New Smart Fortwo 453 launches today at 18:00pm GMT.

[longdistancecdi]

Time to get another Tab on the forum for the new 453 series, the world premiere show will be broadcast live around the world via YouTube and GOMEX.

NB : 18:00GMT is currently 19:00pm UK because of good old British Summer Time !


http://www.daimler.gomexlive.com/

[longdistancecdi]

If you can't wait here are most of the details :

http://jalopnik.com/2015-smart-fortw...hem-1605869081







WTF ??? A clutch pedal !!!!!!!!!!



and the Forfour :

[Thrumbleux]

WTF ??? A clutch pedal !!!!!!!!!!

Quite...

[cougar7609]

What a fail! In my eyes it looks like the little poppop cars they have here in France, the ones with a 250cc motorbike engine in them. It doesnt look sporty enough. Positively one of the ugliest cars Ive seen in a long time. The headllights should have been flush like they were in the older versions. The forfour looks like one of the Indian cars, that are cheap as chips and dont have a good reputation. Wheres the pods inside? There will be no temperature gauge again. The air vents in the centre look like some sort of Goth Womans breasts. If those pics are correct then they have really gone and shot themselves in the foot. A Clutch is new, cant say anything negative about that. But the overall design is awful and looks like a company who has never built a car before is trying to break into the market, except mercedes will want more than a fiesta for most of the models, you can bet they wont bring back the diesel. Such a let down!

[zimzimmer]

i think i prefer the looks of the 450.....

[ColSmart]

Standing by to see the video.

[longdistancecdi]

Jeeze 20 minutes in and they are still ranting on about Hedgehogs !

Well after 34 minutes we actually got to see the new cars, quite like the new Fortwo and the optional six speed DSG gearbox, not so sure about the Forfour ????

[cougar7609]

Just seen them...... fugly is all I can say!

[ColSmart]

And here is the long bonnet view which they have been hiding from us for so long....

[oldgit]

look likes it is a manual gearbox , no auto .
i have several friends who have fortwo smarts , who,s car licence only [ some medical reason ] covers them for a auto car only .
where do they stand .
they wont be able to upgrade to a new smart .

smart are shooting themself in the foot if they dont do a auto version.
i for one prefer to drive in auto .

also forfour looks a bit like the fiat 500 L [ large ]

tony [ oldgit ]

[Evilution]

There is a 6 speed dual clutch available.

[TallOrder]

Reading the "bumf", there is an auto option (read £1k extra), there are pods (again extra) and prices will start at €11k (or £8681 according to Google). Initial thoughts are that it doesn't look as bad as I was expecting but I'll wait to see one for real before giving a proper verdict Just not sure about the trid being the front of the rear wheel arch...my roadster is pot marked with stone chips there and if its metal that means possible rust... (Just my thoughts) T/O

[TallOrder]

The info I read is this link from Twitter...
http://www.mercedes-benz-media.co.uk...PROVEN+CONCEPT

[Evilution]

The rear arches are my biggest issue here. Before, if you damaged a rear arch you'd just buy a new panel, now it's a trip to a body shop. There is no reason why smart have changed the design that they stuck with for the last 15 years. Plastic rear arches could have easily been done and would have looked better than the way the rear bumper cuts in to the Tridion at the moment.

As they made the car wider, surely that increases the chance of damaging a panel.

I just don't understand their thought process.

[Bill]

I actually quite like it. They've managed to stay avoiding the get out of my way aggressive looks of all the mid sized rep mobiles and kept it friendly looking. It keeps some of the original characteristics, and stays undeniably a smart car. The 450 is still a head turner, but this could be too.

[longdistancecdi]

Quoting Mercedes "Another distinguishing feature is the automatic start/stop system"

Fingers crossed that they are using the Renault system and have buried the MHD wreck you engine system ?

[longdistancecdi]

Now we all know that Fortwo's can be interesting when it's windy, particually when passing large vehicles so I thought this might be another example of electronics making the new Fortwo safer ?

"Every car driver will be familiar with risky situations when surprised by strong gusts of wind while overtaking trucks or on bridges. Standard-fit Crosswind Assist is able to defuse such dangerous situations by carrying out specific braking intervention when the vehicle threatens to drift off track. As a result, less countersteering effort is required of the driver. Crosswind Assist is active from 80 km/h when driving straight ahead and in gentle bends. The ESP® indicator lights up in the instrument cluster in response to noticeable intervention by Crosswind Assist"

WTF - Imagine being in the outside lane of the motorway passing a truck in windy conditions and the "Crosswind Assist" carries out a specific braking intevention ! Unless they mean that it will brake an indivdual wheel without reducing the overall vehicle speed, it has to be a recipes for disaster ?

[cougar7609]

Lol good point! Can you imagine the laughing coming from the lorry drivers as a smart attempts to overtake on a motorway and suddenly brakes as its half way down his truck and it cant overtake! lol However on a serious note that feature on a single lane carriageway with cars coming towards you is not a laughing matter and could get many people killed. I would like to see how its implemented, because it could become one of the serious flaws with the cars. Again its branded a city car and if this 'feature' is found to do as I said above thats about as much as it will be good for.

The more I look at this car I see where they should have changed the styling and smoothed bits out here and there to make it look better but its released now and its ugly as sin. As evilution said Im at a loss as to why they made the wheel arches metal, despite it being a rusting point it also makes the car look worse. Their chief designer needs putting up against a wall and shooting! I would bet he/she came from Renault where they know what the crappy poppop cars look like and thought I know Ill make it look like one of those cheap piles of garbage! You can rest assured that it will not be a big seller here in France, as the french hate those crappy heaps of junk and they are only bought by old codgers who have lost their licences. If Im honest a couple of the newer models from the manufacturers of those cars make a better design.

[lalli_d1]

its not going to slam on the brakes. it will only apply brakes on the opposite side of the crosswind and gently at that! your getting your pants in a twist before you have even driven it. wait till you drive it and then make your mind up.

[TallOrder]

I don't know if I am seeing too much into things...but has anyone noticed that they put the ForFour first on the main Smart website?

Possibly hoping that most of the sales will come from the ForFour in the "very small but holds 4 people" market currently crowded with the Twingo, Aygo, C1, 107/8, iQ, etc...as I've said before, pricing will be key...


Just read this which kinda confirms my theory...
"At launch, prices for the new ForTwo are expected to start at about £11,000, with a sub-£10,000 entry-level model due to follow later next year. The Forfour is likely to command a premium of about £600"

[cougar7609]

If that is the case they are too expensive, for a tiny little car they want far too much and limits the audience which is why dachia and so many other cheaper cars are being bought where as you dont see many of the others on the roads. Quality may not be there, but I really do think that major manufacturers are relying on finance to get people to buy their cars but then there are so many other options out there and there really is no reason to buy one of these when you can go and buy a Mazda 2 or fiesta for sub £10000 and they are much bigger. Where they think their customer market is going to come from I have no idea. The 451 was far too overpriced for a 2 seater and the prices should have ranged from £6000 to £12000 as opposed to £10000 to £19000. This is why you dont see many being sold for their actual price. We bought our 451 for the equivalent of £5500 slightly used (120km on the clock) book price it was supposed to be £9000... There is no way I would have paid the £9000 for it. They are taking the mickey with those sorts of expected prices. There are so many other options that are cheaper. The fiesta we bought last month was top of the range and only cost £11000. Thats a basic smart by those prices and Id rather by the stylish fiesta judging by the pics and video of the new smart.