MCC Smart Roadster

You don't need to be Mystic Meg to predict that small roadsters are going to grab all the headlines in 2003. With Smart, Ford, Citroen and Daihatsu preparing to hit the road with brand new models, buyers are going to be spoilt for choice.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Mike Askew

February 2003

You don't need to be Mystic Meg to predict that small roadsters are going to grab all the headlines in 2003. With Smart, Ford, Citroen and Daihatsu preparing to hit the road with brand new models, buyers are going to be spoilt for choice.

But can the market really support a raft of new additions? You bet! Last year we Brits bought 27,000 roadsters - more than ever before in a sector that shows few signs of slowing down. Look closely, though, and you'll notice that the roadster market has matured over the past five years. Cars such as the Mazda MX-5 and MGF may have started life as no-frills funsters, but equipment levels have swelled and prices have crept up towards the ΂£20,000 mark - big money for a simple two-seater.

Which is why Smart reckons this car is going to blow our socks off. It aims to deliver all the thrills of a traditional roadster but at a fraction of the price. The Roadster certainly looks the part: beautifully proportioned with a classically long nose and trim rear end, it's instantly recognisable as a Smart thanks to its TRIDION safety cell and innovative use of contrasting plastics around the front lights and boot aperture.

There's more of the same quirkiness inside, and although some of the centre console plastics are shiny and a little cheap-looking, the use of coloured fabrics and white-backed dials helps create a genuinely sporty cockpit. The driving position is spot on, too. Meanwhile, the roof system is similar to that fitted to the current City Coup

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