51 replies to this topic

[EX-VX]

my sister had a brabus as a loan when her fourtwo went wrong again (and again) slooooooooow, g8y and overpriced. (not my sister, she's worth every penny, I've heard) having had brief passenger ride (but having driven a couple of smarts) i can say IMO the only part of the VX experience you'll get is people staring at you. but for the wrong reasons!

[BradW]

Why don't you pick up a Suzuki Cappuccino or Honda Beat? Cheap, cheap to run, reliable, quirky, relatively rare, some modding potential, owners club etc. I used to own a Cappuccino and it was good fun...but not on a VX scale. At the price though, and given that you're considering a Smart, might be worth looking at.

[jules_s]

Seriously now anybody driven a brabus (sp) coupé?

[jules_s]

been looking today TT..... may well take a test drive over the weekend

Attached Files

•  debsmartcar.JPG   51.53KB   0 downloads

[TurboTomato]

Aye, that's the one I like Prefer it in Roadster shape though Have crossed it off my list though because a) they depreciate almost as badly as a VXT b ) from what I read they leak probably as much if not more than my car c) they took the p*ss and offered me £13k for my car Let me know what you think

[jules_s]

will do mate....hopefully their forum may help

>click<

we saw an 04 plater today for 14k...no details, although i really liked the interior

its for the missus BTW...as a first car

[jules_s]

went back today to book a test drive of the brabus and the standard 80bhp model.... some comments * semi automatic sequential box looks 'interesting' looking forward to trying it, although i hear they are somewhat slow to change up/down * boot spaces front and back look well small * very comfy compared to the vx *roof seems to work well * good sales punt from the sales man...very happy for me to take either out for 20 mins each (or longer) with the missus More comments to follow on thursday then

[CupidKnewRap]

Seriously now 

anybody driven a brabus (sp) coupé?

On the one I tried I couldn't spot any difference between it and the normal roadster barring the 'styling kit'.


but I didn't drive them back to back and I own a similar type of (but much more rewarding )car . If you want a small, basic and fun car then (IMO) the VX takes some beating.


But you already know that. The TVR was a least an understandable desire

Edited by CupidKnewRap, 31 August 2005 - 06:20 AM.

[Dave]

Word of warning if you are thinking of buying a Smart Roadster. A mate popped round last night with his 53 plate roadster. It was a mess he hadn't cleaned it ever So out came the bucket and I gave it a good clean. What I did find was this... The bonnet chips badley (worse than the VX). The paint work appears to scratch very easily. Both doors have quite a pronounced crease (by design) in them which is just where someone will open their door on your car. Hence chipped all along both doors. Front wheels have discs - brake dust and corrosion is a problem on the alloys. Rear wheels have drums - so no problem. Wheel arches protrude a lot and signs again of doors opening on them. He said services were very expensive (Merc prices) In summary a nice looking car but it will look very tired very quickly and it will cost you. Dave

[lusovx]

Drove one rent Roadster on good roads on Mallorca, nice and tiwisty mountain roads as well as highway driving. Looks good (albeit in a fisher-price way) and you sit low. The chassis is also good but the gear change times are truly awfull as is the steering feel, wich, for me, kills it's chances for being a top ranking driver's car. Has a semi-automatic gearbox but doesn't electronically blip the throthle on downchanges. Aproaching corners fast and braking harder the downchange unsettled the car a little. As I'm used to heel'n'toe and like to drive smoothly it made me look clumsy wich I didn't like. The VX is in another galaxy, not really worth comparing the two IMO. It's also underpowered but I drove the 80 BHP one. Got back home, hopped into my Cooper S and discover what makes a good driver's car good again I'm sure it has it's charms though if you don't mind some of it's inconvenients...

[jules_s]

Well, I did it...test drove the 80bhp roadster and brabus back to back. conclusion? couldnt tell much difference between the two...certainly not enough to justify the price difference (apart from the kit obviously) to:- acceleration* handling* roof action* Gizmos* and unfortunately..... * all of the above are blown out of the water by that fcuking gearbox I must confess the salesman made it look infinitely better than i could in 30 mins....but even so the lack of 'control' whilst minipulating the gears is truefully woeful. Brakes aint too sharp either, although felt ok until i got back in the vx. in conclusion? the missus loved it, although she was making excuses that it would be ideal if she is crap at manual gearchanges may well get her a test drive when she passes her driving test

[simstim]

OK, wife is stuck at the airport with a four four. It beeps when you put it in A. Any ideas?

[jules_s]

OK, wife is stuck at the airport with a four four. It beeps when you put it in A. Any ideas?

Only thought is that you have to depress the foot brake before putting it into any 'drive' position

[simstim]

Cured. Hire car company told her to close the door. *ahem*

[jules_s]

[super fandango]

It doesn't need to be stupidly fast to be an enjoyable car - just look at an MX5 or the orginal Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9... I hired one on holiday on my visit to Modena, Sant Agata and Imola (a few memories attached) this year and granted it wasn't as quick or as much fun as my VXT, it certainly left a lasting impression: It was fun not quick, handled well, was very economical and had far less rattles then the VX. If you are looking for something cheaper than the VX, then you'll end up dissapointed because its fundamentals are similar but its dynamics are outclassed - you'd be better off with a really decent hot hatch, say a Leon Cupra R then get it chipped. I'll try and attach an in car video of a run up & down the mountain on the outskirts of Modena. Excuse the quality - my girlfriend was using a £70 digi camera from Lidls. If you listen hard enough, you can just about hear the wastegate - reminiscent of standing on a cold, wet mountain in mid-Wales (Rheola if anyone knows it) waiting for Hannu Mikola to come around the next bend at full chatter in a Group B Quattro Sport... spine tingling!! 'just tried attaching it but 32MB is pushing it a bit'..

[jules_s]

after quite a bit of experimenting i got some wastegate noise.... more like a five year old blowing their nose, as opposed to a scooby veeerrrrrmmm tishhhhh

[Crusoe]

20mb download of mine on video here, brabus one makes a much better noise than the standard one. gearbox isn't such an issue once you get used to it and it's great fro sitting in traffic which is an all to common occurance. Not that quick but fun and grips better than the vx on standard skinny rubber.

http://rapidshare.de...s_Clip.avi.html

[walkes]

I would need to pimp out my A-hole to R1CHY in order to afford the VX!!!

Now why would he start paying

Ps they a 3-cylinder are they not?

Brabus is two engines joined together

Edited by walkes, 02 September 2005 - 09:48 AM.

[Pidgeon]

Read the write up of the Brabus limited edition last night. Conclusion was - these cars are a joke. If you buy a Brabus you need a psychiatrist. It is MR2 money, which is a proper sports car, with proper engine and gearbox, which does not have cliff like depreciation.