SMART ROADSTER COUPE CONVERTIBLE

My sister has never heard of Gordon Murray but she has one thing in common with him: they both own Smart Roadsters. They both love them, too, while acknowledging their shortcomings. The little Smart is almost the perfect sports car in miniature, probably as close to an Austin-healey ‘frogeye’ Sprite as it’s possible to get in the 21st century. Murray, who owns the car in our photographs, is also a Sprite owner.

With only 80bhp from its threecylinder turbocharged motor, the Smart comfortably qualifies for this group. Two versions of the Roadster were produced: the simple Roadster with its notch back and the Roadster Coupé convertible like Murray’s (and big sister’s). The latter is the heavier at 815kg but that’s still light and gives us a power-to-weight ratio of 98bhp per tonne.

What makes this car so much fun is its size. Not only does it mean that you can drive the Smart along country lanes at a rate that you wouldn’t dare maintain in a current Porsche 911 let alone a Ferrari, but it also gives the impression that you’re going far faster than you actually are. And that’s a hell of a benefit in 2019. The Smart’s Achilles heel, apart from possible water leaks, is its six-speed sequential gearbox. It is jerky and unsophisticated but, once you’ve got used to it, allows you to drive the car accordingly – at which point the fun overtakes the irritation.

The Smart Roadster had a short three-year life, from 2003 to 2006. It never made Smart money and it cost a packet in warranty claims. If there’s one car that I wish had lived longer and benefited from having its faults sorted, it’s the Smart Roadster. A little gem of a car that seems to get more relevant the older it gets, and one whose f laws are easy to ignore or drive around.