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First Drive Review: Smart Fortwo 2015

Image of Phil Huff
Author: | Updated: 20 Feb 2015 16:24

It’s been 15 years since the original Smart rewrote the rule book on what counts as a car. The quirky two-seater super-supermini was ideally suited to city life, leading to 100,000 of them finding a home in the UK.

The car hasn’t had an easy time though. While praised for its go-kart-like handling, there has never been a kind word for its go-kart-like ride quality. The incredibly firm ride and miserable semi-automatic gearbox meant life anywhere outside of the city streets was more pain than pleasure.

Now there’s a new model, but is it a case of third time lucky for Smart?

The Fortwo shares a number of mechanical bits with Renault's Twingo

A partnership with Renault (the Fortwo shares a number of mechanical bits with the Twingo) has helped keep development costs down, but there’s been no outside influence on how tiny the car is - it remains just 2,695mm long, meaning you can still get away with parking nose-in to the kerb.

That there even is a nose is a new feature, and something Smart fans haven’t taken to well. The snubby bonnet hides crash structures that modern consumers and lawmakers demand, which has pushed back the cabin, having an effect on interior space.

It’s now a tad shorter than it used to be, so the staggered seating has gone. That would have left things a little tight in the old model, but Smart has widened the new Fortwo freeing up a bit more shoulder and elbow room. That allowed my photographer (tall) and me (wide) to sit together in comfort without any issues at all.

The rest of the interior is a huge step forward for Smart, rivalling the quality of its bigger Mercedes-Benz siblings, and with a real premium style that sits well with the funky exterior. Interesting surface detailing including bright fabrics across the dashboard, sit well with high-tech toys embedded in the dashboard.

The infotainment system deserves special praise for being easy to use and very effective, although the system did crash while out on the road - I’ll forgive that on the basis that the car I was driving was a pre-production model.

  the interior is a huge step forward for Smart

Elsewhere there’s climate control, alloy wheels, five airbags and a multi-function steering wheel, even on the base model.

That said, the entry-level Passion model costs around £2,000 more than its Renault Twingo relation, but you get so much more than a longer equipment list. The level of extra engineering that has gone into the Fortwo is immediately apparent, from extra soundproofing, to a smoother, more refined ride thanks to heavily modified, Mercedes C-Class inspired, suspension. While there are similarities between the two, the work done in Stuttgart separates the models into two distinct products.

That engineering know-how has extended to the driving characteristics. If you stick within the city limits then you’ll notice that the car no longer seems to lurch and jump from one bump to the next, instead absorbing imperfections with aplomb, despite its tiny wheelbase. Skittishness has been replaced by zestiness, the Fortwo cutting a nimble dash through the narrow streets.

Venture outside of the city and things get remarkably grown up. The London taxi-beating turning circle could lead to nervous behaviour on faster corners, but that couldn’t be further from the truth; instead the Fortwo shows a level of maturity that you would expect from a larger saloon car, with a composed ride and confident handling.

Being so tiny, crosswinds can interfere at times

It’s not a sports car, so you’ll not be wanting to eke out the last ounce of performance, but you can make surprisingly swift progress thanks to direct steering and a finely balanced chassis.

The 71bhp 1.0-litre engine needs working hard, but it becomes a joy to use once the revs have risen a little. Combine that with a new five-speed manual gearbox that, mounted just a few centimetres away, operates with an unexpected lightness of touch, and you have a car that’s actually fun to drive.

Being so tiny, crosswinds can interfere at times but that’s reduced with some clever crosswind-correcting electronic wizardry, while the short wheelbase will lead to some choppiness if bumps arrive in quick succession, but for the most part it’s a genuinely accomplished effort.

Verdict

The third-generation Fortwo has transformed the car from a niche also-ran to something that you could imagine using not only as a second car but also your daily driver.

It’s taken 15 years to arrive, but this feels like the car Smart wanted to build from day one.

this feels like the car Smart wanted to build from day one

Fortwo at a glance:

Model tested: Smart Fortwo edition #1 71hp
Price: £13,225
Top speed: 94mph
0-62 mph: 14.4 seconds
Official combined fuel economy: 68.9 mpg
CO2 emissions: 93 g/km
VED band: A / £0 per year
Car insurance group: 3E
Engine: 1.0-litre petrol
Power: 70 bhp (71 PS)
Torque: 67 ft-lb (91 Nm)
Kerb weight: 880 kg
Length: 2695mm
Width: 1559mm
Height: 1542mm
Wheelbase: 1867mm
Boot space: 220 / 340 litres

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