This 6’9″ rural suburban car guy bought a Smart ForTwo 453 cabrio- and when he bought it he realized there wasn’t a lot of great reviews of owners.
Let me talk about what I love- and what I don’t love- about owning and driving the smart cabrio! I also share the specific mods I did. Sure its a few less mods than some of my other vehicles, but there’s definitely a couple cheap must to mods to this car!
So enjoy the review, enjoy the smart, and if you are interested in any of the same mods I did, check them out here:
NOTE: No company incentivized me or paid me to recommend their products or to choose these products. I chose each of these on my own accord because I believed they were the best product at the best price to fulfill my needs. HOWEVER, some companies such as amazon do offer referral commissions if you purchase from those links. While that commission did not impact any of my modification decisions, I do want to fully disclose this. Other pages, such as Ebay do NOT offer commissions and links are offered as a convenience to my visitors!
There’s lots of discussions around the best towing and hauling setups, and as someone who is both a professional in the auto industry and a heavy towing and hauling user, I wanted to sharing my setup for towing and hauling with my 2017 Ford F-150.
In the video I do say I max out towing and hauling. While I get right near max payload for hauling, TECHNICALLY you can get heavier in the trailer. However, with kids in the car, and keeping approx 10% trailer weight on the tow hitch, I hit max payload when pulling a trailer as well.
Setup is on a 2017 F-150 Max tow Lariat with 3.5L Eco Boost.
Andersen Hitch: https://amzn.to/3kea2NH . I bought the 8” drop because I had a lifted F250 at the time, but it is not needed on my F150. Its worth noting too that my hitch is way older than my truck.
There weren’t a lot of great reviews or mod lists out there for the P500 when I was shopping, so after I’ve owned mine for a year, I wanted to make sure I gave a great rundown. In addition, I’ve had a hard time tracking down a lot of the info online.
I’m 6’9″, Offroad, use for farm use, transport people, and participate in parades. The P500 is great for all those uses, and at a wonderful price as well. The compact size creates few limitations, but really opens the door to do things that you can’t do in other UTVs- like attack 50″ ATV trails and haul it in the back of a regular pickup truck. Let me show you all of these!
While its great out of the package, there’s also some key mods that are relatively cheap but have a HUGE impact, from increasing storage to protecting you from the elements.
Details on the modifications discussed in this video are available here:
Front Light Bar: Cannot find version I bought with wireless multi-color lights. This is the same but without the remote and light control: https://amzn.to/3DVkwLq
Underbody Lights: Unfortunately, I had these rope lights from more than 10 yrs ago. I’d buy this today, as this is the one I used on my RV: https://amzn.to/45m0rK3
Reverse Mod: Reverse requires pulling the reverse “Switch” and shifting in reverse. You can eliminate the need to pull the reverse “switch” by extending the reverse lock adjustment cable under the hood to its tightest setting. It does not impact any other driving components. No purchases required!
Emergency Kit Items:
My recommendation for emergency kit is to go jump on Temu and add a bunch of small things you will need including some of the following, then get the other items you need at amazon, walmart, or a dealership. Here’s most of my emergency kit:
1- Tool Kit (Pliers, wrenches, screw drivers) (Bought at Menards)
2- Tire repair Kit (Bought at Menards)
3- Tire Plug (Bought at Menards)
4- Coolant (Dealership)
5- Hose Clamps (Bought at Menards, also on Temu)
6- Zip Ties (Bought at Menards)
7- Gloves (Bought at Menards)
8- Towels (Bought at Menards)
9- Fuses (Temu)
10- Spare wire (Multiple gauges) (Found around house)
11- spare ratchet straps (Bought at Menards)
12- twine (Bought at Menards)
13- Spare Valve Stems (Temu)
14- Spare spark plug – https://amzn.to/3qkdmNY
15- Coolant stopleak tabs- https://amzn.to/3QzWYng
16- spare oil (Dealership)
17- JB Weld- https://amzn.to/3QAn0GO
18- First Aid Kit (Bought at Walmart)
19- Tourniquet (Temu)
20- Electrical Tape (Had laying around, also on Temu)
21- Safety Vest (Came with jumper cables, also on Temu)
22- Jumper Cables (Bought at Menards)
23- Shovel- https://amzn.to/45m0yoR
24- Tow Strap- https://amzn.to/45mPJmz
25- Air Compressor- Older version of https://amzn.to/3KAC1EB
26- Flashlight (Had one laying around, also on Temu)
27- Spare batteries for Winch remote (Ebay)
28- Poncho (Had one laying around, also on Temu)
29- Tire Slime – https://amzn.to/3DSx2vy
30- Self Sealing Hose Wrap – Bought on Temu, but like this: https://amzn.to/445hA9X
NOTE: No company incentivized me or paid me to recommend their products or to choose these products. I chose each of these on my own accord because I believed they were the best product at the best price to fulfill my needs. HOWEVER, some companies such as amazon do offer referral commissions if you purchase from those links. While that commission did not impact any of my modification decisions, I do want to fully disclose this. Other pages, such as EMP do NOT offer commissions and links are offered as a convenience to my visitors!