[Harmon20]

Been lurking here a while, but as a n00b haven't had anything of worth to add. Till now. Just got [mostly] done with my newest acquisition, a '13 Passion dubbed "The Princess", and wanted to show some folks who might appreciate it.

I really expected more derision from friends and acquaintances about buying this little thing, but so far the reception has surprisingly ranged from slightly impressed "huh, ok" to enthusiastic "I love it, I want one so bad".

I bought it from a girl in her 20's and it was a light blue color at the time, approaching magenta to my deuteranopic eyes. Had a crystal tiara on the back glass. Then I found out with my first fill-up that it only accepts 93 octane, the champagne of hydrocarbonaceous fuels. Thereafter she has been referred to in our family as The Princess.

So far I love it. Surprisingly roomy, handles decent, great mileage, enough power to be nice to drive. When I got it with 106k on the odo it was getting 35mpg with the gaps on the factory original (!) spark plugs worn out to .060", but I changed them out and it jumped up to 44mpg for the next two tanks with manual shifting and a lot of neutral coasting. I absolutely despise the auto trans. I die a little inside every time I wait through a 1.5s-2s shift. The radio/speakers are serviceable, but just, and the tires are hard to find and expensive, and the ride is a little rougher than I expected. Overall, much more good than bad and only a few things I would change if I could.

Got done with paint so now, a few months after purchase, she'll be my daily driver.

Harmon

 

[jwight]

Welcome to SCoA! Spectacular paint job IMHO 👍👍

The transmission takes some adapting to... It's a true 5 speed manual, with a real clutch - just no clutch pedal. All it knows is what you tell it with the gas pedal: press it lightly and slowly and the car will return early shifts and higher mpg. Press it hard and fast and the car knows you want faster acceleration (and lower mpg...) Keep the pedal down and the transmission will shift as fast as it can (still faster than a human foot on a clutch pedal.) Drive it like you stole it, they don't really come alive until about 3,500 rpm.

 

[Harmon20]

... (still faster than a human foot on a clutch pedal.)

I have not found that to be the case at all, not even close. It takes 2-3x longer to shift than I would take.

... they don't really come alive until about 3,500 rpm.

Yeah, that's why I manual shift. I generally wind out to 3500-3900 for gears 1/2/3 and 2900-3300 for 4 and 5 in everyday normal driving. Added a tach for the purpose. It's hard to hear the RPM with the road noise, radio, and the fact the engine and exhaust is all behind me under padding. I've quit trying to run it hard. The shifts are too demoralizing so I've given it up.

 

[OliverB]

There are devices from Smart Madness to improve shift times.

 

[jwight]

Sounds like there may be an issue with either the clutch actuator or the shift motors. We've owned three 451s and all shifted pretty quickly under hard acceleration...

 

[wahi]

Try re-train the tranny...

 

[1983JZR3W]

I really like the color scheme!! Reminds me a little of what our resident veterinarian did to his gasser smart.

 

[jetfuel]

...totally agree with the super moderator....something is not right with your car and not the fleet...we too own 3 451's and even the '08 was a quick shifter...
...the only time mine is slow to shift is when I have to wait for the engine to "un-rev" after it goes past 6500 rpm...

Jetfuel...next