Item: Smart ForFour EQ
Rating: 1
Author: What Car? Team

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Introduction

Performance & drive

Interior

Passenger & boot space

Accessibility & Motability

Costs & verdict

An entry-level ForFour will cost you more than the equivalent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/citigo-iv/hatchback/review/n20568">Skoda Citigo e iV</a>, while&nbsp;the bigger <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/renault/zoe/hatchback/review/n152">Renault Zoe</a> is a pricier car altogether.&nbsp;When comparing the list prices of various competitors, do make sure the prices are equivalent –&nbsp;i.e. all are either including or excluding the government grant –&nbsp;because this can make things very confusing.&nbsp;

What about charging times the ForFour&nbsp;EQ? It can charge at up to 22kW from&nbsp;a commercial charging point, which will take the battery from 10% to 80% in 40mins. From a home wallbox you're looking at 3.5hrs to do the same charge, or 8.5hrs from a standard three-pin plug.&nbsp;

We'd suggest sticking with the entry-level Passion Advanced trim, which offer the best value for money.&nbsp;It comes with&nbsp;LED rear lights, 15in alloy wheels, a leather-wrapped gearlever/ steering wheel, electric door mirrors, electric windows and the infotainment features and parking sensors we've already described. Higher trim levels add mod-cons including&nbsp;leather trim and heated front seats, but push the price near to the realms of better propositions, like the Renault Zoe.&nbsp;

The ForFour&nbsp;isn’t rated as highly by <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/euro-ncap-safety-ratings-2019-%E2%80%93-how-safe-is-your-car/n17044">Euro NCAP</a> for its safety&nbsp;as the Renault Zoe. It was tested back in 2014 and received a four-star rating, compared with the Zoe’s five stars. The Volkswagen e-Up received only 3 stars overall, although that was under far more stringent tests that were carried out in 2019.&nbsp;The good thing is that all Smart ForFours come with <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-is-aeb-and-how-does-it-work/n3283">automatic emergency braking (AEB)</a> as standard.

The standard&nbsp;warranty is three-years with no mileage limit, while the Citigo e iV's is the same length but with the mileage capped at 60,000. A&nbsp;Renault Zoe's warranty is five years or 100,000 miles. The&nbsp;ForFour&nbsp;EQ, like the Zoe, comes with an eight-year battery warranty, but here the ForFour's cover ends is at&nbsp;62,000 miles, while the Zoe's remains at 100,000 miles.

Right, let’s begin by answer the burning question: how many miles will you get out of a Smart ForFour&nbsp;EQ on a full charge? Officially, Smart says 81&nbsp;miles, which isn't great when you consider that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/citigo-iv/hatchback/review/n20568">Skoda Citigo e iV</a> will officially do up to 170 miles and a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/renault/zoe/hatchback/review/n152">Renault Zoe</a>&nbsp;245&nbsp;miles.&nbsp;And&nbsp;in reality you’ll struggle to get anywhere near its official figure (we&nbsp;managed just 57&nbsp;miles in our <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-car-real-range-which-electric-car-can-go-farthest-in-the-real-world/n18159">Real Range</a> tests, which replicates real-world driving on a mix of roads),&nbsp;especially on the&nbsp;motorway, where the range plummets faster than a Doodle Bug.&nbsp;So, to all intents&nbsp;the ForFour is limited to the&nbsp;city, where its regenerative braking means you'll get the most&nbsp;miles-per-charge.

