2005 smart forfour
Here we have two sightings of one of the less common, and probably most futile, cars you are likely to see. The story behind the (ab)normal smart car is fairly well-known, with its origins with the Swatch watch company in the 1990s, but the effort to expand the brand in the 2000s has to be one of the more easily predicted failures in the motoring industry.
Interior photo from www.honestjohn.co.uk
Mind you, parent company Mercedes-Benz did everything they could to amortise the risk in producing a larger companion for the 2.5 m/98.4 inch long fortwo, as it was retrospectively titled. The forfour was a joint venture with Mitsubishi and its Dutch Nedcar factory, and was a whopping 1.2m/4’ longer than the fortwo.
Image from autobild.de
Under the smart styling cues the car sat on the same platform as the 2003 Colt, with a 1.3L or 1.5L engine and 70-80 kW (94-107 hp). At a tick under $24,000 it was $5,000 more than its factory-mate Colt (with a 1.5L CVT; an auto was $1k more on the smart) and while it had side airbags and stability control to compensate, you lost items such as rear power windows, rear speakers and even electric mirror adjustment. Not to mention the same price would buy a larger, more powerful Golf, Corolla or similar.
2004 smart forfour
Only 900 or so forfours found owners in Australia that wanted to stand out from the crowd and appreciated the ‘smartness’ from 2004 to 2006, and while it may have outsold the fortwo while it was on sale it was hardly a success by any means. A three-year production run for a car is highly unusual, while its companion Colt ran until 2012.
The smart brand as a whole was dropped from Australia last year, although the forfour has been reintroduced in Europe, and is now (as with the fortwo) based on the Renault Twingo.
Further reading:
Curbside Capsule: 2004-06 smart ForFour – Not Dumb, Just Different
It took a second reading to realize that “only 900 sales” meant in Australia, not total.
I will update the text. I can’t find any reference to the overall production number, it would be interesting to see that; there must have been a reason why production was cancelled early, and before the GFC.
I’ve heard of the Smart ForTwo and I’ve heard of the Smart ForFour. For some reason, the ForTwo was sold in the USA, but not the ForFour. I don’t know why.
And now we have the Chevy Spark, which is a four-door microcar, same as the Forfour would’ve been.
FYI Spark’s been on the US market since 2009, & is a bit shorter than the Forfour. Speaking anecdotally, I think this class of vehicle has limited appeal in the States.
I think the target demographic for what is known in Japan as the ‘Kei’ class car are urban areas with woeful public transportation. Unfortunately, give the steep ancillary costs of owning an auto in the US, it’s still not cost-effective to buy a new car (however small) in metropolitan areas and most urban dwellers will ride a bike or scooter, call a cab, or do the Uber thing.
The Smart ForFour isn’t dead, it’s alive ! (although basically the same car as the current Renault Twingo).
Thank you for pointing that out. It should perhaps have been mentioned in the post.
I had thought about that, but decided not to because there is such a separation between the two. I’ve now added it.
It’s only a guess but I would think the ForFour would have had the same pricing “problems” in the U.S. as it did in Australia.
What’s too bad is that the smart roadster (I forget what it was called officially ) was as big a failure as the ForFour.
John (and Aaron65), the pictures can’t be enlarged by clicking on them.
Edit the pictures: Link To -> Media File (not None). Something I found out when working on the Iveco article the other day.
Thanks! I wondered about that yesterday; there must have been a WordPress update or something.
Thanks Johannes, I hadn’t noticed it There have been a few changes that have made things easier but that is not one of them.
I think this little “pitzeleh” is just darling! And Stylish! Alas, this ForFour (along with many other exciting European cars) never made it to Canada, as our country is considered “too small” a market (not in size). Drat!
Friend of mines wife has a Mitsu Colt that model ex JDM great car as far as she is concerned, a Stupid for four wasnt even considered.
the first time I saw a ForTwo on the road, I was shocked by how “small” it was. Even with the safety cage design, it was too small for my taste. On a trip to the UK, I did see a ForFour which was still on the small side.
Around the corner from my home is a combo MB/Smart dealership. The Mercedes are flying off the lot and the ForTwo are collecting dust. The dealer with the nearest competitor (Fiat 500) shut the doors over a year ago. Not till gas hits $4 – $5 a gallon will American take an interest in such a car.??
Even if it does, it doesn’t have as good fuel economy as you might expect with its diminuative size.
I worked with a guy who drove a for Two last year he loved it reckoned it handled great cheap on gas everything he always wanted, I pointed out my car to him parked right next to his better handling 5 seater better performance and similar fuel economy, he was not happy especially as my car is worth nothing to buy now and his cost him quite a lot of coin.
just reread the 2012 attachment on the original smart car. they were sold here in Canada as a diesel but stopped. someone in the comments mentioned it was due to not passing emissions. looks like Mercedes was a bit smarter then Volkswagon!!
Still seen in everyday curbside Austria, but they were always too expensive to succeed. Time will tell if the Mk II has a better sales record but again there are so many alternatives in that class so I remain doubtful. The Mk I seems to hold its value better than you’d have expected (€ 3500 – 5000 for a good one here, more than, say a Renault Twingo OR the Colt) though, so it must have some redeeming features.