Faults:

The worst car I have ever owned.

In the garage 7 times in 11 months over 20k miles.

Faults include:

Doors opening randomly,

Engine Management Unit failure (twice),

Rain sensor failed,

Air con failed three times and, worryingly,

A brake fault.

Also the 6k mile service interval is very short by today's standards.

General Comments:

It is quite simply the most fun I have ever had in a car.

It's a roller skate on wheels.

Prepare to laugh out loud every time you find yourself on a B road, to smile when you are on an A road, and to grin and bear it on the motorways.

Comfort:

It's a very comfortable little car. The heated seats are a boon when the roof is down.

The seats are supportive and comfortable over long journeys.

The stereo is rubbish, and even with speaker upgrades still sounds poor with the door panels rattling at the slightest sound of bass.

Faults:

Car suddenly jumped out of gear repeatedly, engine would not rev and you would have to come to a complete stop, switch off engine and take key out and then start over again! Very unfortunate when it happened to me in the middle of the M4!

The roof leaks sporadically, seat-belts are very wet most of the time!

General Comments:

Fabulous handling and fun car, only gripe is that it would be more than perfect with a standard gearbox and not the semi-automatic rubbish that smart insist on!

I have never had so many stares when driving this car! it really stands out in shine yellow!

It's so low than many people have difficulty getting in and out of it!

Faults:

I cannot fault the car. Having experienced minor faults on previous cars (leaky roof, wheel bearings etc) inc an Mx5, Crx, and new Celica, this was a welcome relief.

General Comments:

I would recommend a Smart Roadster to anyone. It may have a small engine, but the turbo and handling make up for that. Test drive one. The performance is better than my previous cars listed above and than most of my friends cars which surprised them too.

It’s nice to know that it’s returning 55mpg and scored very highly on recent crash tests.

Being able to operate the roof whilst driving is great too as are the stunning looks. Never knew a car could turn so many heads. (women too!).

My only advice would be to check the spec of what you are buying. There are a number of Roadster lights about now which have been stripped of many features inc the electric roof. Also, watch out for those with smaller engines and and LHD examples.

Check out the colours before buying too. Photos can be deceiving. we wanted Black/silver, but came away with yellow/black as it stood out a mile compared to the rest.

Faults:

ECU replaced due to faulty dash warning lights.

Rear window heating failed.

Interior light didn't work.

Door handle cable broke.

Leaks from a door mirror, then leaked from the soft top.

The above were all fixed under the warranty.

LED indicator on the instrumentation gauge intermittant fault - still to be fixed.

General Comments:

Lovely looking car and great car to drive. Handles excellently (especially with the 'sports pack' alloys) and gets stared at by everyone (especially in yellow).

Dealer service is disappointing and expensive. Car quality control is not the best.

I still love car though.