Against a Streetka, a Copen and an MX-5
The toy-like Smart first showed its face in the late 1990s. Who would have thought it couldn’t get much crazier, was surprised in 2003 when the Roadster appeared on the scene. Twenty years ago we put the mischievous kart through its paces for the first time. Was it a straight shot or did Smart miss the mark with this little gutsy guy? A look back at the tests in which we got hold of the Roadster.
Two seats, a low seat and an open roof. On paper, the ingredients for baking steering pleasure. Twenty years ago we took the brand new Roadster Coupé, with that glass dome on the back, out of the shed to confront it with another cheerful two-seater, the Ford Streetka (click on the link and download the pdf, if you have an account). Both homeless gentlemen were derivatives of well-behaved, but nice-looking city kids. The Ford built at Pininfarina in Turin already looked very nice with its angular lamps, roll bars and small spoiler on the back, but the Smart took it a step further. “What a tough truck, that Roadster!” Apparently we were not the only ones who thought so, because with the openwork little one it was not possible to go unnoticed through traffic. With its gray bezel around the headlights, it seemed to be grinning at the world like a greedy little predator. Enough about the looks, these little ones were meant to be sent along!
Smart Roadster vs Streetka
With the wind in our hair we chased the duo over winding paths and rolling roads. Where we named the seating position in the Streetka as ‘reasonable’, we were like a true driver in the Smart. The somewhat clumsy steering wheel was almost perpendicular to you, which made us feel one with the 800 kilo heavy sanding iron. We had nothing to complain about the handling of the Streetka, on the contrary. Especially because of the low center of gravity and its rear-wheel drive, we immediately fell in love with the Roadster. “It’s just not an Elise, but you can drag it through the bend unabashedly hard.” Nevertheless, we ultimately chose the Ford over the newcomer from Smart, precisely because it was just a little less harsh and impractical. The Streetka was also much better packed for the same money, and that was the deciding factor in the end.
A year later against the Daihatsu Copen
A year later, the Smart was allowed to prove itself again, against another strange duck who liked to open his roof: the Daihatsu Copen. The headstrong Japanese was initially only available with right-hand drive, which was immediately one of his biggest drawbacks. The Dai’ also couldn’t match the steering pleasure of the Smart, but in a straight line the Copen completely lost the Roadster, this time without a glass dome. That said more about the performance of the Smart, by the way. At the end of the fight, the goblet went to the Smart, but he was close to giving way to the Copen. The Roadster’s odd, sluggish automatic almost killed it, and we weren’t too enamored with its acceleration time. In sixteen seconds to one hundred was not exactly something to write home about.
Brabus against Mazda MX-5
Brabus also realized that the Smart could use some extra spice. A blown version with 101 horsepower has been drummed up to give one of the finest open cars ever made: the Mazda MX-5. Thick exhaust pipes, cool accents and large slippers: in terms of appearance, the Smart had it all. Again we criticized its slow gearbox and thought its price tag was way too hefty. It was therefore the Mazda that came out of the equation almost unscathed. “It steers very tight and is completely balanced, the Smart is just missing something”, we concluded the confrontation. Over the years it has become clear that the Smart should not rely on its performance. Hard as nails is not always the key to success, but a cool appearance does contribute to this. Despite its questionable reputation, the Roadster turned out to be a toy for anyone who wanted to be open without necessarily being the best.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl