Smart Forfour (2014 – 2019) Review

The funky looks and style of the Smart Forfour give it a trendy image that few rivals come close to – only the MINI really surpasses it. A Fiat 500 is more fun to drive, though, and the Renault Twingo (which shares many of the Smart Forfour’s components) is keener used car value. Read on for our full Smart Forfour review.

At face value, the Smart Forfour seems pointless, since most people would only consider the brand for the tiny, two-seat Smart Fortwo.

But in reality, the Smart Forfour is arguably a better buy. It is still very small, but it comes with the added practicality of a bigger boot, two more seats and numerous practical touches to make urban life easier.

In towns and cities, the Smart Forfour feels just as compact, lithe and nimble as its smaller sibling, with a tight turning circle that makes cramped spaces and multi-storey car parks a doddle.

The light controls and short length make town driving incredibly easy. Go for an entry-level 71PS 1.0-litre engine and there’s enough zip for narrow streets, but at higher speeds it feels out of breath and lacks any punch.

However, if you spend time on motorways and dual carriageways, the 90PS 0.9-litre turbocharged petrol engine is perfectly capable, offering noticeably more torque and far better performance. Both engine options are clean and frugal.

The key difference between the Smart Fortwo and Smart Forfour is the addition of two rear seats. These have space underneath for storage, or they can be folded in two ways.

Either the seat bottoms can be flipped down for storing tall items or the seat backs can be folded forward to give a good-sized, flat load area of 975 litres.

This added practicality comes at the expense of size – the Smart Forfour is 800mm longer than the Smart Fortwo.

However, in reality, the Smart Forfour is noticeably shorter than most small cars such as a Ford Fiesta, so it never feels too big. If you like the styling and urban capability but the Smart Fortwo’s lack of space is off-putting, the Smart Forfour is precisely what you’ve been looking for.

Bear in mind, though, that rivals such as the Volkswagen Up are just as practical and as cheap to run, while costing less to buy. Similarly, the Renault Twingo is also more affordable.

It is still easy to recommend the Smart Forfour, though, thanks to healthy levels of standard equipment and its quirky styling.

Fancy a new Smart? Read our Smart #1 review here.

The biggest difference between the Smart Forfour and the Smart Fortwo is the addition of two individual seats. They aren’t particularly large or comfortable, but they’re fine for children.

Adults will be OK on a shorter journey, with just about enough legroom and headroom.

The rear doors, meanwhile, open to 85 degrees, which is especially useful when loading child seats.

The boot is quite small at 185 litres – a Ford Fiesta has 290 – but to make up for it, you can flip the bases of the rear seats over and down for loading tall boxes or other bulky items.

You can also fold the rear seat backs completely flat, freeing up a useful 975 litres of space. The load lip is high, since the engine lives under the floor, but it’s not so high as to be a problem.

Up front, the Smart Forfour feels more or less identical to the Smart Fortwo – and that’s no bad thing. The layout is quirky and characterful, yet user-friendly, with simple, intuitive controls.

A touchscreen system with navigation is available and it’s easy to get to grips with, but you could save the hassle and just use the mobile phone cradle with a built-in charger instead.

There’s a handy little drawer under the gearlever for storing sweets or change out of sight, which is useful since the glovebox is pathetically small and awkwardly shaped.

Thankfully, the door pockets are a reasonable size and there’s a pair of useful cupholders. There’s also a removable storage box that fits between the rear seats, with space for odds and ends or drinks.

Material quality is generally quite good. The plastics are sturdy and hard rather than plush and luxurious, but the ambience of the cabin is lifted thanks to a coloured fabric dashboard covering.

There are a few areas that could be improved, though – the passenger door, for example, has an unsightly plug where left-hand-drive models would have the mirror adjuster.

The upper trims of the Smart Forfour came with a seven-inch ‘floating’ touchscreen positioned in the upper centre of the dash.

It’s easy enough to reach and operate, and it can be paired with a smartphone using Mirrorlink so you can access apps and sat-nav. There’s also Bluetooth and a USB connection.

You can bag a nine-year-old Smart Forfour with the 1.0-litre engine from £3500 for a car with 65,000 miles on the clock.

However, if you want the peppier 0.9-litre turbo engine, you will have to add another £750 to the budget.

