Who has an SMT?

[ais]

I've got a SMT, owned for 2 years but not my daily drive (03 plate 39k on the clock).
Thought long and hard before buying knowing the concerns but the car is high spec'ed (TTE everything, aircon, leather etc etc) so had everything I was looking for on it.
I've driven manual mk3 2's and owned a previous mk manual.
I wouldn't be put off buying a SMT, but do it with your eyes open.
I'm a button man myself – the smile gets even bigger
As others have said – what's the alternatives?

[filcee]

I have owned two SMT's on the trot - both from new - and been very happy with them.  In that 12 year period I have had one problem which was sorted under warranty by a local dealer running the "gearbox re-learn procedure".  At least as far as I could work out that's what they did.  Apparently the code reader reported too much clutch slip, and probably resulted from me over-babying the thing when running it in.  At the time of the problem it had about 300 miles on the clock, and I was guilty of trying to take a second gear corner in third gear as a result of me trying to keep the engine revs sensible during the running-in period.  Since then, no other issues, though it has been retired from daily driver duty for about 3 years now.

The major benefit of the SMT is being able to keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road whilst pressing on.  All gear changes can be completed using the wheel buttons.  On downshifts, you can afford to brake a bit later before starting to shift, which can result in higher corner entry speeds.  If you really want to push the bounds of the brakes, it's quite possible to stop from 70mph in less than a hundred yards, allowing the gearbox to downshift through 2nd to 1st for you (the only auto-resembling activity it will undertake on your behalf).

Mechanically, it is the same kit, plus a few pumps hoses and actuators.  The gearbox and clutch, as I understand it, are exactly the same as the manual car.  There is a small weight penalty over the manual, 25kg or so, but I don't think that is hugely noticeable.  Later, post-facelift (post-2003) SMTs also have stability and traction control nannies fitted.  My driving is not good enough to avoid using these, and when thinking back to my '01 SMT, they have been useful on a couple of occasions.  Note that they are fitted, but not intrusive, unlike the ones fitted to my current VAG barge.

The SMT is immense fun to drive.  For the price, there is nothing like it on the road.  Any other mid-engined, "paddle"-shifting motor will be from one of the exotica manufacturers.  I'd say try and get one for an extended test drive - 30 minutes or more - down some twists and then form an opinion if you are unsure what to do.

Best of luck with your search.

[steve b]

I think they actually sound quite appealing for a daily driver or tourer.  Suprised it doesn't act like an auto if you don't do anything, will it for example just bounce off the limiter if you don't bother hitting the button to shift up for example?

[Zonda_]

I believe so,  they are like a motorbike in that respect,  if you don't change up the gearbox can't do it for you.

[filcee]

Yep, it just sits there zinging off the limiter.  Tiff proved this to be the case on an old Fifth Gear.  I've never been tempted to replicate his test though, as you're off the top of the torque and power curves by the time you get up there anyway.

That's the beauty of the SMT - you still have to drive it.  Apart from the downshift to second, then first (on the facelift), or down to first on the older models, you need to decide when and at what speed to make the up and down shifts - and you can only do them in order, no box changes allowed with the SMT.  The electronics will help match engine and road speed on the down shifts which is pretty cool, but you are still responsible for keeping the car in balance at all times, right gear at the right time, braking points, turn in points and so on.  The difference between the SMT and manual is that you feel like you are getting more time to 'fine tune' your driving because you're not having to do the revs/speed thing yourself (not that I ever could).  You are still horribly punished if you get it wrong - losing momentum through and exiting the corners so having to work harder to regain that on the next straight bit and through the next corner, or having the tail step out a bit if you allow the weight to pitch too far in a corner or when changing direction (yes, even with the electronics on the facelift this will happen - up to a point).  

It's a great car, and only loses out on the 0-60 times, in my opinion, because Toyota realised that it would need to go 10k miles between services even if being ragged to within an inch of its life at every set of lights. In my view, it was built to that requirement, by doing things like turning down the clutch engage/disengage speeds and gear shift speeds to allow the 'box time to get that part done properly before the power arrives again, and also allowing the ECU to close the throttle slightly to reduce the revs if you keep your foot in during the gear changes.  There are things you can do to 'help' it along a bit - like a little lift during the gear shifts just as you would when putting the clutch in with a manual 'box (free, and easy to learn), up to making modifications to the throttle body to remove the inertia from the components in there (costs money and you need to do it yourself).  I'm sure Toyota could have built a 'box and shifting mechanism that would have produced a better 0-60 than the manual by removing much or all of the lag introduced by the pink fleshy part of the drivetrain but achieving this would required a very high level of engineering, and building to some tight tolerances.  Ultimately this would lead to shorter service intervals, and higher costs for buying and running - in turn moving the car out of the sector it was aimed at (MX-5s et al), and into more exotic territory (Porsche et al) where it would have been a much harder sell.

[steve b]

Will have to give one a go, do sound interesting  :-) :-) :-)

[mr-ed_smt]

Do it. If you're prepared to learn to get the best from it, its a VERY good system. Don't try and drive it like a regular torque-conv/DSG/slushmatic etc - you need to keep your manual mindset. Treat the throttle the same way you would in a manual, lift off for changes, feed the power back into the next gear etc.

I've owned mine for nearly 4 years now, and done 50k miles in it. Its by far the most involving, driver-focused 2 pedal car I have driven. Mine does this 2 or 3 times a year too...

 m http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pL4rFK- ... ata_player m
 m http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL4emfuC ... ata_player m

Let us know how you get on!

[dreambackup]

10 years ago I bought mine... 110K miles later, running good, had the SMT ECU replaced in 2004 because it wouldn't disengage the clutch to shift (quickest gear changes you can imagine, some weird noises and stalling involved though). I'm about to do the TB mod (not the earliest adopter, I know) and still dream about finding a cheap second hand turbo kit / engine...
So happy I found out how to disconnect VSC & TRC "on demand" I hardly have them on anymore...
I still can't figure what alternative there is to this little car and wonder what I'll buy next...

[Horatio]

I have only recently bought an SMT. I think it's brilliant!
The only thing I have noticed is that you are forced to use the central gear selector for 2nd gear when pulling off and turning.
The upshift buttons are never under you fingers when you need them.
One small detail in a fantastic car!

[2003bluecat]

I have only recently bought an SMT. I think it's brilliant!
The only thing I have noticed is that you are forced to use the central gear selector for 2nd gear when pulling off and turning.
The upshift buttons are never under you fingers when you need them.
One small detail in a fantastic car!

You'll soon get used to some odd hand positions when holding the steering wheel so you can change when turning   s:roll: :roll: s:roll:  It does take a bit of practice.

[mrzwei]

Yeah, it's only at the very extremes of the lock that you have to get creative.
A slightly smaller steering wheel would have sorted it.