Top Gear Smart Roadster

[nightsage217]

my father bought one in cooppe,it's stylish, economical, the tax is resonable and cheaper in a long run. i drove it for the 1st time, it looks hopeless with 1.3 litre engine. but, i drive it for half year in auto-gear box. It's lovely, 60mph of it makes me giggle like a kid with thousand lolipops.

[miiszkawaii]

i want one!!! saves me from getting anymore annoying speeding fines!!!

[nightsage217]

@miiszkawaii i know wat u feel!!! instead of having billion mph car of sensation, a smart coope would do the job. but i dont recommend if u r manual-driving-lover

[1sick93]

Will a brabus get 55mpg? thats whats listed on parkers.co.uk

[ng95680a]

I really dislike this car, only tried a couple of times one of a friend of mine, and seriously not good ... like Jeremy i wouldnt buy one...

[Chrispisz12]

your steering wheel isn't on the correct side....

[xRAMxDOD]

i think it should be a world law that every country drives on the right side of the road, then the car companies dont have to switch steering wheel sides all the time, just have it in one place

[roundtr1p]

@xRAMxDOD Gotta convince Japan aswell then :)

[xRAMxDOD]

@roundtr1p haha ya

[Assassin9304]

I like how he rips on corvette for its plastic back, but loves the plastic body on this. The corvette idea is the same, but he rips on tht cause its american.

[RoadRunnerDrummerJD]

@Assassin9304 Difference is the Corvette is meant to be a fully fledged supercar, and its whole body is made from plastic.

Only parts of this are made from plastic, but thats alright because nowhere does it claim to be an expensive performance car. Its more a fashion accessory.

[cfmatias]

I have one of the latest roadsters, a 60kW (82PS).

The gearbox just doesn't perform well when cold and in automatic mode. Honestly, it feels like Fred Flinstone is selecting the gears with a hammer.

In mine, keeping the accelerator in the same position, when shifting, gives the best results (latest software programming?): fast (up or downshifting) gear changes with little fuss. Just don't expect it to be a PDK or DSG. It's faster than a 2008 Merc's 5-speed auto C220 CDI tiptronic.

Greetings!

[fenixwylde]

It's a cute car.. I'd love to have one :)

[Acidpunk101]

I wonder how difficult it would be to swap the engine for something from a big shaft drive motorbike such as a 1.2 litre 150hp vmax, that would be a giggle and a half

[ImmortalInflames]

@Acidpunk101

they have put hyabusa engine in a smart fortwo - there are vids on youtube ^^

[keltecdan]

i like that blancpain fifty fathoms watch he has

[ShoobyBugger]

Seems like a modern 914 to me.

[cowbaner]

if they sold this in the US i would buy it.... actually looks good and safer then a regular smart car

[cobralover88]

*sniff sniff* hmm i smell hyabusa swap...

[ivankoran]

when will smart learn? a small engine that has to rev like hell to get to 60 doesn't give you good gas mileage... a large engine that doesn't need to break a sweat is efficient.

[Polizei112]

As soon as im rich ill get a smart roadster and a custon made 5 speed manual gearbox for it. will be fun :D

[alkeli78]

"The right hand drive, the proper side"..... really? So how come most the rest of the world drive left hand? Worst comment I've ever heard come out of his mouth...

[Hitsulikeapunch]

rx8 + renault sport spider + elise = this car

[stephenmaurice]

I've got a coupe one with a Brabus exhaust and chip upgrade and paddle shift and have done 2 off 2 week trips from my home in the NE of Egland down to Italy and back through the Alps (3500 miles each time) and found it had enough luggage space for 2 people. The gearbox can shift rapidly if you learn to lift off and then plant the throttle at the correct time - that and the handling meant I was constantly up the bumber of the likes of BMW 323i 's etc on the likes of the the Stelvio other passes.

[187Overkillah]

@stephenmaurice

on the bumper of bmw a 323... thats just ridiculous... hahahahahaaaaa

[igotnoideawhattoput]

is the gear box really THAT bad?

[TheSheepherd]

Looks much better in the "hatchback"-version...I mean the coupe...

[TheSheepherd]

Looks much better in the "hatchback"-version...

[unroyal]

I own one. It's gearbox is bad. Too slow, but overall it's a very good machine. Fun, fast and stylish.

