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[cecil]

The time has come for me to look for a first car for my son. I offered two: a 1.1 or a Panda. He said neither as he wants a car with street cred! The preferred option was ferrari or Yaris. I know we are all biased but doesn't this mean Smart has a young persons image problem. Any suggestions?

[Ocracoke]

Eh whaa? The ForFour has plenty of "street cred", more so than a Yaris! Test drive a Yaris and then test drive a 1.1 ForFour, the 3-cylinder engine will win out.

[cecil]

will have to bring him along for the drive.... He is already used to 44s.
I cant believe the comment either but it was repeated by his cousin.

[CrazyG]

Surprised he didn't say he wanted a Corsa....that's a typical
young stud's 'acceptable' mode of 'street' transport.

Thing is....you'll be the one paying/buying whatever he has,
so you set the criteria. Sit him down and ask him does he really
know what 'street cred' is going to cost him ?
And does he want a car for transport, or just for the 'street cred' factor ?
Get him to get insurance quotes for whatever cars he fancies or thinks
has 'street cred', don't offer to pay it. And when he's done that, sit him
down again and talk thru/explain all the other running costs of fuel,
servicing, tyres etc. Then possibly he'll see how much running a
car costs, and why 'street cred' is a pipe dream for anyone except
the rich or those up to their neck in debt.
See what he has to say or think after all that.

[minimayhem]

To put it bluntly, I  would not have had a 454 when I was young.  It doesn't have a great image.

But why? Because others don't think it has a good image.  In reality, they are wicked cars with bags of character and many things that a person wants in a car.  For a young person the 454 would be a brilliant car, but only if they know something about cars.

Characterful engine? Yup
Good handling for its size? Yup
Good sound system? Yup
Lots of adjustable space inside? Yup
Good exterior styling? Yup
Good fuel economy? Yup (but like most young people actually care about this)

[cecil]

Sadly I recon when you say Smart people view it as a 42. The 44 is invisible.
I want to teach son about running costs...and driving. My idea of image does not include corsa. I have discussed the crash protection and ESP. Home maintenance.... Image still wins at the moment

[Brabs]

Hmm, I remember when I bought my 1.1 Passion. At the time I had taken my Citroën Xantia into the local Citroën dealer in Torquay for a job to be done. When I went to pick it up I was a bit early. So, like you do I mooched around looking at the cars. 'My' future forfour was on the forecourt.  I was immediately amazed at the brilliant looks. Anyhow, the salesman came scurrying out and started his 'can I interest you sir' patter. Long story short I went for a test drive and was hooked. He also had a fantastic looking Citroën C2 VTR for sale at a similar price. However, although I loved the looks of that, and still do, when I sat in it the quality wasn't a patch on the forfour. It really seemed cheap. Well, I bought the forfour there and then. That was nearly 11 years ago. I have no regrets. It has been and still is a brilliant little car.
So, street cred... it's a funny one and we can't all like the same thing or have the same priorities I guess. And if you are young then image is important. But it is also important to look beneath the skin so to speak. 11 years ago the forfour was very well engineered and came with good build and levels of kit such as esp, traction control, sliding rear seat etc. The fact that it looks so different is a bonus. All IMO of course! 

[mr singh]

I love the forfour... so much so that i sold my 1.1 for my SB3.

Keep getting asked how old it is and when i say its 13 years old people are shocked and say they thought it was newer... although that is more to do with my private number i have which hides its age well 

[Brabs]

Ha ha. I love the forfour so much that I bought a Brabus one! Couldn't bear to get rid of the 1.1 and they are different beasts. And yes, I too hide the ages with none age related plates and people can't believe a) how long I've had the cars (11 years for the Passion and 8 years for the Brab) and b) that they are both 2005 cars. They have aged well I think. 

[9582djk]

I have always been one for driving what some would call unpopular cars. The Forfour MK1 is a rare site on the roads and when I see another one you become intrigued lol. From the hand car wash to my local ATS I always get asked what is it like and I always say for the money you can't beat it. It's a car that puts a smile on my face more so than my old RCR.

[cecil]

Must admit they are so rare I an wondering if we should start a 'wave at a mark 1'  as a way of indirectly boosting membership of the forum.( and street cred!)
I simply dont want to swap mine.

[Ocracoke]

I try to wave at any Smart. Often times get blanked but I do get the occasional wave back, very, very rare it is a 454 though.

Round my way, the traditional ride of choice tends to be a Corsa or a VW Golf, both of which have a larger driving base and so more "cool" rides (I once saw a Silver Corsa with Kawasaki green wheels) are around. Thing is, I know I don't need to be as loud or as brash as them - the ForFour is utterly striking to look at and with being a more uncommon sight on the road, bonus.

[Problemchild]

tell him he can buy whatever he can afford 

JJ

[cecil]

he mignt be able to buy a shed! Insurance quote for a group 1 car of 2800 puts me off!

[Deszus]

Say to him that 454 can be easily modded by himself and this way will be cooler than anybody else. Show him JJs BRABUS pictures. 

I've payed more insurance for my 454 than for car itself. Bought treated bad 454 so repairs and some mods like Pioneer audio (6 speakers with BT radio), LEDs, etc. are building another stash of spent money on car. So yea, like any other car. Not cheap at all.