pedal shift steering wheel. Made it a lot more enjoyable to drive. You learn plan ahead more, you drive along not thinking "What gear do I need now?", but more "What gear will I need in 4 seconds". Seven years on from selling it, I still miss it.

Ed This was such a boost to my morning drowsy mood over my cereal. My smile was as broad as yours, and your obvious fun and excitement was electric! And it looked that you were testing the 'smile-a-yard' sports car on a familiar Lakeland Road, so knowing it I felt your experience through my whole body in a way I have not had before. BRIALLIANT! You have grown over so few years from a young enthusiast to a fully blown, researched and professionally presented expert to the point that you are without equal in the motoring world because your professionalism is matched by your so-obvious sense of fun and smiling enjoyment! I face a dull day with joy with thanks to you as always! Thank you - and I too want one too! For a while I helped a young motor racer who is now quiet well-known and for whom for his daily transport on the way to the racing stars was a Smart that I felt a little infra dig but hey, you have changed my mind! Also a 79 year-old friend has a Kia with a three pot and I love its pretend 6-cylnder sound and grunt. With good wishes and expectations for the next Ed magic! Rob

As an American living in Germany, I own both a Cayman S and a Smart Fortwo. I absolutely love them both--the Porsche for obvious reasons, the Smart car because it feels like a go-cart, and at any given time, I get to push the accelerator to the floor. Plus, my first maintenance on the Porsche cost more than the purchase price for the Smart. I was driving slowly on the autobahn when a Smart Roadster passed me, and it was so striking that I sped up to read the brand name and was shocked that it was made by Smart.

I honestly can't tell you how much I love my Smart Roadster. If I'm having a bad day, I pop out in it for half an hour and my whole mindset changes - it's that much fun to drive. Lots and lots of B roads to play on where I live which is the perfect environment. Cheap on petrol, cheap to insure and cheap to service. The chirp is wonderful and you forget about the gearbox once you get used to it. If you're tempted to buy one then make sure you buy a paddleshift car - much better than the standard gearchange. Stirling Moss was a big fan and I think Jenson Button had one too. If it's good enough for them...

Great, positive video! Smart needed it’s own dealer network filled with people who had passion for the brand. Mercedes dealers have never have much interest in it and it showed, from the cars always seeming condemned to a little corner of the premises, to their attitude towards you upon arrival. These amazing and quirky cars deserved more, as did the buyers.

I've owned one of these for the last 12 years. Brilliant little car. Why you wouldn't just leave it in auto I don't know, drives much better. Also you mention the cars character, the gearbox is part of it's character. Wouldn't change any of it, been smiling for years.

The first time I drove a Smart, a fourtwo, I honestly thought the gearbox was broken. I returned it to it's owner with some trepidation explaining that the gearbox seems to be faulty. "Oh no", he said, "it's just total crap". I never tried the raodster, wish I had now having seen how much you enjoyed it. Good work as always Ed. Thanks.

I have the flappy paddles which are great and the sound the engine makes when wrung out is just marvellous.

I have owned one since 2020. And absolutely love it. The paddle shift if used well is quick. That said for shear drive abillity and smiles for miles it fits everything wanted in a small functionable sports car.

I ADORED my Roadster! Consistently put a smile on my face every time I drove it! Just so much fun! And more practical than you might be forgiven for thinking - you could accommodate some pretty long loads if you folded the passenger seat forward! You’ve made me miss it all over again ☺️

Great to see your joy from driving the little Smart ! I’m guessing that you’re going to have quite the car collection in a few years time, Ed 😄❗️❗️

Yet again, great presentation 👍. I have been curious about these smart car's for some time. Thanks for the trouble you've gone to and have thus far 😉👍

I have had a 4/2 for 17 years, and a roadster for about a year. Both great cars. The gearbox everyone hates, is something you get used to. And when you learn to work with it, it's so rewarding. Until you have done that. Don't knock it!!

Way to go Ed……. Excellent and your infectious love of this little car is to behold! Mike PS we had a blue and silver ForTwo and loved it….. even the gearbox which we always had set to ‘auto’ gave us so many laughs!

