Smart EQ ForFour Review and Prices

Things that make a lot of sense: drinking coffee in the morning, avoiding reality TV shows at all costs and building city cars that run purely on electricity. OK, so the first two are detabale, but the third certainly isn’t. 

EVs help improve local air quality, they’re zippy to drive from a standstill and silent with it, all of which can be said of the pure-electric Smart EQ forfour. However, it applies to its alternatives, too, such as the Skoda Citigo-e iV, VW e-Up and Renault Zoe. 

The Smart’s look has changed a bit over the years but its same basic cheeky face remains despite a new grille and bumper. There are now more alloy wheel and colour choices than ever, too, allowing even more personalisation.

Inside the Smart EQ forfour’s dashboard has a funky design that changes slightly depending on which model you buy. Most of the plastics higher up are of decent quality, but some of those lower down and the Smart’s switches feel cheap.

Smart’s touchscreen infotainment system is poor too. Its sat-nav truly is one of the worst on sale and the screen is laggy to use. Happily, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard so you can mirror your smartphone instead. Phew.

The Smart forfour is much more interesting to look at than other EV city cars of the same size, but if you often use the back seats or fill the boot there are better choices.

The forfour will seat, well, four people, funnily enough. However, the high seat positions and lack of wheel reach adjustment means the driving position won’t be for everybody, while the back seats are extremely tight for adults. Storage options inside are few and far between and the boot is also comically small.

Every forfour is powered by a 17kWh battery, which via a motor offers 81hp, a 0-62mph sprint of 12.7 seconds and a modest 70-mile range. Charging to 80% via a 22kWh fast charger takes less than 40 minutes, but a full charge at home using a 7kWh wall box will take more like four. 

That home charge will cost you less than £3, which is around £7 cheaper than fueling the average petrol car over the same distance. 

Although the forfour’s sprint to 62mph is pedestrian, it gets to around 40mph in less than five seconds, so feels urgent away from lights. It feels very manoeuvrable in town, too, but you’ll feel more lumps and bumps in the road than in an Up or Citigo. 

Motorway journeys aren’t the most comfortable, either, and its light steering and bumpy drive remove much of the fun when cornering hard. 

As such, it’s best to keep the Smart EQ forfour in an urban environment where it excels – bumpiness aside. It’s worth investigating the similarly priced and more spacious EV Citgo-e and e-Up first, but if you love the looks and don’t need the space then it’s worth a look. 

Check out our Smart deals page for the very best prices.