Smart Fortwo Coupe (2014-2019) Review

If you plan to spend most of your time in the city and never have more than a single passenger, it can zip through traffic and park more easily than any rival - there’s some legal doubt on the matter but you can physically park a Smart Fortwo Coupe rear-in to the kerb, it’s that short - which makes it an obvious choice for a city dweller.

Unlike some of its city car rivals however, the Smart Fortwo Coupe is less capable outside of the city, and the fact it is a two-seater means it will hardly work for many families either. The Smart Fortwo is also not a car well suited to novice drivers, with its slightly unusual handling characteristics.

Although the basic 71PS engine option works well enough in town, it doesn’t take long for it to become a little breathless on quicker roads, and even if that isn’t very often it can be frustrating making decent progress. We’d suggest choosing a model with the more powerful 90PS engine. The Brabus model has 109PS, but is much more expensive and comes with its own set of issues, so we’d give that a miss too.

As the Smart Fortwo Coupe was sold as premium small car rather than a cut-price special, the standard specification is actually pretty strong. Passion models come with alloy wheels, climate control and Bluetooth, which will be enough for a lot of buyers. The mid-spec Prime is a good choice though, as it adds leather trim, heated seats and lane keep assist.

In many respects there are no other cars like the Smart Fortwo Coupe. The only car that comes close to it in terms of size is the Toyota iQ, but in terms of being semi-premium city car it is closer to things like the Fiat 500.

For similar or even less money you could find good examples of the Toyota Aygo, Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 siblings, all of which offer more space and similar running costs, if not the same level of style and quality. Alternatively, you could go for a Volkswagen Up and get a better standard of interior finish and quality and still enjoy the extra space for passengers.

The Smart Fortwo Coupe is sold as a premium product - semi-premium at least - and while it’s not posh enough to be sold wearing the three-pointed star of a Mercedes, it is still pitched as something a cut above the more commonplace brands.

It manages to justify this billing, at least partly, because there are some nice touches dotted around the cabin and it feels mostly of good quality too. Even if you go for a basic version in Passion trim, it gives off the vibes of a quality product. 

There are a mixture of materials and finishes, like gloss black details contrasting with the fabric covering on the dashboard, all of which lift the Smart Fortwo Coupe above the humdrum. It’s also worth seeking out a car that’s had a bit of colour injected into it - even on the basic Passion model you could add a coloured trim pack and this helps to boost the appeal of the interior.

It’s not all good news unfortunately, as a bit of poking around reveals that some of the materials in here are actually pretty cheap. 

That’s true for every other car in this sector, but this also reflects that the Smart Fortwo Coupe isn’t really a wholly premium product. Smart’s relationship with Renault is also evident (the Smart ForFour and Renault Twingo are sister cars) with the occasional item of Renault switchgear dotted around the cabin.

The standard infotainment system on the Smart Fortwo Coupe depends on the age of the vehicle as well as the trim you go for. For the earliest 2014 cars, the basic provision is two-speaker FM/AM radio that also includes Bluetooth, so you can stream audio and make telephone calls. This system is adequate, but lacks the ability to use any other audio sources.

From 2016 onward this system included a phone cradle to make it easier to hook up your smartphone, and also introduced the Smart Media System, standard on Passion models but also available as a standalone option or as part of the Premium package. 

This adds a 7-inch touchscreen, navigation depending on the model, Android Auto and DAB, and is a significant upgrade. Unfortunately it isn’t compatible with Apple CarPlay, so you’ll have to make do with just the Bluetooth connection if you have an Apple device. Later cars also add a USB connection, so you can charge and stream from your phone at the same time.

When buying a used Smart Fortwo Coupe be sure to check the standard specification as well as any options fitted so you can get the best infotainment provision -  a Smart dealer can help you with this if you want to check on a particular car.

More so than any other car you can buy, space and practicality are terms relative to the size of the car and what the competition is like. The two occupants of the Smart Fortwo Coupe have a good deal of space to play with - even if you’re tall there’s plenty of headroom, and with no rear seats to interfere with you can slide the fronts back almost as far as you like, giving plenty of legroom too.

Of course, the Smart Fortwo Coupe is a strict two-seater, and as well as the obvious restriction of only allowing you to carry one passenger, it also means that the driver and passenger can’t fully recline their seats should they wish to do so. However, the other side to this is that you can easily reach into the boot should you wish, even if you’re still sat up front.

Storage space in the cabin is also reasonable and similar to that offered on most of its rivals. The glovebox is quite small, but the door pockets are a useful size and there’s a pair of cupholders - clearly you won’t need more than two.

It’s not something you could officially call storage space, but with no one sat behind you it’s easy to stuff items in the space behind the seats, as long as it’s not something that could roll around and cause problems.

As for the boot itself, it offers 260 litres, which is actually more than the Volkswagen Up and its siblings. The two-piece tailgate is also something of a bonus, particularly when you only have a few bags or you’re in a tight parking space - being able to drop items in through the window is very handy. 

You even have the ability to fold the front passenger seat to increase the total space - but you only get 350 litres then, which is nothing like as much as you get from rival offerings that have two rows of seats to play with.

The Smart Fortwo Coupe dimensions are 2695mm long, 1893mm wide and 1555mm tall.

