On the road: Smart Car Forfour – car review

'I thought first was a moving-off gear until I met this car'

The Smart Car Forfour is, generally speaking, attractive; and where it's not attractive, it is weird enough to confuse you into finding it attractive. Mine came in a tangy orange that, coupled with its snub nose (the engine's at the back), gave it the look of a novelty drink. Inside, the seats had a zippy, race-driver hardness, and the door stowage was done in a newfangled plasticised basket weave. I can't imagine the person this would mean a lot to, but it was impossible not to notice. The interior was lively and intuitive: lots of fancy white stitching and bold, round and ovoid shapes - even the vents look perky.

In fact, I have just two complaints about the vehicle, which relate to its size. The Smart Car was put on Earth to be titchy: its entire allure lies in the fact that you can park it sideways and give almost nobody a lift anywhere. Once this idiosyncratic boon has been lost - the Forfour might have a truncated front, but it's no smaller than about 100 other family cars - you're left with traits that feel gimmicky, purposeless. I wouldn't say it raised existential doubts about the point of a new-look anything, but if you were liable to get that kind of reaction to a car, this would be the one that did it.

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