Throw in plenty of body lean and steering that isn’t particularly communicative, and you’ve got a car that isn’t really that enjoyable to drive quickly. The gearbox doesn’t help, either: it may be a huge step on from the old automated manual, but shifts still feel ponderous and it’s easy to confuse it.
As this is an Xclusive model, you get leather seats, a leather-look dashboard topper, a 7.0in infotainment system with sat nav and a DAB radio, a reversing camera plus auto lights and wipers. That sounds generous until you realise that this is £15 shy of £20,000. I’ll repeat that. Twenty thousand pounds.
That brings us to the Smart’s biggest issue. For that money you could get a proper hot hatch such as a Ford Fiesta ST. If you want something a bit more premium, a Mini Cooper 5-door is cheaper and still loads faster than the Smart. It’s not like it feels that plush inside, either. There may be the aforementioned leathery bits, but there’s also lots of hard plastic and an infotainment system that looks like it’s been lifted straight out of a Renault. Probably because it has.
Should I buy one?
As you may have guessed by now, we can think of much better ways to spend the asking price of the Smart Forfour Brabus. Even if you avoid the luxuries of Xclusive trim, you’re still spending around £17,000.
At the end of the day, if you’re after a hot hatch, there are much better alternatives out there. If you really do want the Smart, then save yourself several thousand pounds and buy the Renault Twingo GT instead. True, it's also a distinctly average driver's car, but at least you’re not wasting quite so much money.
2017 Smart Forfour Brabus Xclusive
Location West Sussex; On sale Now; Price £19,985; Engine 3cyl, 898cc, turbocharged, petrol; Power 108bhp at 5750rpm Torque 125lb ft at 2000rpm; Gearbox Six-speed dual-clutch automatic; Kerb weight 1095kg; 0-62mph 10.5secs; Top speed 96mph (limited); Economy 61.4mpg CO2/tax band 104g/km, 17%; Rivals Renault Twingo GT, Mini Cooper 5-Door 1.5T
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Smart? not quite
What does Brabus think it can
@ianp55