[zpstiles]

Hayabusa the little fucker!

[ThadYaltis]

I have a Brabus version of the coupe (101BHP), it is sooooo much fun to drive, and handles like a go kart. It corners like it's on rails.

Like Jeremy said - it is a modern version of the fun small sportscars of the sixties. And the emphasis is on the word FUN.

What they also failed to show was the storage compartment under the bonnet at the front of the car, which is bigger than you would think.

[BitterBosh]

Jeremy likes it? Heresy!

[MrKinggggggg]

girl is beautiful

[tallzdatank]

i can almost see how it is an alright car, but i just cant get over how ugly it looks, the headlights look like a couple of beady little eyes, also, it just doesnt seem practical at all, or safe. sorry but i wouldnt even think about spending money one one.

[hartattack933]

Mercedes? ewww.

[KILIAN1998BELGIUM]

i have one

[HappyAfroamerican]

It's a shame that they are not in production anymore. I really like it.

[AnonymoussourceL0L]

that's a badass looking car

[mihaiile]

Well just a year after I posted this video, I brought one!

It is economical, very very fun to drive and very stylish.

Now I know what he means when it says "it feels so alive" in the video. May not be the fastest sport car but it feels so good driving it, very stable. I got the base version, only 61hp but even so, it gets to 170km/h!!

The only way I am selling it is to buy a Brabus version or the Porsche 911 (I keep dreaming...)

[VidBuster]

@mihaiile

Stimmt schon. Die Schaltung ist mist.. Ohne Worte..Das Turboloch ist gigantisch und in Kombination mit der Schaltung eine echte Gefahr.

ABER.. Der Wagen ist einfach toll. Das Dach lässt sich selbst bei 100Km/h auf der Autobahn öffenen und schließen. Es ist billig und es sieht einfach mal anders aus.

Kaufen^^

[BennyJ69]

@mihaiile My dad has he brabus version and it is rapid! If you can i would get it if i were you and has a high mpg too atleast 50mpg, and that's if you're redlining it all the time haha. 125bp i think hehe.

[Neonspinnazz30]

@mihaiile Wish they had some in the USA...There are a few that pop up on eBay every now and then but I never have the cash to get it...

[2URBO2]

@mihaiile Good car, have driven one, i loved it!

[armkenz]

@mihaiile how's the gearbox?

[Ubaroo]

@shua94 semi auto :)

[spider23000]

I thought it had storage under the hood like the old VW Beetle?

[korea00kks]

I have a smart roadster coupe. however it has a few problems with sealing.

Its ECU(electronic control unit) gets eaily wet unless you seal it well.

Also It got a problem with wiper motor. sometimes wipers go super crazy.

its gearbox is not that real problem.

although.... it is super fantastic car to drive. so active and responsive.

I'm never gonna sell mine.

[SpeedingStudent]

It needs a proper manual gearbox.

[JAG03064]

@BHFProductions I'll second that...or better yet a 200 hp. V max 1679 cc.

[yourtube20061]

"dont like being ripped off by germans" !! lol

[Mamakayi]

Liar! Jealousy sucks man!!!

[blown0883]

I saw one for the first time a couple years ago in va beach on little creek base, I almost crashed lol

[mikeyspikey12]

My Dad owns one, I really like it. I think its alot of fun!

Oh and the boot problem well there isn't a boot problem because the boot is in the front.

[WRCetappen]

''It has the same top speed as Henry VIII'' lol!

[kevinandrewmoore]

Love my roadster - I have the formula 1 style paddle shift, and it helps with the speed of gear change. Due to its short time in production, I reckon its destined to become a modern classic.

[gibb253]

pity it didn't catch on-it was a cute little thing...

[FishPersk]

I just got one of those few months ago. BEST car ever, I just love it. Gear box is a bit annoying but you get used to it.

[MirthMansion]

@FishPersk can you get this car in Automatic?

[mikeyspikey12]

@MirthMansion It can be manual or automatic.

[Neonspinnazz30]

@FishPersk Lift your foot off the pedal when the car shifts (like you would in a regular manual), the shifts are smoother and faster that way.

