Dallas Smart Car Dealer

It’s 11pm and I’m in London. A quiet night, few cars out and as I cross an empty street on the way to a pub, I hear an almost inaudible whirring sound. Next thing I know a car is barely 5 feet its horn blaring and a pissed off driver telling me to “get my bloody arse off the street”.
Sheepishly I crossed not before I heard the driver (a woman) mutter “wanker” at me. I was dumbfounded. Not because of the insult but rather because I’ve just seen my first Smart fortwo BRABUS ED or electric drive.
Couple of minutes later, I parked a few feet away from the pub I see the ED that almost ran me down. On closer inspection I see that the wider door frames, a melon green paint job, Monoblock light alloy wheels and what can only be daytime running lights. On the inside I noticed the color scheming has improved. There’s new upholstery in matte green and the instrument panel/cockpit is accentuated in matt silver and brown leather.
Available this year in Europe and 2010 in the US, Smart fortwo BRABUS ED customers can choose between a cabriolet and coupe. Powered by a 30 kilowatt magneto-electric motor, the ED has a top speed of 75mph and a maximum range of 70 miles on a single charge. A recharge of its lithium-ion batteries takes between 2-4 hours and full charge is achieved in 8 hours when plugged into a standard 220 volt socket. Quicker than its gas powered brother which has twice the horses under the bonnet, the ED can go from 0-30mph in 6.5 seconds.
The ED has no manual transmission to speak of. There are 3 positions on the selector level- N for Neutral, R for Reverse and D for Drive. In reverse mode, the polarity of the motor is simply, well, reversed.

The latest flagship of Smart, the Brabus is a fortwo that got a makeover. An extreme makeover. Sure its 1.0-liter 3-cylinder Fortwo remains unchanged at 70 hp but it did get these:
Outside
Improved 5 speed automated manual transmission
BRABUS sports suspension
BRABUS “Monoblock VII” alloy wheels (front tires: 175/55 R 15; rear tires: 215/35 R 17)
Tire pressure monitoring system
The double “B” BRABUS emblem on the fuel fill door
BRABUS name on the door frame
BRABUS front skirt and side skirt
BRABUS sport exhaust system
Inside
Electric Power Steering
Dashboard instruments
Heated leather seats
BRABUS sports pedals in matte brushed aluminum with rubber surface
BRABUS velour floor mats
Tachometer
Locking fuel filler door
Trip Computer
The Smart Brabus Coupe even comes with a glass panoramic roof. The new sports suspension system lowers the car by 10mm. This coupled with its sports exhaust system gives the Brabus a sportier look and sound. Perhaps the most important addition or improvements are the upgrades to the 5-speed automated manual transmission which improved shift quality.
On a whim, I took the BRABUS cabriolet and I found it a definite improvement to the regular Fortwo however the ride was a bit hard, most probably due to the ultra low profile tires. Speaking of tires, in tight turns, the wider sets of tires at the rear gave an additional feeling of stability and control as compared to the “regular” Passion.
The BRABUS comes out in two versions. MSRP for the 2009 smart fortwo BRABUS coupe starts at $17,990 and the BRABUS cabriolet is at $20,990. So is it really smart to get a BRABUS?

The Smart fortwo Brabus is the flagship of the fortwo line. There are two versions, the coupe and cabriolet. Brabus, long time partner of Mercedes, has now teamed up with Smart to produce the Smart fortwo Brabus Exclusive.
A standard base Passion Coupe has an MSRP of $13,990. The Brabus Coupe starts at $17,990 while a Passion Cabriolet’s MSRP is $16,990 and the Brabus version starts at $20,990. So what do you get for the extra 4,000 clams? Imagine a Passion Coupe or Passion Cabriolet that got an extreme makeover.
It still has the 3 cylinder, 12 valve 1.0 liter but Brabus gave it a new engine management system which increased the Passions’ power from 71hp to 98hp. Brabus also installed a sports suspension system that lowers the car by 10mm, sports exhaust system, front, rear and side skirts in the cars’ exterior color. You also get Monoblock VII 6 spoke alloy wheels (the rear wheels are 2 inches wider than the regular coupe and cabriolet).
On the inside, heated leather seats, a 3-spoke leather sports steering wheel with steering wheel shift paddles with a leather gear knob and sports pedals in matte brushed aluminum with rubber surface. Sadly there still isn’t a spare tire.
Top speed is regulated at 95mph and 0-60mph in 9.9 seconds. That irritating jerk between gear ratios is still there but I noticed that if you take your foot of the throttle between shifts you get smoother transition. Definitely no S class here folks. The ultralow profile tires and the sports suspension system gave it a more firm to the point of hard ride.
Overall, the extra power is great but I’m still undecided if I’d dole out the extra cash just to make my Passion cuter.

Kind of low on the budget but really want a new car? At $11,590 MSRP, the Smart car is probably the cheapest on the market.

Now having said this, don’t expect the luxury of a Beamer or an MB.

The Smart is a tiny 2 seater powered by a 1.0, inline 3 cylinder engine that produces a mind boggling 70 hp.

It has 4-wheel ABS traction and stability control, it does not have a satellite radio, nor does it have a head airbag or satellite navigation or a trip computer or compass. Hey what did you expect?

On the good side, it is a head turner-it’s cute.

Fuel economy is over the top at 33 city, 41 highway and 36 combined. You get 282 miles on a full tank. It’s good enough in traffic and from getting from point A to point B and that’s about it.

Parking the Smart is easy and the seats are very comfortable.

Ride wise, shifting gears is verrry slow and you and your passenger will know it or rather feel it. Handling leaves a lot to be desired and I wouldn’t take it out on an open road with crosswinds much less take it up to its max speed.

Overall, you get what you paid for. It’s good for in city use and that’s just about it.

Smart is a joint venture between Mercedes Benz and Swatch (yes the watch).

It started way back in the 90’s and here in the US the first Smart car was offered to the American public in January of 2008.

Currently there are three models available for sale: the smart fortwo coupe, the smart fortwo passion coupe and the smart fortwo passion cabriolet.

All three models are equipped with the same 3 cylinder, 12 valve 1.0 liter 70 horsepower engine.

The same 5-speed automated manual transmission and the same 9 spoke alloy wheels. Gas consumption is also identical-33mpg for city driving and 41mpg highway.

The differences lie in the level of appointments of each model.

For example, the roof: the Pure has a Solid roof, the Passion a Panorama roof and the cabriolet a fully automatic convertible top.

The Pure doesn’t have a radio but does have a provision for installing one.

The Passion comes with a Smart radio while the Cabriolet comes with a factory installed Smart premium radio and Smart sound system.

Overall, for simply just getting from point A to point B in the city, it will serve its purpose.

See one today at your local Smart Car dealer