Such a awesome video Ed, it was great to see you enjoying you’re drive so much despite the clearly hideous gearbox, have to say the car did suit you😂

What a great, honest review; I could feel the enthusiasm this side of the screen. SUBSCRIBED!

Excellent video, Ed. Thank you 👌🏼

Unbeilevable that this is the first I've ever seen of this car, and on first blush (your thumbnail) I thought it was a new concept of some kind. It's hard to believe it's 20ish years old! That gearbox and electric steering you'd think would kill it, but it's loaded with charisma and charm somehow.

Wow…you got hold of this *much* sooner than expected. I'm now screaming that we didn't get this car Stateside, mainly just the ForTwo (with its lackluster-for-it's-size fuel economy). Thanks to you and JayEm, this car finally gets its due, somewhat-dodgy transmission and all. Well-done!

Bought mine over ten years ago and I have been smiling ever since what a wonderful little car, totally impracticable but so much fun.

I never owned a roadster but i did own a ForTwo MK2 which i used to commute to Manchester everyday. I used to rag it around the moors early mornings which was such a hoot. Only a 1 litre but so quick and nimble around those sharp turns and uneven roads.

Great review by a great reviewer/presenter. In fact I'd go so far as to say one of my favourite KZfaqrs when it comes to this kind of thing. Remarkable given your age.👍

Top review Ed. Great work. 👍👍

As always a truly professional and informative video.

Always enjoy your videos, opinions, and enthusiasm.

Eee! Exciting to see a review of my car. I love mine so much. It's definitely not perfect and it has recently cost me money as you really don't want to hit an unseen pothole in one but I still just love it. So much fun. As others have said, you can cope with the gearbox. I had been out if driving for a while when I got mine so it wasn't a massive shock. I think I've got to the point where I can work around its quirks. Completely agree it's the wrong way round shift wise though.

I loved my '04 Roadster Coupe. Bought it accident damaged, repaired it & ran it for almost 4 years. It never let me down & never did much less than 50mpg. Definitely an 8 tenths car but nothing wrong with that. The gearbox was pretty awful in absolute terms but once you tune into it then it was fine. I used to always paddle shift up & let it sort itself out on the way down. There was a real joy in getting it right. Still a mega looking thing to my eyes, the 16" spikelines, specifically the epic offset on the rears is mega.

Great review. You have great insight into cars.

A few years ago I delivered one of these from Lancashire up to Braemar. On the motorway it was absolutely awful. Once I reached Perth, however, the character of the car completely changed & driving up the A93 over the Spittal Of Glenshee has got to be up there in one of the best drives I've ever done within the posted speed limit. It was so much fun!

A great review, thank you so much. I have owned 2 Smarts, one was amazing and never let me down, the other was a nightmare from start to finish. The real problem with these is the electrics, they were one of the early adopters of lead free solder in the circuit boards and after a decade or so combined with vibration the solder joints fail and then reliability becomes the big problem.. the other big problem as briefly mentioned is the water ingress that is impossible to solve (at least impossible to solve In my experience). If you do not have garage space or need to use these or park in rain, the be prepared for misery.. also the rain gets into the electronics. The gearchange is something that you can massively improve with experience and technique, also an uprated clutch actuator can be purchased from Germany which is a game changer. From a technical and engineering perspective it’s theoretically perfectly possible in my opinion to add a manual clutch pedal and hydraulic actuator as it’s a perfectly conventional clutch with a electronic actuator. The gearbox also is controlled by the ecu, but with manual control it would be perfectly easy to achieve as it’s a simple motorcycle type 6 speed sequential box. The electronics of the whole car would be affected and I’m convinced that actual owners of these cars would not see the value in a manual conversion as it would be quite expensive. By the way I had one with power steering and one without power steering and I’d always take the power steering every time. Anyone considering buying one of these as a second car and with a dry space to keep it, go for it.. but get one with good history from Mercedes or a recognized specialist.. and get the top spec with the leather, ideally the Brabus. If you see lots of previous owners it’s almost certainly one of the unreliable ones with electronics gremlins that in my experience is a nightmare. A good one is a real fun car, with so much character.

