Supermini Shootout: smart fortwo BRABUS Cabriolet

We're no strangers to the smart car. Our resident American reporter, James, posted our first look at the smart fortwo coupé way back in 2009 before Adnan gave it a thorough looking at through a pair of Ray-Ban shades at the end of last year.

There were instant issues thrown up with the smart; its lack of room (obviously), a jarring ride (thanks to an incredibly short wheelbase) and a dodgy gearbox (shifts are 'Ice Age' long). And one rather large further issue with the smart BRABUS Tailor Made; it's hefty price tag. "It's not about the money, money, money" according to Jessie J, but for what you're getting with these smarts, it really is.

So have smart taken onboard any of our criticisms and addressed them with the 2012 smart BRABUS Cabriolet?

In a word, no. Although the BRABUS we drove was an "Xclusive" model - therefore loaded up with crystal white paint, black leather interior and "Monoblock VII" alloys - for starters it still costs £17,930. Wow. In return what you are getting is a pretty exclusive (see what I did there) model which won't be seen regularly on British roads. But maybe there's a good reason for its rarity.

Has the jarring ride issue been addressed? Well unless Mercedes-Benz decided to completely re-engineer the car then this would have been difficult to achieve anyway as the car measures in with a 1,867mm wheelbase and is only 2.7 metres long anyway. Even on the admittedly bumpy Hill Circuit at Millbrook, the car rode like its coils were made out of bricks.

And then there's the engine feat. gearbox. No that's not the name of a new dubstep duo. The BRABUS has a 3-cylinder turbocharged engine which cranks out 102bhp at 6,000rpm. On its own, it's actually got some quite decent pull which is helped by the smart's low kerb weight at 820kg. With the exhaust note springing from just behind your head via two chrome sports exhaust pipes, the whole aural affair is actually rather pleasing.

However mate this up to smart's automated manual 5-speed transmission and you'll see that the final coup de grâce is a headache-inducing overall driving experience. Whilst Mercedes-Benz are keen to point out that shift times have been improved, in reality switching up and down gears is still a ludicrously slow affair. You can try the mounted wheel paddles and that still won't fix the issue. What needs to happen is for Merc to just, please, give us a manual.

The smart BRABUS' saving grace, well at least for the car we tested for half an hour, was the fact that it was a convertible cabriolet. Given that our SMMT day at Millbrook saw soaring temperatures, it gave us a chance to top up the tan and experience the aural sensation. It's also fairly quirky and if purchased, will induce some head turning.

But if you're thinking about buying this car, the overall verdict is that you may have more money than sense.

Car Throttle Cool Factor: 3/10