Regenerative braking is the technology that allows&nbsp;electric&nbsp;cars feed energy back into their battery&nbsp;when they&nbsp;slow down – something you do a lot in stop-start city traffic.&nbsp;This typically&nbsp;affects the feel of the brake pedal, though, making it less consistent and grabbier&nbsp;compared with&nbsp;traditionally powered cars.&nbsp;That said, the ForFour's brakes aren't as bad as those of some EV's, and you find yourself adjusting to them quite quickly.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

What about its performance? The&nbsp;80bhp electric motor, juiced up by a 17.6kWh battery, is quiet, smooth and, in typical electric car fashion, quick from the get-go.&nbsp;The&nbsp;leisurely-sounding 0-62mph time of 12.7sec isn't a headline grabber,&nbsp;but it's not far off the cheaper competition&nbsp;(the Citigo e iV will do 0-62mph in 12.3sec) but a Zoe R135 will whizz you away from the lights at a much quicker rate. The ForFour still has that immediate electric shove, though, so&nbsp;it responds the moment you put your foot down in town, but feels less adept at motorway speeds:&nbsp;its rate of acceleration drops off markedly the nearer you get to the top speed of 81mph.

Where the ForFour drops behind the pack is on handling and comfort. The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/seat/mii/hatchback/review/n11">Seat Mii Electric</a> tackles bumps surprisingly well for such a little car, but the&nbsp;ForFour&nbsp;EQ jiggles and jostles more over pretty much every imperfection the road throws up. It's mainly just annoying, but becomes rather uncomfortable&nbsp;over sharper speed bumps. It does feel better settled&nbsp;the faster you go.

An e-Up or Zoe will provide&nbsp;greater dynamism&nbsp;along twisty roads, too, with more direct steering and less body lean. The ForFour's light steering and compact proportions do make it a more nimble city car than the larger Zoe, though.

All electric cars offer near-silent acceleration, due to their whispering electric motors, but as you pick up speed in the ForFour all that quietness is undone: the shrill wind noise and copious&nbsp;road roar become wearing over a long trip.

Fuel 

Gearbox

0-62 MPH

http://example.com

60kW EQ

60kw-eq

There are many&nbsp;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.&nbsp;

There’s more, too.&nbsp;The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/electric-car-grants-announced/n5292">Government supplies a grant</a> that helps towards the purchase price of a new electric car, and you also receive a pardon from the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/london-congestion-charge-zone-review/n4153">London Congestion Charge</a>. 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&nbsp;the ForFour EQ the EV of choice? It was updated in 2020&nbsp;but was that enough to put it ahead&nbsp;of&nbsp;its rivals, including the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/seat/mii/hatchback/review/n11">Seat Mii Electric</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/citigo-iv/hatchback/review/n20568">Skoda Citigo e iV</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/up/hatchback/review/n17244">Volkswagen e-Up</a> at the cheaper end of its price range, or the more expensive EVs, such as&nbsp;the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/renault/zoe/hatchback/review/n152">Renault Zoe</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mg-motor-uk/zs-ev/hatchback/review/n20171">MG ZS EV</a>?

Carry on reading our review to find out the ins and outs, and, when you’re done, click the link to our <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals">What Car? New Car Buying</a> service to see how much we could save you off the list price of your next new car. &nbsp;

Both the steering wheel and driver's seat have height adjustment as standard, enabling driving position that's decent, but far&nbsp;from perfect;&nbsp;the driver's seat is hard, flat&nbsp;and narrow and there's no&nbsp;steering wheel reach adjustment, a feature that you'll find in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/renault/zoe/hatchback/review/n152">Renault Zoe</a>.

You sit quite high in the ForFour&nbsp;EQ, giving a good view forwards.&nbsp;Its thick rear pillars and narrow rear screen obstruct over-the-shoulder visibility compared with a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/up/hatchback/review/n17244">VW e-Up</a>, but entry-level Passion Advanced trim comes with rear parking sensors.&nbsp;If you upgrade to mid-level Pulse Premium you get a rear-view camera as well.