Dammit all! Every time you review a car I like, it makes me want one. You have that in common with another KZfaqr I subscribe to.

Having driven loads of Smart’s, i can say this, on downchanges i blip the throttle and smooths out the shift. On upchanges, I slightly feather off the throttle, smooths it out. Around town I just leave it in auto mode If the clutch is adjusted with the diagnostic annually, the changes are quicker. basically the distance between the clutch & the flywheel is adjusted to take into consideration clutch wear Here in Greece, Smart’s are trendy and hugely popular, the 600cc version used to blow the engine at around 100k kilometres, the 700cc is without issues. Despite the heat here, they cope well but the majority of owners here completely ignore the recommended service intervals and change the oil every 5000km at most. My sister-in-law has a late 2007 Fortwo Passion which is the top version with paddles, leather and of course A/C (all Greek versions have it) which works well.

Owned 2, fantastic cars Also when it comes to the gearbox, you're much better off getting the flappy paddles

You CAN get used to the gearbox and smooth the changes by using a bit of throttle at the right time, but the main thing with these cars is that you will need an engine rebuild at about 50k miles and make sure you change the non-return valve on the tube that comes out of the crankcase and goes into one of the turbo pipes. Do it every year as they are about £12 from memory. If the valve fails, the turbo will pressurise the crank case and believe me, that is not a good thing. Fun though.

One of my neighbours has one of these, can't stop myself looking at it when I walk past it :)

A car should be fun to drive. I've had many cars over the years and my favorite of them all was a '73 Datsun 180b bluebird purely because if the fun factor! The man & machine in perfect harmony applied more so than even the sportiest car I've had. If you're not having fun it's just something you have to do! I've always fancied a Smart roadster but have never got around to getting one.

Been waiting for a review of this and this is brilliant. So much great detail. And I prefer the glass booted version. And does it whistle each time you change gear? Fantastic!

A cute little car indeed. Good looking and very practical. Some of these were great ideas but much ahead of their time.

Had the Bluewave Coupe roadster years ago. Great fun to drive and loved the paddle shift. Had to sell when we had our second child. Oldest one most upset. She had named it Squishy because she said if you had a normal Smart car then pressed really hard on the roof it would squash down into a coupe. Oh and a second memory..it leaked. Even after two visits it leaked. Still great drive. Nice sunny day, take the roof off, out on a country road it was wonderful. Wish i still had it as apparently only 125 Bluewaves were built.

I've always liked the look of these, but didn't know anybody with one, nor seen much enthusiasm for them, but I'll keep my eye out for a cheap one, as they do look fun

I had one of these back in 2006 when they were new. Great fun to drive and made great noises. Was massively improved by an engine and gearbox remap, as the gearbox is a bit lazy in them. However it leaked like a sieve, it wasn't just the Targa top that leaked, it was also the Bulkhead, doors, wing mirrors, behind the rear seats, absolute nightmare. I had mine 6 months, for 4 of thos months it was stuck at Mercedes trying to fix all the leaks. Got fed up never having it and got my money back from Merc. And yes, they rattled and squeaked like that from new. I really think these are a future classic.

I believe you can have the gearbox remapped to make it faster and smoother....worth doing apparently. I have the ForTwo 451 and I have exactly the same smile on my face constantly. When I feel like driving I use the sequential selector but if I'm just stuck in traffic or bimbling about the area I enjoy the laziness of auto select. It's nice to have both. I improved the suspension by adding spring buffers and it's transformed the ride...no longer do you feel potholes like spine jarring explosions! Get one...make your life fun every single day. Great video...really enjoyed your style... subscribed!

God I would adore to try one of these out. Looks like an absolute blast!

we didn't get these roadsters in the us but my 09 453 passion always gets me where i need to go!

I had a 101bhp BRABUS version, with paddles, was a brilliant little thing. Gearbox is actually a 3spd with overdrive so the 3rd to 4th change is the slowest. There's not enough space in the footwell for 3 pedals, especially in right hand drive form. BRABUS converted a LHD with a forfour Gearbox, but it wasn't developed further.

thanks for this review. i can confirm that this is one of the most underrated cars in terms of fun for bucks...

