I spotted this wonderfully coloured car on the way up to the hospital this aft'!

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DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks

DRM

Guru
Location
West Yorks
The Yellow Abarth With Mudflaps And Yellow Abarth Club Sticker In Tne Window Club. Saddos.

If you think thatā€™s bad I saw a Fiat Talento van going up the A1(M) plastered in go faster stripes, alloys and Abarth badges, itā€™s the Fiat version of a Renault Trafic! :wacko:
 
OP
OP
Accy cyclist

Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
I think it might've been sold. I saw someone sniffing around it yesterday and today it wasn't there at 3pm or at 5.30pm, meaning someone wouldn't be out on a test drive for so long. Ah well, at least the temptation has been taken away and I'm not now tempted to become a 'geriatric boy racer'! :rolleyes:

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mustang1

Legendary Member
Location
London, UK
When driving up to the hospital for an X-Ray this aft' I spotted this car! I pulled over for a better look and as I did the owner came to the door. I asked if it was for sale. She said no as she's just spent over Ā£3000 on having it resprayed from 'boring' grey to that magnificent what I'd describe as custard yellow! Burgundy leather seats as well!!:becool:

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Interior and exterior inspired by M&Ms.
 

stephec

Legendary Member
Location
Bolton

Drago

Legendary Member
Despite myself I like the Smart, having had one. Wrong in many ways, but somehow quite endearing.

On an 08 that might be an MHD. If so, avoid at all costs for all sorts of technical reasons. If its has the problem - it's a very long story indeed - it's not repairable, only a new engine will cure it.

Other than that, tough and frugal Mitsubishi engines, the auto box is slow but that's because its not an auto - it's a robotised manual box. Learn to use the throttle like a manual, lifting off just as you sense its about to change, and it swaps cogs quite deftly. Alternatively the tiptronic isn't bad and you quickly adapt.

People that moan the change is slow are simply jumping in and mashing the throttle like they woukd in a CVT, they aren't driving with any finesse or mechanical sympathy. That's not the case, one simply needs to adapt their gear change technique and it quickly comes good.

Edit - I've looked at the pics, it's not an MHD, the button is missing from the centre console.
 

Badger_Boom

Ɯber Member
Location
York
Despite myself I like the Smart, having had one. Wrong in many ways, but somehow quite endearing.

On an 08 that might be an MHD. If so, avoid at all costs for all sorts of technical reasons. If its has the problem - it's a very long story indeed - it's not repairable, only a new engine will cure it.

Other than that, tough and frugal Mitsubishi engines, the auto box is slow but that's because its not an auto - it's a robotised manual box. Learn to use the throttle like a manual, lifting off just as you sense its about to change, and it swaps cogs quite deftly. Alternatively the tiptronic isn't bad and you quickly adapt.

People that moan the change is slow are simply jumping in and mashing the throttle like they woukd in a CVT, they aren't driving with any finesse or mechanical sympathy. That's not the case, one simply needs to adapt their gear change technique and it quickly comes good.

Edit - I've looked at the pics, it's not an MHD, the button is missing from the centre console.

My mother has had three or four Smarts and I quite like them. The best one was an older style Brabus ForTwo which was a lot more fun to drive than the more normal ones.

The older ones were sold with the novelty of being able to switch the coloured body panels if you felt like a change.
 
I heard that they are rubbish at Motorway speed - is that true or was it just one model a long time ago??
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Oh indeed, and their wading capacity is non existent. when I went carless I considered keeping my Smart, but carless with a car seemed to be missing the point.

My niece has cerebral palsy and struggles with walking and this coincided with her 17th Birthday, so good old Unkie Drago gave it too her - a small auto was perfect for zipping to Uni and her part time job around Cov. it kinda makes up for me teaching her to "speak" French when she was six...
 
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OP
Accy cyclist

Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
It's another 6 months till April, which is about the time I buy a car. That's April every other year, not every April by the way. The cars I buy are fairly cheap and cheerful and relatively fault free. My current car (Fiat 500C) is ok, but I saw the Yellow Smart Car on a pop up advert and thought I'd ask about it. :okay: I've seen some diesel Smart cars online. I definitely wouldn't be interested in another diesel will it won't it fire up in the winter worry car! :thumbsdown: Plus, there's something about that whiff of petrol you get when you have your roof down on a warm day.:thumbsup: I see that yellow Smart car has parking sensors which are a must have for me. I must say though that the dash and the rest of the interior is a bit er bland shall we say and that seat pattern is like something from the late 1980's, early 1990's.:thumbsdown: I'm quite a car hoarder, as in I full cars with clutter, like the four pairs of shoes in their boxes, 4 cushions, 4 walking sticks, A 1950's tennis racket in a keep it in shape frame, 3 umbrellas, 3 hats my mother's ashes and up till last week I had a garden chair on the back seat as well.:rolleyes: If I were to buy that or another Smart car I'd have to stop my hoarding as there'd only be the boot to put stuff.šŸ§ Having said all that, I bet if that car was for sale at my usual, local second hand car dealer and not so far away, I'd be test driving it as I post and probably end up buying it.:rolleyes:
 
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Drago

Legendary Member
The diesel Smart, particularly the earlier lower powered, slightly simpler and more reliable engined versions, are highly sought after by those in the know. Very tough engines, genuinely capable of 90+ MPG if driven sympathetically.
 
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