Smart FORFOUR
Does Owning A Functional Supermini Really Have To Be A Boring, Soulless Experience? June Neary Thinks Not And Cites smarts forfour as proof.
Good things come in
smart packages or at least in this case they do. smarts forfour is, in my view, the most refreshing thing to hit the Supermini market in years. OK, so its a
Mitsubishi Colt in drag but what drag. It looks avant garde, cute and futuristic all in one package.
I loved it.
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Theres comfortable room for four adults, though travelling five-up might be asking a bit too much on a long journey. But then when did you last see a supermini with five adults in it? In fact, have you ever seen a supermini with five adults in it? Point proved then. The dashboard isnt what owners trading up from the wacky little fortwo will expect, offering a far more conventional basic layout with a centre console, but
smart have livened it up with some jolly colours and auxiliary instrument binnacles so that existing owners will find it acceptable. Six airbags, anti lock brakes and electronic stability control are offered and smart designed the car confident of a strong four-star Euro-NCAP crash test showing.
All right, so the forfour isnt the best handling supermini in its class but then Im struggling to think of a modern supermini that excels in this respect. Buyers get a choice of a Japanese-manufactured 74bhp (and 60bhp) three-cylinder 1.1-litre engine, a four-cylinder 95bhp 1.3-litre unit and a 107bhp 1.
5-litre powerplant. Completing the line up is a German built 1.5-litre dci turbodiesel in two states of tune 68 or 95bhp (the first diesel engine weve seen in any smart). The petrol engines are both well worth having and both feel pretty brisk although the 1.
5-litre unit sounds a whole lot sweeter when extended over a long motorway journey. I found the 1.1-litre cars manic warble was fun in small doses but the 1.3-litre version seemed a bit noisy.
I was glad to find that a standard five-speed manual transmission featured instead of smarts unloved sequential gearbox, although a six-speed semi automatic is offered as an option. The latter is a good deal more advanced than Smart semi automatics of old, reducing that lurch and nod effect when it swaps cogs. The reason for this is that the software has been thoroughly improved and twin cones are used within the gearbox to prime the next ratio for a quick selection. When parking in tight supermarkets, I found that all round vision was somewhat impaired by massively chunky windscreen pillars and I felt perched rather high in the drivers
seat.
Oh and my notes remind me that the brakes are effective although the pedal action is surprisingly sharp. Look closely and youll find that what looks like a typical smart TRIDION safety cell is in fact a series of conventional painted panels with plastic cladding fleshing out the look. Of course, there will be those who see the plastic cladding as a superficial styling extravagance. I just felt that this car represented a great balance between funky urban style and all-round practicality.
Youll pay a slight premium for a forfour, not only over cars like the Colt but some other comparable Superminis. However, I think this worthwhile in view of the extra driveway presence offered by the forfour. Smart pricing starts at around £7,295 for the rather stripped out introductory 1.1-litre 60bhp purestyle version but only Id go for the air conditioned coolstyle variant with the same engine which costs £8,595 and comes with alloy wheels, a rear parcel shelf and three rear seatbelts.
The plusher passion variants sit in the £10,000-£12,300 bracket, cars that better highlight the smart forfours essential philosophy. In conclusion, it all depends on exactly how much youre prepared to pay to appear stylish. Id suspect that in this case, the pricing pitch is probably just about right.
Yes, yes and again yes. Why does owning a supermini have to be a boring, functional experience? The smart forfour proves once and for all that it doesnt have to be.
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