2006 smart forfour Preview

Big for smart but Still Tiny for North America

Smarts arent normal cars. No, the Germans who brainstormed the idea of what the ideal city car should be probably had something strange in their drinking water, because the result has been as far from middle-of-the-road as possible.

The fortwo, smarts (the lower case is intentional) first model originally called the City, put the company on the map with its tiny size and unique styling. In a world of boring 2-box hatchbacks and 3-box sedans, which make up the majority of cars on the road in Europe, it was a breath of fresh air. It embodied a cute, UFO-like exterior design, shaped around mountain-bike sized front tires affixed to a rear-mounted, rear-wheel driven chassis that incorporates a DeDion transaxle.

Weird or wonderful, whatever, the European community couldnt, and now the world cant get enough of them. What to do? Extend the brand to more models of course. With the addition of the sporty coupe and roadster, smart has added an economical sports car to its lineup, and its been a great success capturing rave reviews.

But while still out in the cold, North Americans wont be without smarts for long. The DaimlerChrysler division will be sold into Canada first, this coming fall with the launch of the long-running fortwo, and then here in the U.S. in about two years, with the advent of the forfour sedan (really a four-door hatchback) and formore SUV.

You heard it right. Smart will export its new family haulers to North America as soon as it can build them, a process that will pair the quirky brand with fringe mainstreamer Mitsubishi - partially owned and now fully controlled by DaimlerChrysler.

While the upcoming forfour and Mitsubishi Colt share architectural underpinnings, its not like the old days where two cars were built on the same fixed platform. Rather, the two will use a variety of like components. Both cars will roll off the NedCar assembly plant in Holland, the ex-home of Mitsubishis Carisma sedan. DaimlerChrysler purchased the plant from the hands of Volvo, which used it for building the outgoing S40/V40, and previous to these the 340/440 models. Important to note, DCX has ensured that both cars will feature distinctive personalities, meaning the Mitsubishi will look and drive differently from the forfour.

As its name suggests the new family-friendly model is for four people, though it will seat five in a pinch. This breaks new ground for smart, a company that has previously only catered to the aged without grandkids, young adults, or families needing a second car strictly for commuting purposes.

Now able to accommodate more people, smart has made quite a few changes to the forfour when compared to the fortwo, as far as the look and shape of the interior goes. Theres an immediate difference in the appearance of the cockpit, executed in a manner of seriousness and sobriety as opposed to the free-thinking look of the fortwo. Most controls are in their “proper” places, which will help converts to the brand feel at home faster. For instance the instruments are now in front of the driver, rather than having bits and pieces scattered atop the dash. Theres actually a standard center console - how conventional.

Yet, aside from these changes, a closer look reveals that smart brand characteristics are alive and well in the forfour. Round wide-needle gauges are styled similarly to those in the roadster, and the folded dashboard looks to be an expansion of that in the fortwo. As this is a more expensive vehicle, the quality of materials has reportedly been thoroughly boosted. And just in case forfour owners that traded up from their fortwos find the new interior too mainstream, all they need do is look towards the center hub of the two-spoke multi-function steering wheel and see the HUGE smart logo to know theyre still part of the smart family.

While destined to compete with the VW Polo and Ford Fiesta in Europe and Chevy Aveo, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio and Toyota Echo in North America, the forfour is actually a fair deal smaller. Its overall length is just 3,752 mm (147.7 inches). This of course impacts on interior space, so dont expect class leading volume.

You can, however, expect a sense of occasion through the cars individuality and versatility. Cheerful fabric seat trim brightens up the cabin, adding style, while the rear seats 60/40 split makes it capable of hauling loads of all sizes. The back seat also slides fore and aft to create extra legroom for rear passengers, or additional cargo space if needed. One truly impressive forfour feature is that the front seats can fold flat to create a relaxed lounge atmosphere. Simply crank up the tunes on the powerful subwoofer and tweeter enhanced audio system, turn over the front seats flip-over armrest, kick back and enjoy. This is a car that can be used for getting from A to B or for personal time, whether the latter is a nap on the cars optional color-coordinated cushions, basking in sunrays streaming through the glass sunroof, or stargazing through the optional 1.4 square meter (15.1 square foot) panoramic glass roof.

