2002 smart fortwo - city coupe Pulse review from South Africa

I have had the car for 6 months and I have already had 2 flat tyres resulting in the replacement thereof. The tyres on these little cars are smaller in diameter, but are more expensive than your conventional tyres. I recently purchased 4 tyres for my previous vehicle which cost around R1700-00 and the 2 tyres of my smart pulse cost more than this (around R2500-00). On both above occasions I attempted to use the snazzy little puncture repair kit, but it appeared that the tyre had been perished. I have since been very afraid of driving this vehicle on a long journey, as a puncture in the middle of nowhere could have devistating consequences. I am considering buying a spare wheel and tyre and keeping it in the boot on a long journey, but this would mean that there is no room for much else.

The vehicles do not come with a motor or drive plan and servicing these cars are for the owners account and can only be done through the agents in order to maintain the warranty. The costs of these services are much higher than your average service costs and has come as a surprise.

The vehicle has also began to have a high oil consumption, and I returned the vehicle for inspection on 3 occasions to the manufacturer to have the vehicle checked and was eventually told that there is an allowance made by the manufacturer for oil consumption and was told to "live with it". I put in approximately a pint of oil per 1000KM and I do feel that this is quite excessive, given the low fuel usage. I have also recently had to take the vehicle back to the manufacturer for repair, since the vehicle has no power and struggles to move off on an incline. The manufacturers are still in the process of repairing my vehicle under the warranty. It has been 3 days now, and still they cannot confirm the fault or repairs to be undertaken.

I am not sure if this is the normal unreliable tendency of these cars, or maybe I just got the lemon.

I know that I may sound like a old complaining middle aged nag, so I would take this opportunity to comment on some of the good points of this little car. It is quite the head turner and is surprisingly quick given the size of the power plant.

It is a fun little car to drive and the fuel economy is out of this world. The car handles well and has all the feature comforts one would only expect in a more luxury vehicle.