After achieving considerable success with fortwo, specially in Europe, it was more than natural for smart to start thinking of how would it be to sell more models. Not a whole family like Mini’s, but at least a bigger option, so as to attract small families or friend groups. This intention was officialized in 2001, with the Tridion 4 Concept, and hit the production lines three years later, basically with the same vehicle. Launching a compact hatchback in Europe might seem a guaranteed success, but the truth is forfour’s fate was very different. Even though it carried the same standards of comfort, fuel efficiency, performance and safety, it was a blatant failure on what is one of the most important aspects of cars like this: the design.
The silhouette was entirely different from fortwo’s, for starters. The only trace of “family resemblance” should be the Tridion cell, but it made such a bad visual contrast with the other body panels that the car ended looking as an oversized toy. Besides, repeating fortwo’s round lights and grilles just did not work out in a bigger car with a less informal proposal. And as if it was not enough, the first forfour was a reprojected Mitsubishi Colt. smart’s biggest problem was taking a step which resulted too big for it. The company offered a completely different car, and not only in good ways, trying to rely on just extending fortwo’s successful formula to it, but the result was disastrous. forfour’s sales ended already in 2006.
Therefore, the more you notice how forfour resembles fortwo, the more you realize how cautious smart decided to be with their new generations. It became just a four-door version of its brother, instead of a different vehicle, and this is actually great. Both front and rear are exactly the same, meaning you are seeing once again the bigger, square-inspired lights that convey a less “delicate” appearance. The differences were restricted to the center: the Tridion cell is wider, in order to look better at a larger body. The doors replaced fortwo’s triangular handles with a more conventional set, and there is a cloth sunroof just like that of the new Citroën C1 and Peugeot 108. The platform, on the other hand, is shared with the current Renault Twingo.
Telling if the car will be a sales success or not will only be possible after several months from now, but the truth is smart had a much better start. The new forfour finally became what it should have been from the beginning: the result of adding two doors to fortwo (and the subsequent two extra seats) and nothing more. Maybe smart will be able to pull off different vehicles in the future, but for now, this could be called the right decision for it. forfour can now attract the very same customers who liked fortwo, but would not buy it because of the smaller size. And since this very public is also seduced by Volkswagen’s Citigo, up! and Mii and the aforementioned French trio, it is too big for Daimler (smart’s parent company) to let go.
Those who have already met the all-new fortwo will have different feelings after entering forfour. Looking to the front half will reveal the very same cabin, packed with two-tone coating, a more discreet version of the signature air vents which look like snail eyes, and a dashboard with round shapes, the option of being covered in cloth and the tablet-like upper section – if you reject the optional infotainment central, the model brings a dock station for you to plug in your cell phone, and make it work as such. Looking the other way shows the two additional seats, which are claimed to offer the same level of room seen at the front ones, which results incredible for such small cars. forfour, by the way, is just 80 cm bigger than fortwo, reaching 3.5 m.
All engine and transmission options will be exactly the same offered to fortwo, as well as the equipment lists. It means the initial offer will be a naturally-aspirated 1.0L and a turbocharged 0.9L (an entry-level unit will appear shortly after) with five-speed manual or six-speed, dual-clutch automated, and a nice selection of standard items: Crosswind Assist is the one which smart highlights the most. Some of the optionals are a JBL audio system with twelve speakers, eight channels and 320 Watts , navigation, the aforementioned infotainment central and an array of electronic safety systems. Besides, the three trim levels (passion, prime and proxy) follow fortwo’s and will offer more personalization options than ever. This car will go on sale in a few months.