The rear end design is inspired by the fortwo. Its vertical-mounted, bubble-like taillights and protruding rear wheel arches form the back bumper. Doors, hood and bumper are all crafted from plastic rather than metal, reducing weight plus manufacturing and repair costs. Panels can be individually replaced in a matter of minutes thanks to easy to find screws, and being plastic, they are resistant to low-speed bumps, scratches and corrosion. The panels are available in ten different colors, yielding a total of thirty total colour combinations when combined with the exoskeleton-like frame, ensuring a high level of individuality.
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| Doors, hood and bumper are all crafted from plastic rather than metal, reducing weight as well as parking lot scratches and dents. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada) |
Other impressive forfour features include the aforementioned full-length panoramic glass roof, a large rear window, and mirror-mounted turn signals.
Convention (note: convention doesn't have to mean dull) can be found in the forfour's chassis and drive layout. The engine is situated between the front wheels, as opposed to the fortwo's configuration that finds it behind the occupants. The engine just so happens to drive the front wheels as well. Neither smart nor Mercedes-Benz (aside from the A-Class) have a great deal of knowledge with front-wheel drive so it's a good thing the new car shares architecture with a Mitsubishi.
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| The forfour also features a full-length panoramic glass roof, perfect for star gazing. (Photo: DaimlerChrysler Canada) |
The forfour rides on a new, albeit conventional suspension system. Struts are mounted up front while a torsion beam with coil springs is in back. Surprisingly, there's no multi-link layout for the rear end. Unlike the fortwo, which was re-engineered at the last moment to be stable under duress, the four-seater's low center of gravity gave smart's engineers much more to work with. Standard issue suspension is reportedly geared to European tastes, meaning quite firm. Steering is done via a rack and pinion setup that is assisted with an electric motor. Initial reports suggest that the forfour's steering, as with many other cars equipped with electric steering, is overly light but very accurate.