Trunk space is 268 liters (9.5 cubic feet) with the seats up and 984 (34.7) cubes with them folded over, on par with the monospace Renault Twingo and Honda Jazz - neither available in North America. For a more relative comparison, its quite a bit larger than the available cargo space in a MINI Cooper, but then again quite a bit less than that offered by a Hyundai Accent 3-door hatchback.

Having seen just how creative the forfour can be, with its multi-purpose interior, colorful fabrics, and reported above-average build quality, the mainstream competition suddenly looks very narrow minded. And this outside-of-the-box theme continues when it comes to equipment and technology. While power windows and central locking can be had on most of Europes compact city cars, the smart breaks new ground by linking consumers to the net. While its true that the City Coupe was available with the Starblue package, which links to the net via a handheld device, the forfour takes this concept one step further by integrating a 12.4 cm (4.9 inch) screen into the center stack. Similar to Mercedes-Benzs COMMAND system, it controls DVD navigation, a hands-free telephone, plus the wireless browser for in-car internet access. “Follow me home” lighting as well as rain-sensing wipers can be had as well. These features, however, come at a price. Fully loaded, the forfour can be compared only to BMW Groups MINI - a premium compact that can be had as basic or luxurious as needs, or wants be.

As much of an element of style as a safety feature, the cars Tridion frame protects occupants by distributing crash forces throughout the car. Decent crash ratings should be in store. The stylish shell is available in one of three colors, surrounding the lower sills, A, B and C Pillars as well as the roof frames.

The rear end design is inspired by the fortwo. Its vertical-mounted, bubble-like taillights and protruding rear wheel arches form the back bumper. Doors, hood and bumper are all crafted from plastic rather than metal, reducing weight plus manufacturing and repair costs. Panels can be individually replaced in a matter of minutes thanks to easy to find screws, and being plastic, they are resistant to low-speed bumps, scratches and corrosion. The panels are available in ten different colors, yielding a total of thirty total colour combinations when combined with the exoskeleton-like frame, ensuring a high level of individuality.

Other impressive forfour features include the aforementioned full-length panoramic glass roof, a large rear window, and mirror-mounted turn signals.

Convention (note: convention doesnt have to mean dull) can be found in the forfours chassis and drive layout. The engine is situated between the front wheels, as opposed to the fortwos configuration that finds it behind the occupants. The engine just so happens to drive the front wheels as well. Neither smart nor Mercedes-Benz (aside from the A-Class) have a great deal of knowledge with front-wheel drive so its a good thing the new car shares architecture with a Mitsubishi.

The forfour rides on a new, albeit conventional suspension system. Struts are mounted up front while a torsion beam with coil springs is in back. Surprisingly, theres no multi-link layout for the rear end. Unlike the fortwo, which was re-engineered at the last moment to be stable under duress, the four-seaters low center of gravity gave smarts engineers much more to work with. Standard issue suspension is reportedly geared to European tastes, meaning quite firm. Steering is done via a rack and pinion setup that is assisted with an electric motor. Initial reports suggest that the forfours steering, as with many other cars equipped with electric steering, is overly light but very accurate.

Is the forfour a performer, or is it more like its fortwo brother? The answer, without a doubt is yes. Its stiffened suspension is said to reveal little body roll, squat or dive. Buyers can also select a sport package which tosses in large (considering the size of the car) 16-inch alloy wheels, a stiffer, lower suspension and a leather-covered steering wheel. All is not perfect however, as the forfours short wheelbase reportedly yields an inherently bouncy ride that has trouble dealing with rougher roads. Vibrations from the roads surface are passed to the cockpit, jarring passengers.

