Image 1 of 18
This is the Smart EQ ForFour. Once the government’s £3,500 plug-in car grant is taken into account, it’s priced from £17,285, placing the ForFour right into the ballpark of the VW Group electric city car trio of the SEAT Mii electric, the Skoda Citigo-e iV and the Volkswagen e-up!.
It’s an update to the range (the smaller ForTwo Coupe and ForTwo Cabriolet get similar revisions) following two big changes for the brand: first, the move to drop combustion engines completely in order to operate as a fully-electric manufacturer; and second, since Chinese giant Geely took a 50 per cent stake in the company to form a joint venture with Mercedes.
While the name is new, the updates to the EQ ForFour focus mostly on the cosmetic. From the outside, the ForFour gets a sleeker bonnet, larger air dam and some refreshed tail lights, while new wheel designs and colours also feature. The cabin feels a step up in quality over most city car rivals, and for 2020 there’s a couple of extra cup holders and a smartphone tray. What hasn’t changed, however, is the infotainment system: a rather clunky, slow Renault-based set-up which lacks Apple CarPlay.
Image 2 of 18
Access to the cabin is reasonably easy thanks to doors that open extremely wide, but there’s only so much that can be done to offer space to passengers once inside a car that measures less than 3.5 metres long. The boot is a rather miniscule 185 litres too - a result of the location of the electric motor.
Under the skin, the EQ ForFour carries on with the same rear-mounted 80bhp motor driving the back wheels. A 12.7-second 0-62mph time is a couple of tenths down on the VW Group city cars - not a staggering number on paper, but at town speeds, the ForTwo feels lively. A peak torque of 160Nm is instantly available, and it helps the Smart step skip around with a puppy-like enthusiasm. It’s so manoeuvrable, too; the tiny turning circle and narrow body makes fighting through crowded streets a cinch.
Only a generated hum from pedestrians disturbs the low-speed peace, though the ride comfort isn’t quite on par with a Hyundai i10. With the battery pack mounted low within the chassis, the EQ feels more stable through the turns than the now-discontinued petrol model, but the likes of the i10 and the Up still handle more sweetly.
However, for some buyers, the biggest issue with the Smart EQ will be range. A 17kWh battery means that, based on the official WLTP testing figures, it’ll cover around 81 miles between charging. That number is almost precisely half that of the Skoda Citigo-e IV. Fine for a commuter car, but impractical for anyone who might want to venture out of the city.
Image 3 of 18
A 22kW on-board charger is fitted as standard, which means that topping up the battery from 10 to 80 per cent takes as little as forty minutes.
The ForFour comes in a choice of three trim levels. The entry level Passion Advanced has pretty much all the kit that any city car buyer really needs: 15-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, climate control, and parking sensors are all included as standard.
Should you wish to venture higher up the range, however, an extra £1,150 step up to the Pulse Premium includes 16-inch alloy wheels, a pair of sunroofs and a reversing camera. The top spec Prime Exclusive adds LED head and tail lights, fog lights with a cornering function, rain-sensing wipers and ambient interior lighting. Including the government grant, the Prime costs £19,585.
- Model: Smart EQ ForFour Prime Exclusive
- Price: £19,585
- Engine: 17.6kWh battery, single electric motor
- Power/torque: 80bhp/160Nm
- Transmission: Single speed, rear-wheel drive
- 0-62mph: 12.7 seconds
- Top speed: 81mph
- Range: 81 miles
- CO2: 0g/km
- On sale: Now
from Featured Articles https://ift.tt/2S1K55x
No comments:
Post a Comment