Funky-looking, versatile hatch with plenty of safety kit. Manual versions drive well. Four stars for the diesels, by far the best in the line-up.
Slow gearshifts with the semi-auto. Not all second-hand ones will have a three-point seatbelt for the middle rear seat. Could have been a contender but arrived two years too late.
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FUEL ECONOMY
41.5–58.8
OFFICIAL MPG
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REAL MPG
95%
OF OFFICIAL MPG
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INSURANCE
3–16
GROUPS
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MOT RESULTS
71.7%
AVG. PASS RATE
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| CARS FOR SALE | USED FORFOUR PRICES |
Introduction
Why do all small cars have to be so boringly the same?
Polo, Fiesta, Yaris, Mazda 2, Clio, 206. Theyve all got an engine in the front and three or five doors. And theyre all basically boxes. The only exception is the Honda Jazz which is very clever inside, but still a five-door box outside.
This huge chunk of the car market badly needed shaking up. And heres the car to do it. The first sensibly priced five-door hatchback that screams fun, fun, fun.
The smart forfour isnt a single car. Its a proper range with five different engines to choose from, two different gearboxes and a simple yet clever interior.
Actually its forfive because there are five proper three point seatbelts in there and plenty of room for three big bums across the back seat. This slides backwards and forwards, Yaris-like, by about six inches, which is enough to give limo-like legroom at the expense of the shopping bags in the back. But theres still plenty of room, with a luggage capacity slightly better than cars like the new Fiesta. Unlike the Yaris, the seats also bi-fold to leave a big, fairly flat floor and up to 910 litres of luggage space up to window level.
Toyota RAV4
Vauxhall Vectra
Ford Fiesta