[FishPersk]

@Neonspinnazz30 thanks this is indeed what I do

[T0MMY561]

do they sell the roadster in the U.S.? because i thank more people would buy this then the fortwo

[wojciech94]

Is this gearbox really soo bad? :(

[mihaiile]

@wojciech94 if you search through comments, everyone who has one, likes it so despite it is not the greatest gearbox, people would not sell the car because of the gearbox.

[dee8817]

@wojciech94 It takes getting used to. I don't think the gearbox is all that bad. Just its rather jerky and sluggish to shift. Other than that, if you slightly take your foot off the accelerator pedal between shifts. It won't be as bad.

[Armornone]

This is a very gay car but not as gay as the regular smart car. I think 95% of the people who buy smart cars are gay.

[arthusthefirst]

this "car" is a shitbox.... Jeremy must be drunk....... I't's bloody awfull, the interior is rubish, and you look like a gay driving it.

[MrCurtytee]

is the insurance for a smart roadster high on any of yours ?

[trocola]

@MrCurtytee In my case it costs the same that the one for my old Citroen Xsara 1.6, I think that it says everything (I'm 25)

[MrCurtytee]

@trocola yea it does indeed lol i aint been finding out a whole lot about one cause i still got my 1994 citroen ax lmao DEBUT lol but i been doing lots of work on it soo hopfully it looks half descent :)

[casoig]

i'm a pencil?? hahahaa no!! i'm a gear box!!

[HandiAce]

A small sports car with 40 mpg on the highway. Now that's impressive.

[harvey0007]

i want one of these, but why is the insurance on them so HIGH!!!! after all its only a 0.7 litre, weird

[tuhjoh]

I love these cars, it not like you buy them to race with just cruising along. But I guess it takes a man that's secure with there manhood to drive one and thats why a lot of guys call them a gay car.

[bubs45]

it takes a man who is in touch with is sexuality to be comfortable driving one of these smarts. Which is why gay men and women drive them.

[xxpreciouSbabyxx]

0-100km/h with the new software is around 10,5sec for the 82BHP

Its much better than the 12seconds everyone expects, but to be a sportscar, it has to be under 10sec IMO

[mizz1989]

maybe your friends... because i made 8.2 on my smart roadster...100hp XD

[MrCurtytee]

got a citroen ax dubut 1994 only paid 200 for it cause its my first car but next year i'd love to buy a smart roadster they stunning cars fair play and cant wait to get one : - P

[mizz1989]

it does 8 sec to 100....

try one and then talk.... i have one, and its one awsome car...

[lobuz2007]

@mizz1989 .....I am afraid it takes a bit longer than 8 sec to 100km/h....My mate have one ,and we check this last weekend...10-11 sec to 100km/h....My Merc CLK 320 does 7.9 with his huge 3.2 liter engine ,and Smart never can go that quick to 100....sory , but Smart is realy slooow ,because his gearbox is a crap

[Buttmunch5000]

shame the engines a wear item on this car

[BHFProductions]

i want to see top gear test one of the ones with suzuki/hayabusa motorbike engines.

[ploughable]

@BHFProductions

hahhaha, they fear those "things"

[sequentialgear]

everybody should try one of these before making any statements.

it´s a future classic,period.

[livininpoland]

looks like a toyota in the back

[Molo9000]

I kind of like the Daihatsu Copen more.

That comes with a proper manual gearbox and a folding hard top.

Only 2 reasons keep me from buying one:

a) It's way too expensive

b) The looks

[anka6666]

is that his attentionspan? 11seconds? XD

[rast4thodor]

lol dude it's 600cc and 88hp what you won't for that enginine ?

[superdude2k10]

Are they going to sell these in the US?

[mrantis]

I hope so i would buy one

[H3XT0N]

wonda if u can customised as gud as the rx-8

[nino92]

loooks like a RX8 kinda

[Randomnormality]

yeah thats the same thing i thought when i first saw it.

[TeamTwoEditing]

where would i buy one??

[doraemon8061]

I have a coupe roadster and it is economical, fun to drive and very stylish

[Johannes823]

u r indonesian did u?

[doraemon8061]

@Johannes823 No i'm Malaysian

[Johannes823]

i'm sorry, i guess u r Indonesian. But your U Tube name is doraemon8061. Doraemon is a cartoon in my country.

