New Smart starts at £11,125 06 | 11 | 2014
THE NEW SMART ForTwo will start at £11,125 when it goes on sale in Scotland in February: you'll need to stump up an extra £495 if you want the larger four-seater ForFour, which starts at £11,620. Both models are powered by the Renault sourced powerplants found in the latest Twingo.
Producing 70bhp, the base unit 999cc, three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine accelerates from 0-62mph in 14.4sec and continues to a top speed of 94mph. According to Smart, it'll return 68.9mpg and emit 93g/km CO2.
As in the Twingo, the more powerful 89bhp turbocharged 898cc, three-cylinder unit. Fitted to the Fortwo, it's capable of 67.3mpg and 97g/km of CO2. It can cover the 0-62mph sprint in 10.4sec and reach 96mph.
Weighing 95kg more than its compact sibling, the Smart Forfour achieves 67.3mpg on the combined cycle with the naturally aspirated engine, and emits 97g/km of CO2. It'll hit 62mph from standstill in 15.9secs and continue to max out at 94mph.
Access to the rear bench seat in the ForFour is via rear doors that open to an 85-degree angle: the seat folds flat into the floor, leaving a 975-litre load space and the ability to carry items measuring up to 2.2-metres in length.
There are three trim levels — Passion, Prime and Proxy — in the third generation Smart range.
The entry-level ForTwo Passion includes 15-inch alloys, automatic climate control, a multifunction leather steering wheel, 3.5-inch TFT colour screen, Isofix points and cruise control.
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Step up to the £11,820 Prime trim level and you get uprated 15in bi-colour alloys, a panoramic glass roof, additional dashboard instrument pods, a textured black fabric dashboard and heated leather seats.
At £11,820, the range-topping Proxy also costs £11,820. It substitutes the heated leather seats of the Prime trim for cloth and leather Artico versions, but gains black 16in alloys, a chrome exhaust finisher, alloy pedals and a sports steering wheel trimmed in perforated leather.
As you'd expect, the trim levels are broadly similar on the Forfour, although the Proxy Forfour gets sports suspension and a 10mm lower ride height.
The Smart range has always been renowned for its individuality, and the new generation sees a choice of eight exterior colours for the Fortwo, and nine for the Forfour. In addition, there's also a choice of three contrasting colours for the exposed elements of the ‘tridion’ safety cell and three shades for the front grille for each model.
Initially both ForTwo and ForFour will be available with a five-speed manual gearbox, but this will be joined by a £995 optional twin-clutch DCT transmission option next Spring.
During the launch of the ForTwo and ForFour there will also be the special edition #1 version (£13,225 - £13,720) which features unique exterior colour schemes. The ForTwo is fitted with white body panels, while the ForFour boasts graphite grey metallic panels and both feature a lava orange tridion with orange/black interior. They also feature velour mats with edition #1 embroidery, the Sports Package and the Premium Plus Package as standard.
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Jim McGill