The interior&nbsp;feels solid with an attractive array of materials, including glossy plastics&nbsp;set against a nice fabric dash. It's a nicer place to be than a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/seat/mii/hatchback/review/n11">Seat Mii Electric</a>, but a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/renault/zoe/hatchback/review/n152">Renault Zoe's</a> interior is even plusher,&nbsp;while the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mg-motor-uk/zs-ev/hatchback/review/n20171">MG ZS EV’s</a> is just as solidly made.&nbsp;

Speaking of Renault, Smart's inbuilt 7.0in Media touchscreen is also a Renault unit, but dates from the previous-generation Zoe. Navigation is included, as is a DAB radio, Bluetooth&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-android-auto/n1194">Android Auto</a> smartphone mirroring. If you have an Android phone (<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-apple-carplay/n1193">Apple CarPlay</a> is coming later in 2020) that lets you bypass the Renault software and use your phone’s functions instead, such as its internet radio, Waze or Google Maps apps. That's a bonus, because the old-generation Renault software in the ForFour is clunky and slow, with crudely rendered&nbsp;sat-nav graphics&nbsp;– the current Zoe has a much better infotainment system&nbsp;that's both more modern-looking and far slicker to use.&nbsp;

An app is available for your smartphone that lets you check remotely on a number of features, such as the car's location and how much charge it has.

Hatchback

Owned by Mercedes-Benz and with a reputation for making small, clever cars, Smart offers a striking, upmarket alternative to more conventional rivals.

It currently has a two-car line-up, the smaller of the two being the distinctive Fortwo, which, as its name suggests, is an ultra-short two-seater that uses an unusual rear-engined configuration to deliver the sort of turning circle that even London taxis can only dream of. It's a doddle to park in small spaces, too.

Smart's 'family car' is the Forfour, which is little more than a stretched version of the Fortwo, with a second row of seats and a larger boot. It's more of a natural rival for cars like the Hyundai i10 or Kia Picanto.

On paper, both cars come at a considerable price premium when compared with rivals, something it says is justified by its badge appeal and the technology in the cars.&nbsp;However, sales have been slow and there are often keen Target Price deals to be found.

SMART

FORFOUR

<h2 dir="ltr">Access</h2>

We're hard-pressed to think of another <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-small-cars-2021/n16997">small car</a> that's as easy to get into and out of as the Smart EQ ForFour. It really has been designed with ease of access in mind.

The driver's door, for example, swings open to 71 degrees, which is wider than most cars in this class, although the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/up/hatchback/review/n9">Volkswagen Up</a> and all-electric <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/up/hatchback/review/n17244">e-Up</a> have the same opening angle.

The door sill is 400mm from the ground, which is higher than the class average, but the step up from the floor of the car is a tiny 20mm. Very few cars have such low sills; at 123mm, the Up's is far higher.

The EQ ForFour gives you a lofty seating position for such a small car, placing you 641mm to 677mm from the ground – almost as high as the Up and e-Up.

<h2 dir="ltr">Storage</h2>

The EQ ForFour is not the most practical small car when it comes to load-lugging ability. For a start, the boot capacity is just 185 litres, which is tiny, even by small car standards. As a result, the only way to get a wheelchair in is to fold it up and put down the car’s back seats. Not ideal.

The boot sill is relatively high, too, at 772mm from the ground, and there’s a 223mm drop from the sill to the boot floor. That means you have to lower heavy items down into the boot rather than just sliding them in.

<h2 dir="ltr">Ease of use and options</h2>

These days, Smart is an electric-only brand, so all of its cars are automatic and easy to drive. A tiny turning circle helps squeeze the EQ ForFour into small parking spaces, and there's a rear-view camera, even on the entry-level car. Oddly, Smart calls this most basic spec Premium.

Poor range, poor to drive, poor on practicality. There are better options.&nbsp;

Happily, getting in and out of the ForFour’s front seats is easy, thanks to the car’s wide-opening doors, large apertures and low sills. There’s a decent amount of leg room, too, while head room – even with the&nbsp;panoramic glass roof fitted that comes with Pulse Premium trim or above&nbsp;– is generous enough for those over six feet tall.

Next to the gearlever are two cupholders and some coin slots for parking change, but there’s not a lot of storage space for odds and ends in the narrow door bins and titchy glovebox.

