Brabus ForFour & Colt CZT test drive

[RallyeBaz]

After only researching these cars for the last 3 days and reading the EVO long term test with the Brabus, I had it in my head that the Brabus has a floor with the sound proofing and build quality.

Got to the Mercedes garage after lunch and they brought the Brabus round. I must say that if I bought one it would have to be black, although in front of me the silver ex demo looked awesome with the monoblock wheels.

Had a quick look round it and the rear wheels had slight kerbing. Sat inside and loved the driving position which seems lower below the steering wheel compared to the Lupo.

Must admit the interior looked classy although strange one of the dials on the dash is for engine temperature when it would have been cool having a turbo boost gauge.

Drove off on my own and the sales person said I could have it for 3 hours. Straight away the design of the front seats annoyed me and they seem to dig in your back instead of cupping your sides.

Headed towards the A47 and planted the gas pedal. Wow the accelaration from the turbo was awesome and surprised with the level of grip and ride quality from the 17 inch wheels.

Got the Brabus upto motorway speeds border="0" class="linked-image" /> border="0" alt="" />

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[Adam K]

one thing that really annoys me is that most normal garages do not cater for enthusiastic drivers.

i test drove a clio 172 now long ago and it was basically a drive round the block and a little section of dual carriageway. whenever i did give it some stick you could see the salesman looking seriously unhappy about it.

[Lupo-Sinead]

The Colt and the Brabus ForFour are practically the same car - I have owned the ForFour ( and 3 other smart models since 2002 ) and its a Colt engine and very similar interior too.

The Brabus wins any day over the CZT though.............Black is a must in a Brabus style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Are you thinking of buying a brand new one? Personally I wouldnt buy a new Brabus because of the money lost in the 1st year. And with them stopping production of the ForFour too now ( along with the Roadster ) many smart owners think they'll either have a future classic or get scared and sell up!

You could get one from an indie with very little miles for around 11k! I could recommend a couple of indie smart garages in Nottingham that I have dealt with in the past if need be style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":shades:" border="0" alt="shades.gif" /> You'd be able to pick up a Black one too no problem............

Have you looked at the space in the back? If you want someone to sit in the back of the car you'd need to push the rear seat back as far as possible , losing valuable boot space. I found it uncomfortable sat in the back and I am only 5ft2

Sinead x

Edited August 20, 2006 by Lupo-Sinead

[moreno510]

i hate unenthusiastic salesmen

i had a test drive in a renaultsport 225 and a golf gti back to back recently and the difference was made even more vast by the attitude of the guys in the car with me

the renault guy just sat there giving one word answers to any questions i had and seemed like i was an unwelcome interruption to his otherwise fabulous day

whereas, the guy from the vw garage was really interested in my lupo gti and kept asking questions about that which made all the difference

[RallyeBaz]

The Brabus wins any day over the CZT though.............Black is a must in a Brabus style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Are you thinking of buying a brand new one?

It does although I am sure tuning parts will be more available for the Colt.

Yep it will be black unless Mercedes Norwich reduce there price by £1500

I have asked the sales person about brand new on the 0.7% APR, as stated in their leaflet found in Auto Express, but they seem to just divert the question like they have made a mistake with the advert.

Annoys me as the ex demo I test drove has 15 months left on the warranty and brand new they are offering 4 years !!!

I car share with 3 other people and thought there was not enough rear leg room, but after working out the clever moving seat gadget it was fine.

Seating wise I could not get comfortable in the back or front being 6ft 2".

[AndyW]

I have asked the sales person about brand new on the 0.7% APR, as stated in their leaflet found in Auto Express, but they seem to just divert the question like they have made a mistake with the advert.

I will ask my mate, I do know that they ran a deal recently in the national press for a lower spec model and had very limited stock. Of course, lots of people were interested but my friend had to turn them away. Cue lots of angry people saying 'I want this deal etc etc'.

I have mentioned the Brabus deal to him before and he didn't say anything about it being limited.

Glad you liked it, it is at least something a bit different if nothing else!

[DJ]

The Colt has LSD's???

I'd go for the Brabus myself, better imager and more likely to be worth something in a few years plus as Crusoe will tell you McMerc customer service is pretty damn good.

[BigMon]

Are those gull wing doors standard? Very flash, but I don't know if you'd get bored of them after a bit.

[Ardent]

Had a look a czt based on the performance figures. Really wanted to like it but just could not. Interior is something from the fisher price parts bin and like a lot of other manufacts they have gone the tall mpv style. I do not expect to have to step down out of it. Also it was out done by a fiesta on fifth gear. The figures said czt should win but the fiesta wooped its ass. Too tall and lollopy.

J my two p

[AndyW]

I have asked the sales person about brand new on the 0.7% APR, as stated in their leaflet found in Auto Express, but they seem to just divert the question like they have made a mistake with the advert.

I asked my friend and so long as they can get the stock (trust me, they have real trouble getting cars) he could do the deal today. The offer isn't limited and although of course the finance manager isn't going to be that excited as they don't make any money on that, it is one more car sold on the run upto the plate change, and my friend is glad of the trade.

If they let you walk without giving you that deal then they are rubbish salesmen!

[RallyeBaz]

Are those gull wing doors standard? Very flash, but I don't know if you'd get bored of them after a bit.

It must have been their own demo car and they have had it converted. As I cannot see them taking it as part ex from customer.

Looks cool until your parked in a multi story carpark and cannot get back in style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

I asked my friend and so long as they can get the stock (trust me, they have real trouble getting cars) he could do the deal today. The offer isn't limited and although of course the finance manager isn't going to be that excited as they don't make any money on that, it is one more car sold on the run upto the plate change, and my friend is glad of the trade.

If they let you walk without giving you that deal then they are rubbish salesmen!

Thanks mate. The sales person rang me today and confirmed they do have some brand new models on the 0.7 APR deal. I asked about what rate they can do for used and there was no bargain rates.

At the moment I am trying to get a higher part ex price for mine and await their response.

Had the Seat garage give me a call and the sales person wants me to test drive the new Ibiza Cupra FR Diesel, which is her company car.

Quote of the day 'The Ibiza FR is dangerously fast in the wrong hands' style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

[Adam K]

no such thing as a cupra fr.

they are 2 separate models.

the FR and the Cupra.

the cupra tdi is awesome though with 160bhp as standard and 200bhp with a remap.

Edited August 23, 2006 by Adam K