[wojciech94]

@doraemon8061

Hi, maybe I'll get one of those. Could you please tell me if this gearbox is really so bad? :(

[doraemon8061]

@wojciech94 yup its pretty bad though~ It's slow but it never bothers me much. although I had to admit I have a Daihatsu Copen and Smart Roadster in Malaysia and it's very rare you can only find 10 of them in the whole Malaysia.

[wojciech94]

@doraemon8061

Yeah, I think you can get used to that gearbox ;)

[doraemon8061]

@wojciech94 Thank you though~ I prefer to have the Copen~ ;) I even use it on motorways~ (p.s. these are the only 2 cars I have)

[valedeacor]

Its stylish, but i prefer my 95 Tigra.

[ZombiLady16]

@doraemon8061 I'm sorry but this toy car just doesnt say "stylish" to me. Goofy maybe.

[00Teca00]

i m considering to buy it... do u think its a good choice?

[dehartfan13]

seems like a good first car

[RnB123100]

it needs another turbo,of cores its so sheap you have enof money left over to buy an extra turbo

[llama1959]

sod the car...whose the girl....???

[lilpyl]

the back looks exactly like the mazda rx8

[kirbienstien]

looks good for 40MPG but my Ninja looks better for 70mpg

[MTLbigJ]

id buy one..seems like a reasonable price

[chocolaterain2233]

Yeah no thanks I'll take an Audi R8 V10

[zivotjesuv]

fuck your smart car... I have a 2.4 disel engin on my alfa and it does 5L/100km

[NissanGTR360]

dumbass

[abigtitlvr]

I have one and LOVE it! Mine is automatic and soooooo good in changing gears! I do 5ltr/100km. drive it every day. cheap on tax and insurance and in summer....... FUN!! Curves are just nothing and the acceleration is awesome! The greatest, smallest car I ever had!!

[00Teca00]

@abigtitlvr and the space for the lugagge?

[abigtitlvr]

The engine is in the back, between the wheels. On top of that is some space. Not much room for luggage in the front.

A rack to carry a suitcase on top of the engine is available.

[toree117]

Am I a pencil?! Am I a cauliflower?! Am I a nuclear power sta.... I'm a gearbox!!! Oh heavens! lol I love that!

[TheTrendi52]

the butt looks like rx8

[PhotoMedia12]

How Much Are These???? They Are AWESOME!!!!!

[jademabberley]

I picked mine up for £4700. They are wicked to drive!!

[PhotoMedia12]

Awesome!!!

[ibreeding]

Clarkson's argument here is preposterous. It's simply untrue that to be fashionable things have to have a real world application.

[cfmatias]

So many rubbish comments...

I have a roadster 60 kW, so I know what it's like. I average around 50 mpg (4,5 l/100km) using mine carefully most of the time, which translates in over 700 kilometres with a tank. However, there is an important question: fuel. I only use 98-ron BP Ultimate petrol. Smart does not recommend 95-ron petrol for some reason...

Greetings.

[patryklucarz]

nice my porsche 944 does 18 mpg.

[xMandalorex]

lol

[zJoriz]

I never thought there would be lower cars than my old 944 in traffic... until I met one of these. I could almost peek over the roof ^_^

[Oscandic]

If it was my money... I would have this over anything.

[Waffleater1]

i'd rather have this over a ferrari.... not

but this car get 40 mpg, which is pretty good. and it does turn heads like a ferrari!

[smvuy]

what a posermobile...

[loh343]

80 bhp..... not to 60 over 11 sec....sloppy gearbox... not to good.... good loocking thought..

[Winsane]

It at least is the kind of car that has some potential. They just need to either figure out how to get more from less or figure out how much efficiency they would be willing to toss for a bigger engine.

[rsaini1]

it seems like a perfect city car in high traffic and narrow roads.

[EnergyDog23]

My math teacher has one.. =D

[sootyferrari65]

if i had 1 the 1st thing i would do is give it a better gearbox

[Marrowni]

only 40 mpg? Thats not good. My 4-cyl Altima on the highway does 40 mpg. The regular smart car does about 63 mpg.

[Neonspinnazz30]

No, 40mpg is CITY. Most roadster owners say they get about 60mpg with it.

