I find the key action and the carriage return of the Brother De Luxe ultra-portables not bad, but not great either. Words like smooth, snappy, precise or fast do not apply to the machine. On a side note, it is my experience that the type alignment is not good. I have had 4 Brother De Luxe's, all of them had alignment issues. Despite the above, I like my one remaining De Luxe because of its reliability, ease of maintenance and looks. Highly recommended as travel typewriter or just for fun.