All the details of the new Smart Fortwo and Forfour

The quintessential city car of the last 15 years has been completely renewed. In this third generation, Smart has decided to go all in from the start.

Mercedes-Benz, owner of Smart, has been collaborating with the Renault-Nissan group for some time, and this model, split into the Fortwo and the Forfour, is the first major joint project.

Exterior design

The Smart has been completely redesigned, debuting a new, friendlier and more fun design. The front of the two-door and four-door models is the same, highlighted by the light clusters, which have grown significantly in size. The front grille now has more futuristic shapes, with a larger brand logo.

Both the rear and the side of the Fortwo keep the family resemblance of previous models, which is fairly logical given the small size and concept of the vehicle. The Forfour, however, offers a style that slightly recalls that of the new Renault Twingo, which is logical since they were developed together.

Interior design

Inside, the Fortwo and the Forfour share many components. The general lines of the dashboard are similar to those of the Twingo, with a very colourful presentation, much more relaxed than in the outgoing Smart. Where customers may find room for criticism is in the materials used, since the quality is perhaps a little meagre for a vehicle whose base price will almost certainly exceed 12,000 euros.

Many controls and instruments originate from Renault, such as the door handles, the window switches or the electric mirror joystick. The infotainment system also stands out, controlled by a large colour touchscreen that also displays vehicle and driving data.

Technical details

The real revolution of the new Smart family lies under the bodywork. These city cars were developed in parallel with the Renault Twingo. Naturally, the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout is retained across the Fortwo, the Forfour and the Twingo, a rare arrangement in today’s automotive industry.

The Smart Fortwo measures 2.69 metres in length, 1.66 metres in width -100 mm more than before- and 1.55 metres in height. The wheelbase is 1.87 metres, 8 mm more than in the previous generation. As for the Forfour, its overall length is 3.49 metres, while its height and width are the same as the Fortwo’s.

As for the engines, in an initial launch phase both the Fortwo and the Forfour will offer two options, both petrol. The first will be a naturally aspirated 999 cc engine of Mitsubishi origin, producing 71 CV and 91 Nm. The second option, a Renault-sourced unit -0.9 TCe- producing 90 CV. Further alternatives will follow later, including a less powerful version of the naturally aspirated engine with 59 CV, and a 110 CV version developed by Brabus.

As for transmissions, for the first time the Fortwo can be fitted with a manual gearbox -of Renault origin- with 5 speeds. An optional automatic alternative with dual-clutch and 6 ratios is also available, similar to the one Mercedes fits to its front-wheel-drive models (A, B, CLA, GLA). Both transmissions will be available for both bodies, with the Start&Stop intelligent start-stop system fitted as standard.

As for safety equipment, the Smart come as standard with the basic electronic arsenal found today, including ESP, ASR, ABS and other systems. In addition, and for the first time on this model, active assistance systems such as lane assist can be fitted.
The new Smart will reach dealerships at the earliest towards the end of the year, with a starting price of around 12,000 euros for the Fortwo and 13,000 euros for the Forfour.

Source | Smart