ASKMID and the case of the invisible Pulse CDi

[Mrotwoman]

Respect

[rich.]

what made you buy a new car? is it brand new? i see an 11 plate.

[JPB]

I've wanted a Smart For2 for as long as I can remember, so I got one.
That, and the fact that I'm no longer able to work on the Dolomite as well as covering an average 500 miles in the week in it, so by getting the new car, I'm giving myself the time to continue with preserving the old one properly as even a routine service takes me a few days now and a few days off the road is a few days when I have to work from home, which is boring compared to showing my face in college, mucking about with tech and being paid for it.
Yes Rich, it is new. As I plan to keep it a long time, I thought it best to start with a fresh one as that way, I can run it in properly and will know that it hasn't been abused at the hands of some uncaring person with no mechanical sympathy. So the theory goes.

But what of MID? Can anyone tell me why they have that rather strange description where there should be a make and model? That's really what I'd like to know.
Other owners of Smart for2s report that their cars have either Smart or MCC on the database, so why have they got mine wrong? DVLA have the make correct, even though they claim the date of first registration is a good week after I took delivery, so wtf is up with askmid and why do they say that my unmodified (yet ) car is a

UNSPECIFIED GROUP 1 MODIFIED VEHICLE

[mach1rob]

Any entry such as colour etc is down to the dealer when he registers the vehicle for first use, they are responsible for filling it out correctly with vehicle details. I'd ask the dealer you bought it from why it's coming up as such on MID, and why you're being pulled by plod for driving a vehicle that's a different colour to the database, and seeing as you've just spent a vast sum of cash with them, you expect them to sort it out asap and FOC, as no doubt the nice people at the DVLA would charge for any changes made.

I've delivered a few in my time, and for a city car they're not bad, and I feel closer to the whole Mini ideology than the bloated imposter Bini

[karlsgazelle]

Also, if the engine fails, they give you a spare one that lives under the boot floor.

John, I know I'm a bit slow, but can you explain that? Is it some kind of hybrid drive?


Thanks
Karl

[JPB]

Any entry such as colour etc is down to the dealer when he registers the vehicle for first use, they are responsible for filling it out correctly with vehicle details. I'd ask the dealer you bought it from why it's coming up as such on MID, and why you're being pulled by plod for driving a vehicle that's a different colour to the database, and seeing as you've just spent a vast sum of cash with them, you expect them to sort it out asap and FOC, as no doubt the nice people at the DVLA would charge for any changes made.

The colour thing is actually correct and the police are supposed to be aware of the fact that all Smart for2s are either black or silver on their V5s, the colour of the frame being the thing that dictates that, rather than the colour of the GRP panelwork, but some cops aren't yet aware of this, so that's ok as far as it goes, though why the MID has it down as it does, well that's just weird seeing as I have an insurance document that states quite clearly what it is.

I've delivered a few in my time, and for a city car they're not bad, and I feel closer to the whole Mini ideology than the bloated imposter Bini

Surprisingly good on the open road too, thanks to a low-revving little Diesel engine that pulls like a train from pretty much any speed and doesn't half fly when the turbo comes along to join the party. The (5-speed) transmission is much improved since the older 6-speed one used in pre-2008 models and works well with that amazing, biscuit tin-sized engine though perhaps strangely, it's at its most efficient in fully automatic mode and the car knows better than I when it's time to change gear. The paddle shift is almost as good as the manual option on Dad's (DSG) Jetta but the auto mode is very smooth yet responsive.

I agree entirely about the car's closeness to the original mini concept, though somehow it manages to fell larger than the 8ft 8" in length it actually is. One of the reasons I was so keen to have one was that - like the real mini - Smart for two was a clean sheet design which owed practically nothing to anything else that could be bought when it first appeared in 1998. It was every bit as eccentric then as the mini had been back in '59, the Beetle had been some years before that and I'd even go so far as to say that it's almost as barking as a 2cv, but in a good way.

....John, I know I'm a bit slow, but can you explain that? Is it some kind of hybrid drive?


Thanks
Karl

My feeble attempt to recycle an old joke. The engine lives in the back, under the boot floor, similar in its location to the VW "suitcase" engine in Type 3s, but more "lunchbox" sized.

[mach1rob]

....John, I know I'm a bit slow, but can you explain that? Is it some kind of hybrid drive?


Thanks
Karl

My feeble attempt to recycle an old joke. The engine lives in the back, under the boot floor, similar in its location to the VW "suitcase" engine in Type 3s, but more "lunchbox" sized.

You mean they have a spare elastic band in the boot!

[rich.]

did they make one with a supercharged petrol engine?.. if one day you decide to go for something bigger the citroen c1 is just like the old mini, i used one as a taxi....

[JPB]

There's a turbo on the 84bhp version of the Mitsubishi petrol engine in Smarts, but to be frank; the little Mercedes Diesel makes more torque at crankspeeds where it can be used and cruises happily at the m-way limit with only 2,600rpm showing on the rev counter. According to the experienced owners on the Smart fora**, the Diesel lasts and lasts and improves with use in the manner of most of the MB Diesels, even the ones that, like this, appear to have escaped from boats. (**I joined three and gave up at that as there are loads of them ).
I'm more into the idea that the 799cc Diesel will last longer, doesn't notice any but the very steepest hills and can - thanks to a very well set up turbocharger - squirt the car past slower-moving traffic in a way that you normally expect to find only with much larger engines. Lots of miles per gallon are nice too. Yeah, I've become a bit tight in my

middle age

.

I don't doubt that the little Citroens/Peugeots/Toyota Aygos are a decent car if you can drive the manual version, but the (auto) one I tried was far too cramped for me and I found the two-pedal version of that car woefully sluggish. The Fortwo is one of very few cars in which I need to move the driver's seat forwards before I can reach the pedals safely and there's loads of space for my large backside too.

[rich.]

now the main question, is it a classic?