Smart ForFour EQ review

There are many advantages to going electric with something like a Smart ForFour EQ. Obviously it improves you immediate environment – you’re far less likely to find an Extinction Rebellion protester glued to your door handle in a traffic jam – and the penance of the petrol station is vanquished forever.

And by heck, have you noticed how tough is it trying to find a petrol station these days? Since the cost of land in the UK rose to about £50 squillion per square foot, it’s a toss-up whether your local boozer or nearest filling station will be the first to go the way of the dinosaurs.

So instead of stockpiling gasoline in your shed to stay mobile (something that we disapprove of strongly, by the way), you simply plug in your electric car (EV) at night, and in the morning it's ready to go. It’s no more taxing than using an immersion heater. 

There’s more, too. The Government supplies a grant that helps towards the purchase price of a new electric car, and you also receive a pardon from the London Congestion Charge. You can even score free parking in many boroughs, plus, of course, there’s no more fretting about the chancellor adding three pence to a litre of petrol at every Budget.

So, if going electric in the city is becoming a no-brainer, is the ForFour EQ the EV of choice? It was updated in 2020 but was that enough to put it ahead of its rivals, including the Seat Mii Electric, Skoda Citigo e iV and Volkswagen e-Up at the cheaper end of its price range, or the more expensive EVs, such as the Renault Zoe and MG ZS EV?

Carry on reading our review to find out the ins and outs, and, when you’re done, click the link to our What Car? New Car Buying service to see how much we could save you off the list price of your next new car.