2005 smart roadster Coupe from UK and Ireland - Comments

I've had only two faults with the Roadster.

Firstly, the door handle became detached from the cable, meaning I had to open the window and open the door from the outside, however, this was fixed under warranty with redesigned door handles.

The second 'issue' is that from time to time, the roof folds the wrong way, meaning it can get caught up in the retraction mechanism. My dealer fixed it the first time, and explained that when the roof has been left wet for some time (ie over a winter) the rearmost section can end up folding the 'wrong' way. The fix is straight forward and is part of the cleaning routine; when the roof is cleaned (and optionally you can add a layer of waterproofing from the cleaning kit) you retract the roof and ensure it's folded the 'right' way; then leave to dry. Easy :)

The adjuster for the door mirror broke, but that was my fault to smashing into it with my knee; tricky to avoid when climbing into the car in a cramped garage. I purchased a replacement unit and fitting was a straight forward 10 minute job.

The Roadster is a fantastic source of fun. It attracts lots of attention and that's probably helped by the fact that only around 40,000 were made. The looks are (no pun intended) smart and you get glances from blokes, ladies and kids - at first you feel a little wary but you soon realise people are looking at the car, not who is driving it.

The performance is excellent when bear in mind that there is a relatively tiny engine behind you and you begin to appreciate just how much fun you can have on next to no petrol.

The Roadster responds well to some basic tuning. I've had the airbox removed and replaced with a Viper carbon unit, a larger TIK pipe (from the Brabus model), stainless intercooler pipes, a Janspeed 'stealth' exhaust and a custom ECU remap. This took the power from a standard 80bhp to a (dyno'd) 107bhp, an increase of a third (all for just over £1000).

You're unlikely to win any straight line drag races, not least down to the gearbox, but the Roadster is most at home on a twisty lane where it can run rings around pretty much everything.

Note that whilst the Brabus model is more powerful from the factory, tuning is more difficult; if you want to 'play', get an 82ps model. Also, the Brabus model is, as described by a Brabus-owning friends wife, "the same as yours but with more tinsel" - quite ;)

The gearbox is often slated; no, it's not perfect and it'll never swap cogs like a DSG, but, it's actually rather clever in it's behaviour and careful positioning of the throttle makes for much smoother changes. Some say that a dump valve helps to smooth out the shifts but I'm not able to speak authoriatively.

The box is intelligent enough to respond to what you ask for, e.g. two taps on the paddle gets you two gears down (or up!), and as a result, I actually prefer the Roadster's gearbox to the DSG in my Audi...

Comfort is reasonable; the Roadster is fairly stiffly suspended so you're never going to get a magic carpet ride, but then that's not what you'd want in a car of this type.

'Toys' are fairly minimal; electric windows and roof and er, that's it. Mirrors are manual (simple!) as are the seats. Oh, the boot release is electric too.

As you'd expect with a soft roof, noise is more than you'd get in a tin top. It's not overly intrusive and motorway journeys are OK. Better yet is when the sun is shining and you can get the roof down (all at the press of a switch, at any speed).

The factory stereo and speakers are rubbish; I replaced the head unit immediately (I didn't even switch on the factory unit), along with the speakers in the doors and fitted a small sub unit behind the passenger seat - the sound is much better.

Running costs are reasonable. Given that 2005 was the last year Roadsters were made, they're all now out of warranty (2 years rather than the more common 3) meaning servicing needn't be a main dealer only option.

A number of specialists in Smarts are out there, with Smart Arse Design in Watford being my favoured firm.

Servicing intervals are around 9000 miles and services vary depending on whether it's an 'a', 'b' or 'c'. My last service was a 'c' and came in at around £300.

Tyres last forever on a Roadster given that it's a lightweight and 'over tyred' car. I still have the factory boots on the front wheels and the rears lasted until 22000 miles (even with a certain amount of rear wheelspin playing).

Taking care of the roof is wise, and fairly easy to do; a good scrub with a suitable detergent (I use AutoGlym) followed by some waterproofing is a once-per-quarter task.

My Roadster is a second car (I have a 'sensible' Audi for family duties normally driven by my wife) and that makes life with the Roadster a little easier than if it was my only car. That's not to say it couldn't be a 'first' car, but trips to Ikea are rather more difficult in the Roadster!

My son (now three) has loved the Roadster since he first saw it two years ago and will travel in it over the Audi, given the choice. However, because of the aftermarket exhaust I make him wear earplugs on journeys longer than 20 minutes or at motorway speeds.

In summary, a great car that's a huge amount of fun.

Hi mate hey can I get some pictures of your roadster, cause you pictured the car very good because you have some mods, and I would like to see it, because I´m thinking of getting one, so here is my mail betocansecop@gmail.com thanks... greetings.