[Marrowni]

Yea, I know its city. A Honda can do 40 mpg in the city. It should be doing 60 mpg like owners have said. Most of the time, they overestimate the mileage... now they underestimated it by far.

[Neonspinnazz30]

Yeah, it's too bad that most car reviewers nor the EPA do long term mileage testing and will just through out numbers at a car with barely 100 miles on it.

Generally, mpg increases as the car surpasses the "break-in" stage.

And the smart's sweet spot is after break-in.

[coolerdude44]

hahahahaha don't make my laugh. i have a 4 cyl altima and i can't get it higher than 23.

[EA11RDrift]

I can't get my Altima lower than 26...

[coolerdude44]

what do you mean you can't get it lower than 26? do you never use more than a quarter throttle or something? maybe you have the manual version? because i know for a fact that the cvt version has to be thrashed if you want any performance at all. i have to floor it to get onto the highway.

it's set up so it has constant torque, but that doesn't change the fact that there's no power below 4,500 rpm.

as a result, i get lower mpg on my cvt altima than i did on my old altima with an automatic.

[coolerdude44]

i average about 22.8 mpg. i regret getting the car, i hate the build quality, i hate the cvt, and i hate the handling. i would have been much happier with a subaru legacy or honda accord.

[MrPAUL323]

y is it so ugly

[Iloveak123]

I thought I was looking at the rear of a s2000 at first...

[tomking91]

lol, I noticed that too, the rear lights are almost exactly the same :P

[Zagreus]

I have one. They're awesome

[BMan100]

wish they had it here in canada.

[ChojinCondoms]

0:44 wow, the rear lights looks the ones on a RX-8, kinda

[Razor1097]

Yeah like an 03-05 one

[Ford4Lyfe7]

That car........... is........ bad asss

[Lamnont]

27000$ for that?

[BlueKewne]

"The weather today is a bit too British..."

[fasolistu86]

does it have a trunk in front ?

[incogn1too]

It seems so. I saw a photo of smart with front boot open.

[vortex3k]

Yepp, it has a trunk in front, pretty large :)

[marsgal42]

This one reminds me of something I read a few years ago, that the best real-world sports car was one where you could thrash the living daylights out of it, do every roundabout as a full-power 4 wheel drift, and never be in any danger of getting a speeding ticket.

[brightlights456X]

The woman at the start was a looker. On the topic of the car...............buy something else. Looks like a gimick.

[RichnerDK]

wtf? Smart is Swiss!

[Neonspinnazz30]

No, it's French...not Swiss RichnerDK...

[halflife103]

if it was sold in Canada i would get one... but can it even reach 100km/h? i mean my 94 explorer does 0-62 (0-100) in about 11seconds. so if its the same of less it would be fine. anyone know that top speed?

[mihaiile]

top speed is 200km/h

[halflife103]

hmm, would be cool if they brought it to North America

[Neonspinnazz30]

You could find very rare roadsters in America. Most of them end up at Beverly Hills Motorcars.

As a matter of fact, they have one there right now for sale!!

[halflife103]

yea but you see, i live in Canada RIGHT above Washington.

[Neonspinnazz30]

They ship cars just about everywhere.

[fuzzmiister]

no way will it do 200km/h

[Lamnont]

120 mph? My 14 year old saturn does that.

[nickmx4]

your saturn probably isnt a  82 cv 0.7L

[mihaiile]

@fuzzmiister actually it passes just a little over 200km/h. But for this it has to be the Brabus version. Base model gets 160-170, Coupé gets 185, and the Brabus just over 200.

[vortex3k]

Top speed is officially 175km/h for the roadster, 185 for the coupe. Have a look at my videos. With a good remap it can do 0-100 in about 7-8 seconds. Top speed for me is > 200 (204 according to GPS)

[halflife103]

hmm sweet, i see your comment about the trunk too, looks like a very interesting car.

[5botball]

bring it to America!!!!!!!!!

[aventaes]

Smart weakness is def the gear box its bloody awful it takes 2 secs to shift and basicly you drive in 4th at 50kmh and 5th at 70Kmh so youre stuck with a car in witch you either gotta shift constantly yourself or go with a very irritating automatic and either way you got the slow shifting.

[largeatlas]

its like a go kart. the first thing id do if i got one would be increase the suspension firmness 10 times and put in uncomfortable racing seats.