Smart Forfour Electric Drive 2017 first drive

The Smart Fortwo and Smart ForFour are quirky city cars for style-conscious metropolitan drivers. The cars themselves, and the target audience they are aimed at, suit a zany electric model perfectly.

Indeed electric models were planned right from the outset for Smart, but previous electric efforts have disappointed, and sales success has only been modest in the UK.

The latest Smart range is a big step forward, and this fourth-generation electric model could prove to be as well. It can be charged up to twice as fast as the battery in the model it replaces and it comes with a slightly longer range, more power and extra smartphone connectivity.

Previously, you could only get the two-door Fortwo as an electric car, but now for the first time you can get an electrified Forfour. It gets a new rear-mounted electric motor from Renault and a 17.6kWh battery that’s good for 80bhp, 118lb ft of torque and a claimed range of 96 miles.

The Forfour ED sounds a promising prospect for city-bound electric vehicle (EV) drivers, but the electric car revolution continues apace and it faces tough competition from the recently updated Volkswagen e-up, as well as established market lynchpins like the Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf.

We’ve already driven a US-spec Fortwo ED, but this is our first taste of the four-door Forfour ED, which Smart believes will be the best-selling of its three EVs. 

You won’t be surprised to hear that the city is its natural environment, and it is there that the electric Smart excels.

Like all electric cars, it has a strong burst of acceleration from a standstill. While the Forfour’s 0-62mph time of 12.7sec shows it’s not especially quick over a distance, its nippy acceleration from 0-30mph is a great asset around town, plus a new electronic management system makes progress smoother than before.

But with the extra doors, seats and added weight that comes with the Forfour’s layout, it loses some of the urgency that you feel in the Fortwo ED’s acceleration, and it’s more than 1sec slower from 0-60mph.

The Forfour ED's electric battery adds around 140kg of weight to the car compared with the petrol model, and because it’s in the bottom of the car it gives it a lower centre of gravity which helps it handle better.

The steering, like the petrol car, is very light and lacks feel but it is at least precise. Although not quite as gobsmacking as the Fortwo, the Forfour still boasts a brilliantly tight turning circle of 8.65m which makes manoeuvers a breeze in town. The ride isn’t bone-shaking, but it is still unsettled. Having said that, firmer springs and dampers than the petrol Forfour, as well as that added weight, give it much better body control, and long stretches in town aren’t uncomfortable. 

The brake pedal feel is a little spongey, but the off-throttle regenerative braking is effective. The car comes with an Eco mode that you can engage which limits its maximum speed, softens the accelerator pedal response and sets the regenerative braking system to maximum to eek out some extra miles of range. When left in standard mode the car uses radar sensors to judge how hard the regenerative braking should be when you lift off the accelerator, depending on the traffic around the car.