Smart Roadster 2004 Review

What we liked
>> Punchy 700cc engine
>> Incredible fuel economy
>> Distinctive, eye-catching styling

Not so much
>> Artificial steering feel
>> Jerky gear changes
>> Compromised driving position

OVERVIEW
Open your mind, demands the advertising slogan of this quirky Mercedes-Benz subsidiary. And it's a plea that must be followed if you're to have any chance of understanding its funky cars, aimed squarely at inner-urban living. The Smart City Coupe and Cabrio came first; tiny transports that can fit sideways in a regular parking spot.

Seats for two and room for not much more of anything, the goal is cheap to own, cheap to run transport that makes inner-city navigation and parking a breeze. It's a theory that may work well in overcrowded Europe but some of the advantages get lost in the translation to Australian shores, where wide open spaces abound.

The 3.4m long Smart Roadster is the first of the breed that -- at first taste -- is equally at home in town as out of it. Think of it as a uniquely designed, more compact take on the Mazda MX-5 and you'll be on the right track. Think of it as a statement of individuality, a need to express yourself and be noticed, and you're target market for the $37,990 Smart Roadster. Think of it as a razor sharp roadster that's equally at home fighting hill climbs with the aforementioned MX-5 and you're dreaming. The Smart Roadster is not a driver's car; it's a poseur's car.

FEATURES
How can anyone miss that overt, extraverted styling? From some angles, we're convinced; others leave us gasping. But be assured it's not possible to remain ambivalent about the Smart Roadster's visual presence. It's a car that demands attention and prompts opinions.

Like most roadsters, this one's a two seater with removable roof and rear wheel drive. Unlike most of today's batch, the Smart Roadster hangs its 700cc turbocharged, three-cylinder engine over the rear wheels. Not exactly an engine size your mate's will envy, but one that's perfectly capable of motor-vating the impressively light 790kg soft top.

The Roadster features similar modular design to the City Coupe and Cabrio, which means patient owners can change body panel colours to suit their moods. The Roadster, however, takes significantly longer than the Coupe's 2hr change time, and Mercedes-Benz recommends owners let dealerships do it.

Roadster comes with the usual mod cons, including remote central locking, air-conditioning, CD player, electric windows and leather steering wheel. Wing mirror adjustment is manual.

COMFORT
Getting into the car is not as easy as an MX-5; the height of the opening makes it necessary to fold yourself into the seat. With roof off, however, it is an absolute breeze. The interior styling is just as out there as the exterior, and definitely one for acquired tastes. It's also sorely lacking in creature comforts.

For starters there's no way to adjust the steering wheel in any direction, and the driver's seat has no height adjust, a combination that compromised our driving position to some extent. Stowage pockets and cubby holes consist only of cupholders and small, difficult door pockets.

Materials used inside the cabin have a funky feel rather than any high quality class. Dials, fonts, and colours are more about making a statement than melting into the background, and definitely in keeping with the brash exterior. Minimalism is the overriding theme.

Luggage space is not a Roadster strong point. There's enough room under the bootlid to stow two briefcases flat, enough under the bonnet for half a dozen grocery bags. The golf clubs are definitely riding shotgun.

SAFETY
Active safety features on the Smart Roadster do not include its steering, which is almost a liability. ESP Electronic Stability Programme is fitted as standard, along with CBC corner brake control, BA brake assist and HAS hill start assist. Okay, this last item is not strictly a safety feature -- it gives you seven-tenths of a second to reach the throttle from the brake before it releases the brakes on uphill starts.

ABS antilock brakes are standard equipment on the Roadster; disc brakes are fitted up front and drums on the rear.

Structural integrity in such a small car has not been overlooked, according to Mercedes Benz, which incorporates the City Coupe's Tridion safety cell into the car's body. Dual front airbags are standard, along with seatbelt pretensioners and belt force limiters. Side airbags are optional.

MECHANICAL
The Smart measures just 3.4m tip-to-toe, is 1.6m wide and just 1.2m tall -- tiny. A 2.3m wheelbase makes the most of the car's meagre footprint, as does the track -- 1.35m front and 1.39m rear. Fifteen-inch tyres look right at home under the flared guards of this diminutive sports convertible.

Smart's turbocharged 700cc triple hangs over the rear axle, tweaked to produce 60kW of power and 110Nm of torque in the Roadster. It's mated to a six-speed sequential manual gearbox, which disguises the engine's average performance with ultra-short ratio gearing. This means four gearchanges to 100km/h, though the engine doesn't mind revving hard and the gearbox is happy to change down into high revs.

