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

[Thrumbleux]

non wind windows in the rear are

....a brilliant idea. And should be fitted for the occupants of the front seats also - on all cars - compulsorily.
I say 'occupants' but I really mean filthy minkers that when they have roll down windows use them to fling their garbage out after stuffing their fat greedy faces with whatever trash was in the containers that the cup holders and storage compartments in the car would hold perfectly all the way to a convenient and clean disposal point - aka a fu*king bin! Minkers!
Cup holders are the most stupid idea ever as obviously large swathes of the public aren't to be trusted with them. Well, seal their windows to within an inch then.They deserve no better. At least with the rear windows not dropping the kids the tinks are dragging up might just learn better habits. Maybe even teach their slovenly parents what it is to be clean and show respect for an environment we all
share.

[bazves]

I really like it. I swapped my 451 a couple of years ago for a Seat Mii. I miss my old Smart, and will certainly look at this version when I change cars at the end of the year. It's either the Smart or one of the new 108/C1/Aygo triplets. Or maybe the 500 or new Mini. I'm hugely tempted to splash out on the Brabus version though

[SmarterAlex]

I think it goes to show that whatever the car design, much of the appeal is in the dressing - panels/colour combo

[J500ANT]

As one of the people who have actually seen the new fortwo and forfour I quite like it, the interior is light years ahead of anything we have now. The exterior is quite colour dependent - for example the black metallic tridion / white panel forfour didn't look particularly nice, but the silver tridion / red metallic panel forfour looked quite special. The 2 fortwo's I saw were black tridion / metallic orange and then metallic orange tridion / white panels looked good too.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152385783934865.1073741832.344499494864&type=3

[Evilution]

the roadster was a big seller

LOL! What!

43,091 produced in just under 4 years and took another 2 years to sell through the inventory they had.
That doesn't sound like a big seller.

[Evilution]

w5zev.jpg
Could have been many good things.

[cougar7609]

Which one do you prefer Adrimo? I bet its the one on the left

[adrimo]

I drive in London a lot, I live in Brighton. Most of the Smart drivers in Brighton acknowledge one another as they pass by. In London not once have i received even a glance, and theres nearly always one in site. This to me says they've bought a car, its a smart and they are driving happily to and from wherever it is their lives take them, not at all interested in past looks, future looks, current looks, its just a car that fits what they need. These people (probably the vast majority) are the people that will buy it as it again ticks the boxes they need and not once considering where its design has come from like we do.

Exactly and it's these people that will make smart make a profit, I like the new design, from certain angles it looks odd but I really will wait to see it in the flesh

[Bill]

I drive in London a lot, I live in Brighton. Most of the Smart drivers in Brighton acknowledge one another as they pass by. In London not once have i received even a glance, and theres nearly always one in site. This to me says they've bought a car, its a smart and they are driving happily to and from wherever it is their lives take them, not at all interested in past looks, future looks, current looks, its just a car that fits what they need.
These people (probably the vast majority) are the people that will buy it as it again ticks the boxes they need and not once considering where its design has come from like we do.

[TallOrder]

At the end of the day, whether it be cars, planes, houses, gadgets or even food, being different from 'the norm' invariably means more costly as specialist parts/tooling need to be used.

Although Smart would like to be 'free thinking' , 'out of the box' etc, they still need to sell cars, as cheaply as possible & to make as much money as possible to stay in business & keep share holders happy.

The downside to all of this is that eventually we all ending up having the 'choice' from a selection of near identical objects with different frocks on, which is sad.

At the moment we have a 450 and a roadster and although they have their problems, I don't think we'll be changing either of them for a 453 any time soon...

[TallOrder]

Well they do say that the Uk is an ageing population...

[SmarterAlex]

I think the slow down in interest on the message board does not mean it's going to be a bad car. I have seen a similar pattern with other products, where there were improvements and a better product, but that meant there were less things for people to post comments on. To be fair, we are trying to pre judge a car just from some pictures and video media. It's not real for us yet. Bit I certainly agree with your spirit, and I don't want a clutch pedal. Had lots of fun in the original 450. Who wants a boring old normal car?

[cougar7609]

As the Smart normalises and becomes less special, the message board will slow up. Happens on other websites as well on other subjects.

You arre right the interest has already started waning, everything has slowed down over the past year or so. The 451 with the MHD was a very poor car design. The new cars are ugly and overpriced, a manual in a city car is a stupid idea, I dont know what they thought they were thinking of but if you are stop start all day in a city the last thing you wanna be doing is constantly pressing a stupid clutch. The design isnt aimed at previous buyers of smarts and the new car just isnt special anymore like the older ones.

They are heading in the wrong direction, conformity wasnt what smarts were about, but all they have done is go down that route. The more they do that the less likely they are to sell many because there are other better options.

The new car is a huge disappointment. It needed to follow the roots of the 450 to draw back the interest and they couldnt have gotten any further away from it with the new car. People are generally of 2 camps they want a cheap small car or they want a big family car and the new car doesnt fit into either of those categories.

The fortwo being just like its competitors but far more expensive and the forfour being smaller than its competitors and being oddly positioned in a none existent market. There doesnt seem to be any mention of a Roadster of the car and that will also hurt it, the roadster was a big seller and attracted people. Smart doesnt have the history of its name to sell to morons who earn too much like the mini, beetle, 500 etc... so where they expect their market to come from I have no idea. The thing that attracted many people I knew back in the 90s and early 2000s was the idea that the car was customisable. None of that is evident on the new car, if there was the first thing people would demand was new headlights to get rid of the retarded bubble things they stuck on the front!

At least there is one big bonus to it and thats that the old 450 will remain a one of a kind to be admired and wanted well into the future! Smart the brand may die but the great little car they produced years ago will remain!

[SmarterAlex]

As the Smart normalises and becomes less special, the message board will slow up. Happens on other websites as well on other subjects.

[Thrumbleux]

Come on then, so who's put a pre order in already so that they can be first in the country to have one? What no takers this time? People not in a mad rush? See what you have done smart totally killed the interest.

I could hardly believe how slow this thread was to get moving! Yep, interest has waned. Early adopters aint interested as 453 is regressing and I guess the gloss wears off over 15+ years familiarity. That and the BMW i3 being the only genuinely new tech on the market.

I guess pensioners may buy them if you throw in an owner life expectancy warranty as it'd fit in with jazz note and kia buyers........ They are pretty hideous expect some major MHD type price slashing when they get diddly orders.....

With MB eager to attract a younger crowd to the A-Class, I wonder if that is where the 453 is really aimed? Noticeably, round where I stay, 451s are driven by the elderly. Obvious progression?

Oh hold on if they glue a Brabus badge on it I am sure folks will be fooled enough.

And probably spec them to within an inch of the price of a BMW i3!...