100% agree with you... The Smart roadster coupe has always been a car i adored and would have loved to have owned BUT because of that gearbox i have honestly never even driven one! i hear when equipped with the steering wheel paddle shift there is an improvement? a future classic? OH YES

Always loved these

Love the review, thank you. I've had my black and silver roadster coupe since 2011. It's such a great car, and is such fun to drive. The gear box initially takes some getting used to, but after a while you get to love that too. The paddle shift and main gear stick can even be used together in combination to quickly shift down two gears if ever you need to. Just plan ahead and it's part of being alive and thinking ahead. I've often wished both my Audi and Golf had a similar gear box. The auto mode on the Golf just isn't as good, and sometimes even in manual mode the tiptronic shift on the golf insists in being in the wrong gear and won't allow me to be in the gear I actually know I want to be in. My roadster also qualifies now for classic car insurance, so costs nothing to run, and very little to insure. Some maintenance I also do myself. There is even a very good mod to allow you to have full manual steering on the roadster, so that isn't something you can really fault either. Leaks also are well known old problem but have a complete set of fixes. My roadster has never leaked since I've owned it as the leaks were all sorted. Also do get the drain plug for the oil sump. As long as it's well maintained and cared for, they can be great and reliable cars and don't cost the earth to own or maintain.

Great little cars. I have an 05 Roadster with about 55k on it in star blue metallic like the video car. Had it from 3 years old. Hasn't seen road salt in years lol. Has been very good just needing a front ball joint outside regular servicing.

This looks exactly the same as my roady. It is the most fun car I have ever had (and I've had a few) but he's right, it should have had a gear box. I can't part with it even though I am constantly asked if I want to sell it! I absolutely love it

The space you mentioned is already in use for the fuel tank. The packaging is actually pretty decent. The suspension hardware is a lesson in minimalist production engineering. It's a really well executed bit of kit. I might need to have another look at them.

I was interested in these back in the day, actually got a loaner for 24hrs, but never bought one in the end. It was possible to modify the shifter 'the right way round', but that was a bit more difficult than just switching two wires round.

A friends of mine, sadly no longer with us, had one of these. I think it leaked as you mentioned and that fried all the electronics and he never got around to fixing it. He was also into original Minis and also had a Heron sports car (look that one up - not something you'll find in the UK I imagine). As we used to joke weird little cars were "right up his idiom".

Loved mine but it was like driving around in a bath - a full one at that. In Ireland, it was totally unsuitable, so I got rid after about a year. Shame, as it was great fun.

Fun all the way , if it is sorted out and been looked after , had the Brabus coupe for 4 months and love it , such a HOOT to drive and vacuum pack every thing bar your self .LOL

I bought one new from Smart Chiswick (54 reg), well pre-reg so only cost me £9,995! Most fun car i've ever owned, wish i still had it. Gearbox was fine if you had paddle shifters once you got used to it, changes were much better than using the stick. Didn't leak too much either! Brilliant car!

I completely agree with you, I hired a four two cabriolet for my honeymoon here in Australia I had so much fun driving that little car

I have this car without the eletric sterring. And it’s one of the “best” cars in the whole world! Because it’s fun! I wish it had a proper H-shifter. But the slow auto clutch, you get used to, and it makes it even more engaging to drive. You really have to think forward in time with this car. When you live with it, it’s become “natural”. I don’t know of any car that can give the same feeling. Maybe a Elise, but that’s way more serious. The Smart is a clown car, making you smile all the time. I really love it!

Sehr schönes Video! Der smart roadster ist mein absolutes lieblings Auto. An die Schaltung hab ich mich längst gewohnt. Man muß etwas früher schalten, als man den anderen Gang wirklich braucht, z.B. schalte ich einen Gang runter, wenn ich überholen möchte, dann ist der richtig beim Überholen schon eingelegt. In bald 20 Jahren hatte ich nur eine Reparatur, ausser der normalen Wartung, eine Lambdasonde war defekt. Ansonsten nur Spaß am fahren! Dir wünsche ich auch weiterhin viel Spaß, much fun!

