There's still no sign of Smart coming to Ireland officially any time soon, but we thought our readers would like to know about the new range-topper regardless. It's called the Smart Fortwo Brabus and thanks to a little more power and tweaks to the chassis, it's a fun little package, though seemingly pointless given its city car brief.
In the metal
The Brabus model builds on the third generation Smart Fortwo's wider stance to good effect. There's plenty of colour-coded body work, though, given that the 'tridion' safety cell is also in body colour instead of in a contrast hue, we reckon the Brabus model doesn't look as good as it could have. Tasty 17-inch alloy wheels with mixed sizes Yokohama tyres help, however, as does a 10mm drop in ride height. At the back there's also a redesigned bumper with a grey centre section (referred to as a 'diffuser' by Smart) that houses the dual-exit exhaust outlets.
On the inside, the Brabus package adds to what was a pretty impressive cabin in the first place. It's modern and attractive looking and feels of high quality. A lovely leather steering wheel is complemented by good-looking (though ultimately not all that supportive) sports seats and various other relatively subtle Brabus reminders. As ever, the doors open wide and there's plenty of room for two with a tiny boot behind.
Driving it
With the launch of this generation of the Smart Fortwo came a newfound confidence in the way the car went about things. A considerable increase in width eradicated the feeling that it might fall over if hit by a crosswind at speed and Smart did an excellent job on the suspension, giving it grown up manners that don't at all suggest that it has a the teeny tiny wheelbase. For the Brabus model, things have been altered a little, but not drastically. So the springs and dampers are stiffer and there's a new front ant-roll bar to, well, stop roll in the corners. The power steering and ESP stability control have been tweaked as well, there's a sports exhaust and though there's no manual gearbox offered in the Brabus cars, the six-speed, dual-clutch automatic has come in for plenty of revision. Smart says that the gearing is shorter, response is quicker and there's a new launch control function.
Don't expect to win many traffic light grand prix though, as the Fortwo is no hot hatch. Saying that, its turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine has been turned up a little, to 109hp and 170Nm of torque. The car weighs under a tonne, remember, so those figures translate into useful nippiness at town speeds and an ability to cruise comfortably well in excess of 120km/h. The extra grunt from the engine and the chassis updates have injected a little life into proceedings, but it's wise to remember that this is designed to be a city car first and foremost. Smart set up a compact closed circuit for us to explore the limits and its ability to cling on will surprise many. The steering is devoid of feel, but you can sense when there's a loss of grip approaching and the chassis, in spite of the rear-engine, rear-drive layout, is safely neutral. If you back off suddenly when cornering quickly the weight transfer to the front allows the rear end to start to move around, entertainingly, but the ESP system (not switchable) quickly and smoothly keeps things on track.
The engine is smooth at all times and remarkably quiet at high speeds. The sports exhaust can cause a little too much resonance through the car when you're sat idle in traffic, but that's only if the stop-start system hasn't cut-in. Otherwise it gives the engine a tad more character without turning it into a total hooligan. We'd prefer a little more raucousness, in truth.
What you get for your money
Even if Smart cars were sold in Ireland, we'd probably be marking this one down for its value for money quotient, as it's expensive in the markets it is sold in. At current exchange rates and based on the expected starting price in the UK, we reckon it would be nigh on €25,000 imported into Ireland. We don't expect to see many... Running costs are low, however, with Band A3 taxation and a tiny engine that promises to use not too much fuel when nipping around town. If you're really keen, the Brabus model is also available as a Smart Forfour or Smart Fortwo Cabrio.
Summary
We can't help but like the Smart Fortwo Brabus, in spite of its flaws. It's a bit of fun around its natural environment, a cinch to park and yet surprisingly capable away from the urban jungle. Not many will consider it worth the high asking price, but there's quite simply nothing else like it available, even if, technically, it's not available in this part of the world.
