Smart ForFour EQ review

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 panoramic glass roof fitted that comes with Pulse Premium trim or above – 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 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 Volkswagen e-Up, Skoda Citigo e iV and Seat Mii Electric all offer better rear-seat accommodation, but if you want something with really generous back seats then have a look at the MG ZS EV. 

In terms of seating flexibility, the front passenger seat doesn’t have a height adjuster but the rear-seat bases can be flipped up to create extra storage without resorting to folding the rear seatbacks down. If you want you can fold the rear seats fully, in the same 50/50 split you get with the e-Up, leaving a completely flat floor – most of the ForFour's rivals have 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), while the Renault Zoe and MG ZS EV offer considerably more luggage space.