Real (Smol) Road Test: 2007 Smart Fortwo W451 Passion - Gearbox though?

Is it possible to review a Smart without going on and on about the gearbox? No... Remarkably, it's 24 years since the Smart first wowed the world with its tiny dimensions - half a metre shorter than the original Mini. Which means people have been complaining about 'that' automated manual gearbox for almost quarter of a century! So, did they manage to make things better with the second-generation model or is it the same old story? Contains much three-cylinder engine noise.

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[grahamforbes]

SMART stood for ‘Swatch Mercedes Art’ and the logo on the bonnet and steering wheel was meant to convey ‘ Forward thinking concept’. I was a Smart salesman for a few years in the mid noughties and they sold quite well although reliability was a bit iffy, especially the electrics and of course the gearbox wasn’t the best …….🤷‍♂️!

[StreakyP]

so refreshing to see a speedo that shows a realistic range (with good spacing) rather than implying it can do 180mph but is impossible to differentiate between 20 & 40 as everything is so cramped.

[twogoonsonanadventure]

Had a Smart Roadster Coupé for a couple of years and absolutely loved it, we went everywhere in it! Loved the little churrup from the turbo every time I changed gears and it didn’t hang around! The gearbox was easy to get used to and an absolute hoot once you did. The glass boot lid on the coupé made it really practical too, we stuffed loads in when we went on holiday. It never put a foot wrong either until towards the end when we had issues with the water pump. Miss that car. 😃

[andrewriley]

My daughter had one of these…she loved it and so did I when I drove it around. She lives in a city so it was perfect for blatting about…like a go kart

[alexandertodd]

I ran one of these for 3 years from brand new, my only ever brand new car. A superb little car, did 30, 000 miles with only a couple of electrical niggles. Mine was the 74bhp non-turbo and it was really nippy. Super thing. And you could get a red or a tan interior on this gen - which made a huge difference

[TheGourmetSnapper]

I've been a fan of, and owner of the smart for over 20 years now. They're fun, quirky and different.

[TheFlyingBusman]

Good to see a 451 make its way onto the channel. We have a 451 MHD, which whilst not without its quirks and foibles is a genuinely fun little car. They come on cam at 4K quite noticeably but indeed the gearbox is a bit ponderous but after driving coaches with the marvellous ZF AStronic gearbox, the shifts seem lightning fast. The zero road tax appeals and practicality wise I’ve had two stacking tool boxes in there and even a full size mountain bike. Handling, whilst a tad fidgety is quite tidy once you’ve acclimatised to it. Ours will be staying with us for some time to come as it’s such a great little town car.

[chiquita]

I loved the auto mode on mine, you got used to what the gearbox was up to and learned to interpret its moves.

[derek-press]

got our youngest one after she passed her test (manual test) this was back in 2014, straight away she loved it and she still has it, I drove it many a time on a quick shopping trip too, and like you say after five minutes you just get used to it and let it do its thing, we had one problem a few years ago where you could smell "burning" oil coming from the back but it got sorted out it's a great little city car but she does, when visiting us do a lot of motor way and it is good to go

[anthonystevens]

Nice one Ian, I quite like the Smart cars, cute and surprisingly quite fast. There used to be one on my daily commute on the M4 back in the day that used to blast by me at 80+ or there about. If I had the space I could be tempted to get one for a local runabout but can't really justify it as most of my journeys are not that local. We shall see. One small correction as a few others mention on the intro, it wasn't the Smart Watch, it was the Swatch brand who if I recall correctly offered all sorts of options for different panel colours (like the Swiss plastic watches) on the 1st generation, of course I could be talking a large can of expired pilchards here. Thanks for sharing.

Interestingly that low cost Swiss plastic watch company payed a huge part in rescuing some of the old mechanical Swiss watch brands when quartz was killing them off during the 70' and 80's including brands like Omega and Tissot so well done Swatch. It's great to see mechanical timekeeping continuing without a volt and a pile of dud batteries in sight. Nothing wrong at all with spark powered quartz though.

[thomasfrancis]

IIRC Fifth Gear did a crash test on a first generation Smart which proved remarkably tough. I quite like the original For Four which seems quite practical with some funky colours and design. Be interesting to see what you would make of a Toyota iQ.

[twocvbloke]

I remember first seeing these, and I often thought that if they braked too hard, they'd roll over like MasterMilo's Rollgolf, but I guess the engine in the back end as ballast kind of negates that effect, that and of course brakes that are actually set up properly... :P

[TheLeylander]

I have a first generation 450 fortwo, and I love it, 700cc engine mapped a little for a bit of extra torque .
It's very nippy and I do feel the turbo kicking in on acceleration, gear change isn't a problem for me as I don't race it or accelerate hard .This isn't a sports car but a city car, that's why you found the gear change a problem under hard acceleration, I'm used to mine changing gear I just ease of the accelerator when in between gears in automatic mode, and I'm now 56yrs of age not far claiming my pension lol.
I've had over 60 cars in my time from sports cars to SUV, s and I have to say this is the best one I've ever owned .

[eeclass]

I look forward to you getting hold of a first generation Renault Twingo, I much more usuable genuine small family city car. Interestingly the current gen Twingo is a joint venture with Smart.

[Spheredalai]

you won't believe how much this video contributes to my sudden urge to own a smart fortwo now, this seems like a very very sensible car to own in this day and age

[paulsheehan]

Absolutely beautiful transition into the t-shirt plug.

[autoknight]

Great video. These are fascinating little cars. I’ve owned so many that I do sometimes worry that I may be obsessed with them!

[JorgeFernandez-ucqb]

I had wanted to try one of these out and now I have. Thanks! They don't seem so bad at all. Thanks for your thorough driver reviews. They are informative and entertaining.

[aston-martin-internationalist]

The Smart ForTwo often got laughed at, but I think it's a wonderful example of great packaging coupled with neat styling, even the original (which is actually my preferred shape) still looks fresh and modern. I think they're great little cars. The current generation however doesn't look anywhere near as nice as this model and the original.

[chrispenn]

Hi Ian. If you fancy testing a Smart Roadster Coupe, let me know - I'm in South Wales.... the gearbox is poor in auto mode but I use it as a sequential manual and it can be quite satisfying when you get it with the little turbo chirps