The Smart Roadster is flawed, but loveable. What should be the future be?

Driving to work I saw three Smart Roadsters (one coupe, two targas since you ask). This either means that more people are buying them second-hand, or there's two more weeks of winter. I can't remember which.

They are, in essence, a pretty good proposition. Small two seater, not as ridiculous as the original Smart car, but practical with a dash of fun. I thought to myself 'That could be a fun little tool, as well as cheap to run.' Prices on Pistonheads were anything from £6k-£10k.

How?

A car that is mostly plastic with one of the worst gearbox shift systems since a shopper bicycle was dragged from a canal and the Sturmey Archer on the back was knackered. How do these hold their value? They're not common cars for sure, plus they have a certain style, but £6k is a nice MX-5 and I know which I'd rather have.

I have this nagging feeling, though, that somehow they've got the right formula. There's no reason for cheap cars to be nasty, as the venerable Ford KA shows. It's got style, a bit of personality, interesting plastics and packaging, and it's carried off both cheaper and posher variants comfortably. Inside there aren't 27 airbags, 5.1 surround sound or Emotional Control Units, but that's a good thing. Even getting into one and seeing exposed metal is acceptable, even interesting. It's the antidote to plastic cladding, faux luxury, and a desire to hide the mechanical nature of a car from it's occupants.

What amazed me the first time I got behind the wheel of an MX-5 was that feeling of being connected, being part of the driving experience. Everything Vauxhall, Skoda and Ford had tried to isolate me from was suddenly writ large, but without the massive power which would have had me rear first in a ditch.

I would love to see Ford or Nissan or any other big car company produce a cheap, light, simple, fun two seater. Don't target it at the Tigra market, but at the KAs and Lupos of the world. Make the design interesting and quirky but maintain volumes for economies of scale, and push the reduced running costs and environmental benefits of the design. And don't sell them through Merc dealers... On top of that, have a hard top for lower insurance, but engineer in a soft top from the get go. Keep the power in the 80-100bhp range, and choose tyres to keep the handling on the safe side. Oh, and drop the naff gearbox. Simple, remember?

I'm willing to bet that people would buy them in droves because who doesn't want a fun little two seater? The rear seats in my car have been used four times in the last year, and the boot filled twice. For the rest of the year I've been dragging around extra weight, and using more fuel as a result.

Look at the MX-5, look at the KA. Keep it fun, keep it funky, keep it simple. It works. So what's stopping me?

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