- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
1.5i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
80kW, 145Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 6.2L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Smart ForFour 1.5 Pulse
It only takes a glance at the latest offering from Smart to realise that this is not a company that's into building conventional cars. The stumpy, two-seater ForTwo seems almost as tall as it is long, and then there's the microscopic Roadster, with its supercar styling scaled down to the point where it seems more at home on a Scalectrix track than public roads. Both are clad in plastic panels, powered by tiny three-cylinder engines and provide European urban chic, if not a great deal of practicality and performance.
At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking the new ForFour is from the same mould. Nothing else looks like it: from the pointed, plastic snout to the chunky door handles and tail lights reversed out of black surrounds, it seems every inch a Smart, and not unattractive into the bargain.
But despite the toy-box styling, this is indeed a serious Smart. For the first time there are four doors, the capacity to carry more than two passengers and an engine big enough to deliver decent performance. It has a more conventional mechanical layout of a front engine and front drive instead of the rear engine, rear drive of its smaller siblings. There's even a normal manual gearbox instead of a somewhat awkward sequential semi-automatic.
Prices start at $23,900 for the 1.3-litre version, which is at the upper end of the scale for a car this size. Opt for the bigger 1.5-litre engine and that goes up to $25,900, but it does come with a fair swag of equipment, including air-conditioning, power front windows and a multi-function steering wheel linked to a comprehensive trip computer. There's also an electronic stability system, that can help control a slide by individually braking wheels, which is an impressive addition at this end of the market.
Strangely enough, there's no power adjustment for the wing mirrors, but they are easy to reach because of the car's size.
The 1.5-litre ForFour is a lively unit, thanks to the 80 kW of power delivered by the engine and the low 975 kg weight of the car made possible by the extensive use of plastic panels. With a five-speed manual gearbox, crisp clutch and ample pulling power from low in the rev range, it accelerates strongly from standstill and also has plenty in reserve for overtaking in higher gears. Fuel consumption is also low - less than 10 L/100 km is easily achievable - but that's offset somewhat by the need to use more expensive premium unleaded fuel.
Noise levels are high thanks to what seems like a lack of sound-deadening materials, so the raucous note of the engine is intrusive, as is the roar of tyres on bitumen. While it isn't so noticeable at lower speeds around town, out on the highway the combination turns into quite a racket.
A "sports" package is available for an added $2620. It adds 16-inch wheels and wider tyres, a three-spoke steering wheel on the base model, and, more importantly, stiffer suspension.
There's no doubt the suspension changes improve handling - with less body and more grip than the standard ForFour, which isn't exactly ungainly in any case. The torsion-beam rear axle is not a high-tech solution, and in tight corners can be felt having its own steering effect.
On the whole, this is an agile handler and would be quite a bit of fun - if the electric power steering wasn't over-assisted, lacking in feedback and totally at odds with the lively attitude of the rest of the car. The other shortcoming in the Smart's dynamic package is the lack of ride comfort, exacerbated by the stiffer suspension, and its lack of travel. There's plenty of harshness over smaller bumps and enough vertical movement over larger ones to have the lightweight ForFour thrown off-line like a leaf in the breeze.
Most of this is easy to forget, thanks to the charm of the interior which, like the wacky exterior styling, is in a class of its own. Pod-like instruments sprout from the Smart's fabric-covered dash, there is plenty of storage for smaller items and the overall effect is an attractive blend of colour and utility. Ergonomic glitches such as the speedo needle too thick to accurately delineate exact velocities, and a stereo display that's impossible to read in bright sunlight perhaps point to a Euro-centric design.
As its name suggests, this is a car for four people and they will find themselves quite well accommodated. There's no doubting the ForFour is aimed at buyers looking for style as much as anything, and it delivers that in spades. But there's substance as well, with sparkling performance, entertaining handling and a practical interior.