Although the forfour is larger it is also expected to be easier to drive, and thanks to the power steering parking is made easier. Also, although the car is not designed for ultimate enthusiast fun, its ESP traction and yaw control has been toned down to a less intrusive level as it does not have to deal as much with the threat of rolling over as with the fortwo.

The forfour gets two thumbs up for its additional safety equipment, which includes all-wheel discs, ABS brakes with brakeforce distribution, three-point safety belts for all passengers (though the center one is optional), and six airbags.

So far, all smarts have featured inline 3-cylinder turbocharged engines displacing less than a litre, diesel or not. Im not counting the 10 test-run V6 models, mind you. The forfour ventures out of this bubble by offering smarts first four cylinder engine lineup. Three gasoline engines will be available at 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5 liters. Basic models will get the smallest engine which produces 75 horsepower, while middle-line models will feature a 95 horse 1.3 liter unit. Lay your chequebook down for the best and youll get a reasonably powerful 1.5 liter engine with 109 horses to play with, backed by 107 lb-ft of torque.

Weighing in at a meager 975 kilos (2,150 pounds), the forfour is fairly brisk. The torque curve on this motor flattens out at 2,000 rpm, so revving high and hard is not necessary for decent progress. Expect the top of the line forfour to scoot to 100 km/h in less than ten seconds. European customers have two diesels at their disposal, both 1.5 liter inline threes using the latest common rail turbodiesel technology. Output on each CDI model is 68 and 95 horsepower respectively.

Having a completely new engine lineup that now drive the front wheels as opposed to those in the rear meant that extensive R&D work was need to done be done on the transmissions. Where the fortwo and roadster feature clutchless manual gearboxes, known for their jerkiness, the forfour gives the customer a choice. Standard equipment is a conventional five-speed manual (with a clutch), the first of its kind to be fitted to a smart. In order to help quicken acceleration the forfours ratios are rather short, which could leave some drivers desiring a sixth cruising gear. As an extra-cost option, forfours equipped with engines larger than 1.3 liters feature a six-speed clutchless manual. Called “Softip,” it has been designed with smoothness and comfort in mind. The jerkiness and roughness of the old clutchless gearbox is reportedly a memory of the past, and aside from offering a manual mode, there is a fully automatic mode. Steering-wheel mounted paddles are available too, for a slightly more involving drive.

As far as smarts go, the forfour fits right into the family lineup. Although it doesnt have a turbocharged inline three gasoline powered engine and is not a strict two seater, the forfour contains all the basic genes that make a smart a smart. Its a great looking car that puts the emphasis on personality and lifestyle, exactly what the companys values are.

It will be a while before people become accustomed to seeing a larger, less-quirky looking smart on the streets but with time it should be quite popular. After all, the companys expecting to sell 50,000 of these hatches in Europe this year and a fair deal more when introduced into North America alongside the upcoming formore quasi-SUV in 2005.

By the way, word has it that Brabus, the famed tuner that normally adds their magic to Mercedes-Benz cars and light trucks will be introducing a 180 horsepower turbocharged version of the car sometime in the near future. What will they call it? How about the forfun or forspeed?

smarts have long benefited from expressive exterior styling, with the forfour continuing this theme. The cars cheerful looking front end design, featuring two pairs of offset ovoid headlamps mimicking those on the fortwo, plus softer, rounder curves, should prove to be a boost to its drivers group individuality. A thin, up-turned grille and a chunky lower valance promote the cute look. The forfour is not a monobox like the majority of the competition it faces, but rather has a well-defined nose, cabin and tail. Flared fenders as well as ventilation slats on the hood also give the car a sportier look.

In the end the upcoming forfour is destined to carry the unorthodox brands message to more and more prospective customers, while offering a larger option for current smart owners looking to grow their vehicle in relation to their growing family. It should be a winner if priced to compete with the many alternative subcompact hatchbacks on the European market, and should do fairly well in North America where it has much less competition.