For a later car, you will need to spend £10,500 for a five-year-old Smart Forfour with 30,000 miles under its wheels.

You would expect reasonable fuel economy from the Smart Forfour, given that it is a compact car with small engines. And on paper, that’s exactly what it claims to deliver.

The two engines both claim combined economy in the mid-40s under WLTP regulations, and our Real MPG data shows the Smart Forfour should get close to this, although the 1.0 model with an automatic gearbox does fall slightly short, with a real-world 37mpg.

Both engines offer sub-100g/km carbon dioxide emissions, so you get free road tax for cars registered before 1 April 2017. Smart Forfours that went on the road after that date pay the flat rate of £190 per year for road tax.

The most basic Smart Forfour falls into insurance group 2, which makes it ideal for new drivers or anyone wanting to keep their premium as low as possible.

Fancier models rise to as high as group 10, which includes the sportier Smart Forfour Brabus versions.

Service costs on a Smart Forfour will be largely the same as for the Renault Twingo if you use an independent garage, but they will be steeper at an official Smart dealer than they are at an official Renault outlet.

The Smart Forfour has a rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout which is very rare in modern cars.

The biggest advantage of this is a very tight turning circle, since the front wheels have a lot more space to steer. U-turns, tight parking spaces, narrow streets and multi-storey car parks are made far easier by this arrangement.

Despite all the weight being at the rear, the Smart Forfour never feels unstable, even when cornering at high speed.

There isn’t very much in the way of body roll, but the car does thump and jiggle its way over lumps, bumps and potholes, and the steering could do with just a little more weight on a fun, twisting stretch of road.

Refinement is good, thanks largely to the engine being in the back, rather than immediately in front of the dashboard.

Even at motorway speeds, the 90PS engine hums away quietly, but the 71PS option is a little louder, since it needs to be worked that much harder to get up to speed.

The old Smart Fortwo and Smart Forfour were offered with an automated manual transmission that was very sluggish and lethargic when it came to changing gear.

In this Smart Forfour, it’s replaced with a twin-clutch auto that is far slicker and much better suited to town driving, where nipping up to speed quickly is essential. However, it's still not the best example of this type of gearbox that we’ve driven.

Buyers of the Smart Forfour can choose between two small petrol engines – a 1.0-litre three-cylinder with 71PS or a 0.9-litre three-cylinder turbo with 90PS.

The 71PS engine lacks punch at anything above town speeds. It’s fine at 30mph or 40mph, but once on a dual carriageway it feels out of its depth.

If you spend any amount of time on fast roads, then the 90PS engine is the one to go for thanks to its 135Nm torque output, versus 91Nm for the less powerful engine.

It’s peppy and lively enough for overtaking slower traffic or getting up steep hills without changing down through the gears.

Smart would have been hoping for better than a four-star rating when the car was tested by Euro NCAP in 2014. Despite its highly trumpeted safety cell design, the Smart Forfour was outperformed by several rivals in terms of crash protection.

However, all Smart Forfours come with front, side and curtain airbags as standard, as well as Isofix mounts in the two rear seats. You can also switch off the passenger airbag to fit a child seat in the front passenger’s place.

ESP traction and stability control, a tyre pressure monitor, Crosswind Assist, plus Brake Assist – which helps with applying full power when needed in an emergency – are all included.

However, don’t mistake this for automatic emergency braking. Nor does the Smart Forfour have lane keep assist; both of these safety functions were optional extras.

The Smart Forfour is not rated for towing any type of trailer.

The Smart Forfour Passion gets 15-inch alloy wheels, manually adjustable door mirrors, a rear cargo box, multi-function steering wheel, 12v socket, climate control, remote central locking and electric windows.

It also has a colour multifunction instrument screen, audio system with Aux, USB and Bluetooth, stop/start, crosswind assist, cruise control with limiter, hill start assist, two Isofix mounting points and tyre pressure monitor.

The Smart Forfour Prime trim adds a panoramic glass roof, alternate design 15-inch alloy wheels, sunglasses holder, leather upholstery, heated front seats and lane keep assist.

The Smart Forfour Proxy is the top trim and has 16-inch alloy wheels, brushed stainless steel pedals, 10mm lowered suspension and a chome-plated tailpipe.

A Smart Forfour Brabus version came with a sporty body kit and the option of a 109PS version of the 0.9-litre turbo engine.