The Roadster amazing car, I found once you get used to throttle & turbo you can control the gearbox very nicely in auto mode, I also had the paddle shift that also helped as you could just flick it up or down without having to move my hands of the steering wheel

I get very frustrated with reviewers being so critical of the gearbox, once you get used to it , it is a joy, the best of both worlds and as fast as a manual change. Great fun little car!

Absolutely love mine... Such a fun car on a twisty B road and a future classic I reckon

I have a smart fortwo cabrio and i think it's a fantastic looking car just like the roadster. I've just purchased a set of scruffy roadster trackline alloys I'll be getting refurbished to fit to it😊. Had it 3 months and fallen head over heels in love with it, always been into Air-cooled vw's but this car has won my heart. 3 cylinder turbo is fab. Shame about the gear shift.

That's a very fun looking little car.

I used to have a Honda Beat - I suspect it knocks this into a cocked hat. Very well built, engine revs to 8K + and you feel you are doing in mph what you are actually doing in km/h. Proper hood, A/C (!!) and mine had a luggage rack so a small suitcase could be carried. Should never have sold it!

I love Smart and the roadster/coupe was/is brilliant.

It kind of reminds me of an old British car. The fact that it did not help things financially for the company, it was quite badly made which would fall to the detriment of owners and the automatic manual almost makes it a deal breaker anyway but at the same time it makes perfect sense and you definitely definitely would buy one

The gearshift pattern (forward for up, back for down) can be reconfigured. Better with the paddles. The great thing about smarts (I have a 451) is that it is fun at low speeds, much like, as you said, a Sprite or MX5. It also costs sod all to run !

That’s a cool little car, and the 3 pot engine really suits it, but I’m with you on the gearbox, why didn’t they just get a manual gearbox option for it rather than complicating it with that electronic box it’s got, I’d imagine that would be hideously expensive to fix should you have issues with it which I suspect has happened to a few owners. I haven’t seen many of these over the years since they were new, they are a bit scarce. Excellent review Edd as always, thanks again! 👍😎

Great video. I have an Abarth which is ridiculously quick. Too quick to be fun. I’m going to chop it in for Smart Roadster. Sometimes less is more…

Roadster is the “red one” the blue one a Coupe. Gearbox is great if you play. Auto and drive. Tiptronic change, flappy paddles and decide or, just drive it with foot flat down and it will rev to the red line and change gear ⚙️ it’s self.

Great, entertaining review… Have you driven a 1988 - 1991 Civic CRX Si? Both your commentary regarding the Roadster and the expression on your face remind me very much, despite their obvious differences) of the CRX. (Though the gearbox on the CRX is, to put it (in deference to the Smart) very mildly, rather more refined). Very worthwhile video. And once you claimed a sports car should, of course, have a manual transmission, you earned my respect and my sub.

Definitely having too much fun here😂

I do eye one of these up once and a while, I love JDM cars, kei cars and I have been thinking about importing a Honda S660 to replace my Honda CRZ once Im done with it, and the Smart Roadster and Daihatsu Copen are giving me the same vibe.

Always liked these, kinda reminded me of a tiny tvr

Smart only sold Fortwos back where I live so I never knew this thing even existed. I've definitely go through the pain of swapping this for a MT but I'd own one and drive it every single day if I could

Definetly one of the cars that I would love to have if I ever have the ability to have multiple cars.

Here in Canada we only saw the ForTwo. A neighbour had one. I came out one day to find he had most of the front end off. When I asked why he told me that he was changing a headlamp bulb. Here, these cars are about useless. Distances are much greater here. They have almost all disappointed from the road. Have fun with it. That narrow power band is why they really don't work here.

The roadster is an amazing car. The gearbox isn’t actually as bad as most people thing in a car like this. You learn to actually work it. It gets you thinking like a manual and auto is great just for around town and on motor ways when you don’t need to keep the revs up. Remember it was stated as a city/sports car so in town the lack of power in lower revs works cause it’s more manageable. I have driven everything from Ferraris, Porsches, Morgans, to Caterhams around country roads and actually opted for my roadster over a 997. Mainly for two reasons 1. It is just a lot cheaper to run and didn’t want ever bill to just leave me disliking the car (although don’t get me wrong the smart hasn’t been cheap to maintain) 2. 20years ago I had both a 997 and a roadster at my disposal and I found I just used the roadster more. Beautiful car and all the ‘faults’ I would say add to its fun. One final note for those looking to buy. If this one is boosting around to 1.5 bar on the turbo. It’s been mapped. Only the brabus engines cars boosted around to this.

