More info on the 2016 Smart ForTwo is now available!

[Francesco 71]

Saw it today at West Island. I asked for a test drive "on the sly" as I knew it wasn't officially available yet, but got turned down by the GM himself for liability reasons: it is not yet certified by TC so cannot be driven on public roadways. I must say it looks much better in person than 2D photographs convey, but there's no hiding that gaping maw and the schnozz above it.

Also I asked the service manager about the GLA, and he corroborated what my neighbour had told me about the window tints and ride height. He could not tell me what MB's fix was that satisfied TC.

[Huronlad 186]

It would be very interesting to find out what TC's issue with the car is.

[Francesco 71]

I know they are performing "recall work" and "bulletin jobs" on the un-certified 453 they have, but I wasn't told if these were some of the issues holding up certification.

[dmoonen 54]

Recalls before they hit the ground, that's wonderful.

[MikeT 744]

I guess the GLA had to be jacked up?

[Francesco 71]

Five millimetres.

[darren 192]

The GLA was too LOW?

[Francesco 71]

Yeah

[MikeT 744]

New springs or Canadian Tire spacer blocks? LOL

[Francesco 71]

A one-eighth turn of the torsion bars? Hehehe

[MikeT 744]

With helically wound torsion bars, eh, that might have proven difficult!

[Francesco 71]

I could only get away with it once on my Alfa...

[darren 192]

If the GLA was too low, how did they get away with the AMG version? I just saw one at M-B Oakville, and that sucker was way lower than a standard GLA, and looked way better as a result.

[darren 192]

They also had a 453 passion on the lot at Oakville. I have to say, it looks WAY better in person than it does in photos.

A couple of little details I noticed: The hatch glass has a nice little rubber finger lift handle on it, with what looked like a little button, which I'll assume is the glass release button. And the centre-out sweep on the wipers is no more! The 453 now has conventional side-to-side radial wipers.

[darren 192]

[darren 192]

Does anyone else find it odd that vehicles not certified by Transport Canada are at dealerships? Wouldn't they normally be held at the port?

[MikeT 744]

Nosebear!

[Francesco 71]

The main dealerships (Midtown, West Island) do a lot of the work to get the initial cars in compliance. The bulletins are then sent to the rest of the shops to get their initial cars to comply. Otherwise there would be a long gap before all the dealerships could get cars they can PDI and allow to be driven by customers.

[brd 35]

Does anyone else find it odd that vehicles not certified by Transport Canada are at dealerships? Wouldn't they normally be held at the port?

The very first smart I saw in Canada was a silver 450 Brabus cabrio that was on display inside a Bell Mobility store in Cloverdale Shopping Mall in Etobicoke (west Toronto). This was about a year before they started selling the 450 cdi in Canada. The staff in the store got use to telling passerby's that the car was not for sale anywhere. No idea how they got this smart through Transport Canada.

[MikeT 744]

I drove two European model 450s here on Vancouver Island back in 2002. Three Point Motors allowed customers to take a drive, which was not legal under the rules, but it was GREAT marketing.

[Huronlad 186]

The first 453 listed on Auto Trader in Canada.

[MikeT 744]

Crows that's expensive for a relatively basic passion, compared to the 451. I imagine a prime cabriolet will be nudging $30K.

[Francesco 71]

That's interesting, considering as of yesterday at 3 pm it hadn't been certified by TC. Looks like Peterborough rolled it off the hauler and took pictures, then got it up on Auto Trader ASAP to generate leads. I doubt you can buy that one and drive it away this afternoon.

[MikeT 744]

The "launch" of the 453 in Canada has been worthy of Lada so far. Will it get any better?

[dmoonen 54]

A business model that relies on finical failure isn't logical but smart keeps digging into Daimlers piggy bank generation after generation failing to make a profit. Honestly lets have fingers crossed that the 453 makes a profit as how the axe hasn't dropped I'm not sure.