The ForFour’s small rear doors make getting in and out the rear more awkward, and the&nbsp;leg room is tight for two average-sized adults. Here the panoramic roof makes a big difference, chopping down the head room to the point that anyone tall will really struggle. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/up/hatchback/review/n17244">Volkswagen e-Up</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/citigo-iv/hatchback/review/n20568">Skoda Citigo e iV</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/seat/mii/hatchback/review/n11">Seat Mii Electric</a> all offer better rear-seat accommodation, but if you want something with really generous back seats then have a look at the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mg-motor-uk/zs-ev/hatchback/review/n20171">MG ZS EV</a>.&nbsp;

In terms of seating flexibility, the front passenger seat doesn’t have a height adjuster but the rear-seat bases&nbsp;can be flipped up to create extra storage without&nbsp;resorting to folding the rear seatbacks down. If&nbsp;you want&nbsp;you can fold the rear seats fully, in the same&nbsp;50/50 split you get with&nbsp;the e-Up, leaving a completely flat floor – most of the ForFour's&nbsp;rivals have&nbsp;a large step in the floor when their rear seats are folded.

You might find yourself folding the rear seats down rather a lot, because the boot is tiny. At 185 litres it's much smaller than an e-Up's boot (you'll just about get two carry-on suitcases onboard),&nbsp;while the Renault Zoe and MG ZS EV offer considerably more luggage space.&nbsp;

Premium

premium

Exclusive

exclusive

The Smart Forfour has undoubted plus points. For a start it's one of the least expensive electric cars on sale to buy outright, undercutting both the Renault Zoe (if you don’t lease the battery) and the VW e-Up. It's also zippy and easy to drive in town, thanks in part to its super-tight turning circle, and it's pretty well equipped, too. 

However, it's not all rosey. The ride and handling aren't very good, the boot is tiny, there's not a vast amount of space inside, but worst of all for an electric car, the range is very poor next to its best rivals. Unless you literally need an electric car solely for town, the range issue is the biggest reason that we’d suggest going for the Renault Zoe instead.


<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Sufficient range between charges to fit in with most people’s lifestyles – and in the real world, not on some far-fetched official test </li> <li>Quick charging times and compatibility with the most ubiquitous types of public charging points </li> <li>Priced to be within the grasp of more than just the privileged few </li> <li>As with any car, ride comfort, practicality and ownership costs can’t be ignored</li></ul>

We define an electric car as one that runs purely on battery power and has no tailpipe to puff out nasty chemicals. These cars qualify for the maximum plug-in car grant (PICG) of £3500.

The Renault Zoe is one of the most affordable options and has a surprisingly long range of between 120 and 180 miles (depending on the weather and the road type). However, the Nissan Leaf and Volkswagen e-Golf are more practical and more accomplished to drive, even if the latter doesn't have a particularly long range between charges.

At the other end of the scale, Tesla’s ground-up EV philosophy – and the American brand’s own network of super-fast chargers – makes the Model S a tempting choice. It has seating for up to seven, an classy interior and a long enough real-world range to make inter-city travel a real possibility.

Electric

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Clever interior space </li> <li>Quiet and comfortable ride </li> <li>Good visibility </li> <li>Plenty of safety tech </li> <li>Low running costs </li> <li>Outstanding value for money</li></ul>

City cars are all about diminutive size and manoeuvrability because they invariably spend most of their time on our increasingly crowded urban streets.

They do need to be big enough for a couple of adults, with back seats that’ll suffice for occasional use by people – or as a dumping ground for a couple of large shopping bags – but they must also be small enough to nip in and out of traffic, and squeeze into tight parking spaces.

Out-and-out acceleration isn’t crucial, but there must be enough oomph in the lower gears to scoot into gaps that appear in the traffic. Running costs should be low, too.

Fortunately there’s never been a better line-up of city cars on offer. Kia's Picanto mixes a neat, functional interior with tidy handling and a surprisingly big boot, while the Skoda Citigo and Suzuki Celerio are cheaper and even more frugal.

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