As with most of its competitors, engine choices are relatively limited in the Smart Fortwo Coupe. All models come with three cylinder unit of 1.0-litre or 0.9-litres that is mounted beneath the boot floor. A turbocharger helps to boost both power and efficiency, and given how little it weighs - 890kg for the lightest versions - it doesn’t need much power to offer useful performance.

The basic 71PS model is fine for town use, as the turbocharger boosts the amount of torque available at low revs, making it relatively easy to get away quickly from the lights. It also has the classic three-cylinder sound, with a busy thrum at most engine speeds, but it’s worth noting that the engine is a lot closer to you than it would be in a conventional city car. 

Get out of the city and the 71PS version begins to struggle a little, needing to be worked hard in order to keep pace with the traffic. The 109PS version is only available in Brabus trim, and although this adds another level of performance, it’s not really worth the extra expense or the other dynamic compromises that come with it.

Far better is the 90PS version, which also brings an additional 44Nm of torque (taking the total to 135Nm) and has significant impact on the way the Smart Fortwo Coupe drives. Acceleration is significantly more rapid - it actually feels like quite a quick car in this guise - and it’s also far more comfortable at higher speeds, enough to make motorway journeys far more viable.

Smart Fortwo Coupes come with either a five-speed manual gearbox which is perfectly serviceable and works well enough, or a six-speed dual-clutch which is far better than the previous automatic, and has no fuel consumption or emissions penalty either.

The key issue with the Smart Fortwo Coupe in terms of refinement is once again its size. Because there’s much less car in the first place, you’re closer to all the sources of noise and there’s less space to add dampening that will insulate you from it.

The engine is not what you would call a silent partner - its three cylinder thrum is engaging, but can become wearing if you’re in a hurry and it becomes something of a drone on a long motorway journey.

It’s a similar story in respect of other noise sources. At lower speeds the Smart Fortwo Coupe feels relatively refined, with just a general hum from the engine being the dominating sound. At higher speeds however the rush of tyre roar begins to intrude alongside the whip of wind noise from around the roof and the doors. 

You can drown it out with the stereo or just ignore it, but the reality is that most of the competition have an edge on the Smart Fortwo Coupe here. Like with any car purchase, it’s important to try the car in all possible conditions to ensure you’re happy with the way it performs.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that a car of the Smart Fortwo Coupe’s size couldn’t possibly be as safe as a conventional car, but Mercedes-Benz put a huge amount of work into its development in order to make it as safe as possible.

Euro NCAP tested the Smart Fortwo Coupe in 2014, and it achieved a remarkable four-star rating overall. It scored 82 per cent for adult protection and 80 per cent for child protection, and only the less impressive scores of 56 per cent for pedestrian mitigation and safety assist rating prevented it from a higher score overall.

As standard, all versions of the Smart Fortwo Coupe come with twin front and side airbags, as well as a knee airbag for the driver, seatbelt pre-tensioners and load-limiters, ISOFIX mounting points for the passenger seat with an airbag cut-off switch, and most importantly ESC as standard. 

A useful addition is side wind assist, designed to help you keep the Smart Fortwo Coupe pointing in the right direction in windy days. Higher specification models are also fitted with lane keep assist, but automatic emergency braking was not fitted as standard or available as an option, which is a disappointment on a safety-conscious car.

In terms of other items of equipment, cars fitted with the Premium package get rear parking sensors, while if you opt for a car with Premium Plus this is upgraded to a reversing camera too.

The Smart Fortwo didn't feature in the HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, but looking at the number of recalls issued for the car it would appear that it offers a decent level of reliability. As always, look for a car with a full dealer service history for maximum peace of mind.

Insurance groupings for the Fortwo are relatively low, although there is quite a jump depending on the version you go for. Most 71PS models fall into group 2 or 3, the exception being some special editions like the Black, White and Urbanshadow models.

The more powerful 90PS versions are in group 8 or 9, while the top-spec Brabus version is in group 11 or 12 due to its extra performance and price tag. If your budget is tight and you are a higher-risk driver, you may be able to save a significant sum each year if you go for a low-group model.

As the Fortwo is another one of those cars that flirts with the 100g/km CO2 threshold - some are below, some are above - you can pay somewhere between nothing at all and a modest sum depending on what you go for.

All models registered before 1st April 2017 qualify for zero rate VED, with the exception of the Brabus - but even that only costs £20 per year if it’s a pre-April 2017 car. Any car registered on or after that date pays the standard £165 per year rate. If you’re looking at a car around that age, you could save by going for an earlier example.

The Smart Fortwo Coupe Pure model is the bottom rung of the range, and because the Fortwo was sold as a more upmarket offering there are relatively few examples on the market. It’s a little light on equipment, although it does come with a height adjustable steering wheel and driver’s seat as standard, something that isn’t fitted to higher-specification versions unless they come with the Comfort pack, so check carefully.

We would suggest choosing one of the mid-range trims such as Smart Fortwo Coupe Passion or Smart Fortwo Coupe Prime, as they add desirable extras such as climate control and parking sensors. It’s also worth considering one of the special editions, as they usually add lots of coloured interior detailing that costs extra on a standard car.