My wife had a ForFour EQ (Electric) with Brabus alloys. 160Nm of instant torque through the rear wheels and a traction system designed for a wheezy petrol engine; it was a blast to drive. Wonder if that power train would fit in a roadster...

I’ve always wanted a Smart Roadster since I rented one in Germany when I was on vacation years ago. Unfortunately, I live in the US, and the only Smart car ever offered here was the Smart ForTwo. I can import a Smart Roadster, but only after it’s 25 years old.

I finagled my dad into getting a test drive when these first came out, and dreamed of them ever since. i finally got an ex tuner democar a few years back. the it had a screamer pipe, was lowered a scary amount, was on very wide 17", and painted in a very tastefull matte grey. The thermostat died on the way home, the next day the gearbox refused service and it was sideswiped while immobile. the roof leaked and was not functional, and it had some mass problems. after fixing all this it drove brilliantly, except for the gearbox obvs. you could only find the limits of traction while aquaplaning, on the dry you had to scandi flick the live out of it to get the back out, otherwise, it steered by telepathy (it didn't have power steering) and corner entry speeds were ridiculous for a road car, the only thing i've driven that could get close was a Lotus Elise (which was way quicker, but not nearly as cute). But, the gearbox is and remains dimwitted, the maintenance costs rose to 2€/km which was getting the better of me. I sold it a while back, and while i was glad to be rid of it, I should've bought a 60hp version with a broken engine and stuffed a bike engine in it, it would have been very close to the perfect sports car

Loved this car in red/black

MAGNIFIQUE !!!!!!!!!!!!!

A classmate had one of those back in 2008. A really nice "toy".

It's a charming car I always wanted to like. Then I drove a few Mk I Smarts as rental cars, really hated the gear changes and buried the idea of ever buying anything connected to that semi-autobox.

So beautiful

When I was looking for a car,t ten ears ago,there was a Smart roadster, and a Daihatsu Copen for sale, locally .I bought the Copen,and often think about that Smart.

Owned one for a year and this is an accurate review, the gearbox ruins a fun car. Biggest flaw of that MTA gearbox was when it shredded angle sensors and got stuck in one gear. £600+ to fix, in 2008 money. Steering racks were expensive too.

My only experience of one of these was a short test-drive in one for sale; it took no more than three or four miles to come to terms with the gearbox. Treat it as a manual with an automatic clutch, modulate the throttle and the gearchange is no slower than a conventional manual. If it wasn't so low built I would be shopping for one right now, but sadly old age and arthritic knees means it's not for me :(

i loved my roadster, with the software update on the box it was like a different car...

I really like the look of these, and they drive great, I tried one recently. The only thing for me that lets me down is the build quality. Switchgear that wears of, liner of the roof panels that gets loose, panels break, leakage etc...

Love smarts, I have the fortwo from 2002, great car, I want a roadster so bad

You should try my one. It's a Brabus coupe. Power steering has been diabled, and it has the small diameter Brabus V6 steering wheel with paddle shifts, which transforms the steering feel. The gearbox has also been "tuned" and the shift takes about half the time now, which makes the whole package an absolute hoot to drive. I prefer it to the Ferrari F355 or the Porsche 968 which I had before. The roadie is tons more fun.

I would love to drive one of these. I like it because it's different and we didn't get them here.

Truly excellent video ! I had almost given up hearing an English speaking petrolhead able to say "coupe" the right way, aka the french way ;-) !

I had one of these in black. was brilliant with a 108hp remap but I had to sell it and buy something that could keep the rain out because I don't have a garage and I was already on my second ECU. In fact if you're pulling 1.5 bar of boost then the one you drove has had a sneaky remap too, they only boost to 1.0 bar stock.