Faults:

Very little. Clutch replaced which is a big job as the engine has to come out. Door lock failed on driver's door. Problems with remote key. Original springs, shocks and exhaust!

General Comments:

Brilliant! Fun to drive, reliable, small but adaptable good space inside and very cheap to run. 23p per mile over life of the car (our ownership).

Unbelievable torque pulling up most hills in 5th. Gear selection now a bit sloppy and if 3rd selected rather than first it will still pull away.

Never a issues at annual MOT other than maybe a bulb. Bodywork scuffed by car park damage and some vandalism, but only superficial due to plastic panels. Hit up the rear by a Transit which suffered catastrophic damage (front pushed in and radiator gone) with no damage to the Forfour confirmed after long inspection by a main dealer. So tough, very tough.

After 168k of hard miles looks scruffy with damage/wear and tear to the driver's seat, but still does the job.

Such a shame it had a short run of production and the new Forfour is just an extended Fortwo and not a real car.

Faults:

Nothing has failed on the car.

Only general servicing and consumables such as brakes replaced.

General Comments:

I was searching for something a little more interesting, as this is our 2nd car used mostly by myself for the daily commute. I enjoy driving and had my heart set on an MX-5 or similar, but was running out of time when the Smart came up. I also looked at a Toyota Yaris diesel, which is probably the most boring car ever made. I didn't want to fall asleep driving, so took the little Smart.

It's been a super reliable little car. Interesting design with a cool sunroof, and I rarely see another one. The car is well made with a solid Merc-like thunk of the door upon closing.

I think Smart intended the Forfour as a Mini rival. I'm not sure about that, but it has just enough power and handling capability to make it fun on twisty roads, and does inspire me to take the backroads every so often. As usual, a decent set of tyres help here as well.

My only gripe is with the steering. It's weights up quite nicely through the twisty stuff, but has a light, dead spot when driving straight, meaning you have to make small steering corrections more often. The steering feel in our Mazda 3 is much better.

Faults:

Left CV joint needed replacing (replaced myself).

Needed a wheel alignment (did it myself).

Fuel level sensor malfunctioning.

General Comments:

With only 75 PS / (55kW), this car is on the slow end of the spectrum, but due to its weight, it moves a little quicker than what you would expect & it handles decently.

Rear & forward visibility at the D & A pillars should be a major concern, especially to those considering this as a first car. In such situations I would strongly recommend against it.

The ridiculously placed window switches, incomprehensibly slow changing (often clunky) semi automatic transmission, annoying blinker switch & useless sun visors without so much as the help of tinting across the top of the front windshield, really aggravate anybody who has been driving different makes of automobiles for any period of time.

In the winter, the door latches can also jam on you so that your doors won't stay shut!

All in all, I would recommend the 1.3L 95 PS engine compared to the 1.1 75 PS engine, due to its slightly better fuel economy and power, but if the 75 is the only model you can find, it's not that bad for 75HP. I have driven slower cars. This however is the slowest I have ever owned, & it was given to me. For others that are interested in the forfour, I would recommend you look into the Mitsubishi Colt from the same year, which was built on the same platform. While it doesn't have the same funky styling, it's performance & fuel figures are similar plus Mitsubishi had the good sense not to make the same mistakes to the sun visor, window tinting and power window switch placement.