Hi there, I am looking some good honest advice please. I left Smart ownership in 2013 and bought myself a Mini Cooper Baker Street Edition. Since then I have enjoyed Mini ownership but have been tempted back to the Smart fold recently. I took a test drive in a new ForFour and was very underwhelmed by the 71 hp engine, I was however quite impressed by the 90hp turbo version. I had two issues ; 1. No where to put my clutch foot when not using it. 2. The seats seemed much less comfortable than my mini. My other problems are, my mini has served me well, it has been faultless, it is immaculate, it has GAP insurance and a 5 year service pack. It is comfortable to drive and nippy enough for me, no journey would phase me in it. To counter that I simply love Smart Cars so when I went to Smart I got what (I think) to be a good deal. It will cost me £1000 deposit and £199 / month (48 months / £5700 final payment) for a ForFour Edition One 90hp. I am just looking some genuine and informed opinions on whether the ForFour is a worthy change. Truthfully the majority of people I have spoken to have described it as a 'downgrade.' Then they have no affiliation towards the marque anyway. But could they be right? IS this a sensible deal for me considering a new service pack will cost £720 and GAP insurance at c.£100? So it is more like £1820 to change over. I know the Smart is meant to be a City Car, however I don't live in the City, never have, I commute 30 miles a day to work along a dual carriageway and when not on my motorbike I like driving about, so for me long term comfort is a priority as is motorway driving. How do you guys find the comfort levels? Where do you put your left foot and finally would the though of a long journey be a bad one? Thanks for taking the time to read this and I welcome any opinions.
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I have posted this question in a few places as I am just trying to get a good spectrum of opinions. If you have already seen this or answered it many thanks
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The problem is, not many people have the new smart and fewer of those (if any) will have a new smart and have owned a mini.
So, what you'll almost certainly get it biased favour for the car they currently own.
I have extensively driven the new smarts, owned loads of previous smarts and minis but when people contact me through my site and ask me if they should buy a smart, I tell them no, no matter which one they are looking at.
The only reason you should buy a smart is if you absolutely HAVE to own one because you love the look of it. If you have to ask, the smart isn't for you.
They aren't cheap, they aren't reliable, they aren't cheap to run and they don't handle like a Mini unless you buy a Roadster but then you are swapping 1 pro for many cons.Comment
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Thanks for this and your other replies. I have previously owned 2 451 ForTwos and loved them. My last one was a night orange that someone drove into the back off terminating my ownership prematurely. I want back into a smart but maybe a better option is a cheap second hand 450 or 451 to settle my bug. Thanks again.Originally posted by Evilution View PostComment
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Agreed, get a turbo 451 cabrio and do a few essential mods to it.Comment
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Something I would consider for myself, and you should too, is to check how many brand new 451's there are left in stock and buy one of those.Comment
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