Front disc brakes and rear drums are given the job of slowing the show. Though drums are often thought inferior, the car's overall weight of 790kg makes them more than adequate, though prone to overheating on repeated hard applications.

ON THE ROAD
The key to enjoying this car is an eight-tenths approach. Its low centre of gravity and the driver's ultra low seating position enhance the feeling of speed and agility. Quick steering and the responsive triple-cylinder engine add to the driver's car feel, but this is no driver's car.

It falls short of this primarily because of the steering's totally artificial feel; it's like driving an arcade game, with very little relation to the front wheels. It's hard to place the Smart Roadster accurately in corners, and it's also near impossible to know how much work the front wheels are doing, meaning the limit's only evident when you've crossed it. Thankfully, the Smart's ESP stability system steps in before this point, if you leave it switched on.

The car' slick semi-automatic gearbox is kind of fun, and definitely more at home when driven hard but it's very jerky gearchanges become very annoying when commuting. Drivers will quickly learn to back off the throttle the instant changes start to soften the lunge.

Add to this the six-speed gearbox's ultra-short ratios -- to make the most of the engine's meagre 60kW of power -- and gear-changing is too jerky and too often for our liking.

The Roadster does ride extremely well for such a low slung beast, absorbing Melbourne's B-grade roads easily and comfortably. We never had the chance to test the optional 16in wheels and tyres, but the standard 15s offered a good compromise between ride and handling, and weren't too noisy over coarse Aussie roads.

Understand this; we're not against the idea of a lightweight, minimalist roadster. We were very keen to drive this car, imagining it do be a slightly more comfortable, more affordable Lotus Elise, with better on-road manners and eight-tenths of the performance.

Close, but not quite. If the driving position was adjustable and the steering system actually communicated with the driver -- two elements crucial to any car claiming to "focus on pure, unadulterated driving pleasure" -- then we'd be sold. But it doesn't. So we're not.

*Smart claims the Roadster can accelerate from rest to 100km/h in 10.9 seconds and returs a combined fuel economy cycle of 5.1litres/100km.

BOTTOM LINE: Too quirky, impractical and expensive for Australian tastes

At 192cm tall I'm probably not the target buyer Daimler-Chrysler had in mind when it designed its diminutive sports car. Standing alongside, the roof comes to about waist high and sliding into the ground-hugging seats requires a fair degree of contorting and flexing.

Once behind the wheel, the narrow, sculptured seats push back far enough to allow for long legs but this means a long reach to the non-adjustable steering wheel. Likewise, my big feet struggle with the close-set pedals, the only solution a crash course in left-foot braking.

Driving position niggles aside, the Smart is entertaining once on the move, with its small but spirited engine, short-shifting gearbox and balanced, responsive chassis.

If you're a fan of the Roadster's extroverted exterior, then you'll probably warm to the equally confronting cabin with its mix of funky gauges and grey plastics. The highlight is undoubtedly the retractable roof that folds down in seconds at the push of a button, even while on the move.

The Roadster should also appeal if you like your driving experience hectic and involved. Although not super-quick in sports car terms, the free-revving engine with subtle turbo boost and rorty exhaust note adds to the boy racer effect.

The six-speed clutchless transmission works best in manual mode and forces the driver to constantly flick the gearshift to keep on the pace. Leave it in auto mode and it accentuates the often slow and jerky changes.

With engine mid-mounted and 15-inch rubber at each corner, the Smart corners flat with little body roll. Despite the short wheelbase it comfortably soaks up the rough patches and only feels skittish on mid-corner bumps. Steering feel is less satisfactory, but still sharp enough for sporty driving.

Not surprisingly, the Smart squeezes into the tightest parking spots and runs on the proverbial smell of an oily rag. Even a stint of hard driving around town did little to empty the 35-litre tank, achieving an economical 6.5litres/100km on average.

Where the roadster loses points is in practicality and value for money. Unlike some bigger rivals, it is severely limited in carrying capacity. More than once I had to leave it at home and opt for bigger, more versatile transport. And despite a decent list of standard features, it's still hard to justify the $37,990 pricetag, particularly when items like trip computer, cruise control and centre armrest fitted to our test car add further cost.

Make no mistake, the Smart is stylish, innovative, and bags of fun in the right conditions. But its price tag and niche market approach limit its appeal to those willing to pay for the privilege of standing out in the crowd.