After countless spyshots and much teasing, the new 2015 smart fortwo and its larger smart forfour sibling has finally been unveiled. The new city cars form a rejuvenated smart lineup, which has long been propped up solely by the outgoing fortwo that had been on sale since 2007.
The fortwo has managed to keep the previous generation's length, a scant 2,690 mm, although width has grown by 100 mm to 1,660 mm and height by 10 mm to 1,550 mm. The four-door forfour is 800 mm longer at 3,490 mm, but it's still 262 mm shorter and 24 mm narrower than the first-generation model, which was based on a Mitsubishi Colt and competed in a bigger class.
While still recognisably smart, the two cars share many of their design cues with newer smart concepts such as the for-us, forstars and fourjoy. These include the honeycomb grille, the square head- and tail lights and a tridion safety cell design that wraps around the tail lights.
A higher bonnet leads to a change of proportions (it's now what smart calls a "one-and-a-half-box" design, rather than the previous one-box silhouette), which the company says gives both cars a more grown up and sportier character.
Inside, the new smarts continue the company's favoured use of fabric surfaces, with a large swathes covering the dashboard and the doors. The infotainment system sprouts from the dashboard, giving it a floating appearance similar to a number of newer Mercs. One cool feature is the temperature slider for the climate control, which is controlled by a miniature magnifying glass.
Based on the new Renault Twingo, both the fortwo and forfour will be offered with two of the French car's rear-mounted three cylinder petrol engines at launch – a 71 hp/91Nm 999 cc naturally aspirated unit and a 90 hp/135 Nm 898 cc turbocharged mill with a stop-start system. Later on, the lineup will be boosted through the introduction of a base 60 hp engine.
But the biggest news will be the discontinuation of the much-maligned single-clutch automated manual transmission of the previous two generations of the fortwo. Instead, buyers will be offered a choice between a five-speed manual or a twinamic six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Drive goes to the rear wheels.
The chassis with MacPherson strut front suspension and De Dion tube rear suspension has been tuned to ride more comfortably than before, and there's an optional sports suspension system on offer with stiffer springs and a 10 mm lower ride height. The company touts a tiny turning circle of just 6.95 m for the fortwo and 8.65 m for the forfour.
Both smarts are available with a raft of safety systems borrowed from sister company Mercedes-Benz – Crosswind Assist comes as standard, and forward collision warning and Lane Keeping Assist are offered as optional extras. They also come as standard with five airbags, seat belt pre-tensioners and load limiters for all occupants and ISOFIX child seat anchors.
The new smart fortwo and smart forfour will be available in European dealers in November, with prices for the fortwo remaining the same as the outgoing model. Spec-for-spec, the forfour will be about €600 (RM2,582) more than the equivalent fortwo. The smart duo was officially available in Malaysia before, will Mercedes-Benz Malaysia be interested this time around?
2015 smart fortwo
2015 smart forfour
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