Come ON man you coulnd’t convert those metric values to English for us?!

the car is farkin awesome man. If you’re really serious, they’re bringing one of the Smart models into Canada this year. You could probably request at the dealership to have one imported.

Also, Brabus has a few dealerships in the USA. You could go about contacting them I think.

Pretty cool, the only thing that worries me with Smarts is crashing… Sure, they must’ve done their homework, but there’s only so much crumple zone. With the ForTwo, it’s no problem (it’s slow, so no worries), but with a Brabus monster…?!

We see the things parked ON curbs (never mind tight spots) everywhere down here in SA - major advantage, if you don’t count the tickets!

Did you know that you can swap the body panels with custom coloured ones whenever you like? Pretty nifty…

hey dudes… i got a smart roadster… i’m from austria here, so ask me if you got questions about it :-).

Hey Mike,

The Smart cars are coming to the states in the 3rd quarter of 2006. The first vehicle will be a suv based on the forFour. They plan to introduce the forTwo at a latter time if all goes well…

I am guessing this car will be for the urbanite in all of us, so expect to see them in San Fran, NYC and LA among a few.

Italians love their Smart cars. On my honeymoon I saw tons and tons of them in the Rome and Florence..

I have a non-Brabus Roadster-Coupe (the hatch version, only 80bhp harrumph); it rocks. I’m not sure it rocks more than the Mini Cooper it replaced, but it’s still a terrific little car. Sure, the gearbox is terrible and the steering over-assisted, but the engine howls with an infectious mania and the chassis rewards you for hurling it into corners, no matter how slowly you’re going. All with ridiculously clean emissions and about 50mpg in practice. The Coupe is even practical - with boot (trunk) space front and rear, you can stuff it with more bags than seems remotely plausible.

If you want to read about the inevitable leaks, squeaks, rattles, and shoddy customer service, the main UK owners’ club is at http://www.thesmartclub.co.uk. As with any marque-specific forum, the negatives get more press than the positives: suffice it to say, we love our Roadsters!

Oh, and incidentally - the red coupe in the picture here looks like one of the (10?) V6 Biturbo demo cars Brabus put together at some ridiculous cost. 170bhp and insane acceleration; sadly not available to buy.

Hi fellow roadster owners, I own a 04 smart roadster and have owned it for 12 months. I have not had to go back to the dealers once ! Negatives..hard ride,odd rattles, water coming in when you open the doors and boot ! getting in!!!! Positives I dont want to drive anything else.. Hm I forgot the stupid gearbox Give us a proper stick !!!!!

What a fantastic car, I know because I’ve recently just bought my very own Smart brabus xculsive edition roadster. I think I’m as much in love with something on four wheels as anyone could be (without it being sick or just plain wrong!). Its definately the most fun I’ve had in a car and it doesn’t even have a back seat so thats saying a lot!

How can I get one of these to the US???

did you get the roadster importet and how did you do it. i live in germany and i whant to sell my roadster to the us!

Easiest answer, move to Europe! (we’ve got lots of lovely bendy roads over here too!)

I’m trying to smugle one in from Mexico! After I get it here I don’t know how I’m going to drive it with out getting cought.

I have a Brabus roadster-coupe (i.e. the hatchback version) here in England, and I like it. But if you ever get these cars in the USA please be ready for their disadvantages. Sure, they look lovely and unusual, but there are some design faults and the build quality is - shall we say? - variable. If you are unlucky you will suffer:

- leaks when it rains, which might do alarming things to the electronics;
- clutch slip;
- quirky handling on wet roads even if you select your winter tyres with great care;
- slow gear changes;
- steering wheel too large, and not adjustable for reach or rake.

If you are serious about trying to obtain one of these cars, I commend TheRoadster.net as a source of information and advice.

I would be glad to hear how you get on.

I’m the proud owner of a 2005 Roadster Light in jack black, and I can safely say that this is the most fun car that I have ever owned. It is ideally suited to our small bendy country roads here in the u.k (Wiltshire), the handling around tight bends is just phenominal!! -love it.
As for build quality, well I have no complaints so far. Mine has a hard top which you can detach and stow behind in the engine compartment behind the seats, and I have no leaks or water ingress problems so far, the semi auto transmission takes some getting used to, and I feel that it adds to the character of the car.
The turbocharged engine is tiny ,but the performance is more than adequate due to the power to weight ratio being so efficient. Fuel consumption is around 55mpg in the city - it costs me just £10.00 per week for the commute to work 5 days a week, and insurance premiums are low too.
However, these cars are are a lot smaller than the average American sports car, and space in the trunk at the front is very small.
I’m 6ft 2, and I can easily fit inside with headroom to spare.

I have a Smart Roadster, and would love to get covers for my seats. Any suggestions?

Lynda,

Smart’s scheduled to start rolling out its cars in the next couple of years. You can contact DaimlerChrysler to find out if you can have a seat cover sent to you. Or check out the Brabus site. Maybe they can help you.

I have to have a rodster brabus coupe now in the US. Help…how do I do it. Smuggle, import, let me know if any have suceeded.

I bought one of the last Final Edition versions and it is AWSOME. You can beat ANYTHIG off the line at the lights for the first 200 yards. I’ve had an M3 and a Ferrari try. They ctch you after that but then I’m not about racing at 200kph, just a quick start. The tiptronic gearbox allows you to override the automatic without switching.

All in silver except for the rollbar it looks the bees knees and I am seriously thinking about gullwininging the doors as the doors are the only thing I would complain about.

I just still can’t get over the fact that DC have stopped making what was a very sexy stylish yet affordable and economic roadster.

Hello from Stuttgart, Germany. I am looking for every and any loophole to import a 2003 Smart Roadster into the U.S. Please help. I just got here and will be here at least two years. Email me at rcduetto@aol.com and just put SMART ROADSTER in the subject area. Thanks.

Hey, I looked at importing one into the US too. I would suggest checking out the EPA, DOT and US Customs for information on importing the car.

I could be totally wrong, but so far I have concluded the following:

This is an import for personal use.
This is a non-US version car so,
1) a petition needs to pass. A petition for the fourtwo has been passed already, but not for the roadster.
2) needs to be imported by an ICI (Independent Car Importer?) and a government RI (Regulated Importer), which I think can be one in the same.

I spoke with a Smart dealer and I guess the difference between the European fourtwos and the soon to be released in the US fourtwos is nothing. This is a good step on the emmisions, because a lot of the same parts from the fourtwo are in the Roadster. This is also a plus because parts will then be available in the US.

Check out http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/impflow.htm
Do some research. My guess is that the first person to pass the petition and get the car on the import “ok” list will have to pay lots of money for the tests and such on the Roadster. If people really want this car in the States, a group of people should get together to do this.

Yes, I drive a Smart Roadster everyday (and its very nice) I’ll swap for a GM EV1