New Smart Fortwo EQ and Forfour EQ priced from £16,850 | Autocar

The updated Smart Fortwo EQ, Fortwo Cabrio EQ and Forfour EQ electric city cars have gone on sale in the UK.

The revised line-up opens with the two-seat Fortwo, with prices rising to £17,285 for the larger Forfour and topping out at £20,420 for the soft-top Fortwo Cabrio. All prices include the Government’s £3500 electric car grant. 

Standard equipment includes a multifunction leather steering wheel, rear parking sensors, 7.0in touchscreen, a charger finder, Bluetooth, automatic climate control, a DAB radio and Android Auto. A 22kW onboard charger is said to allow the battery to be charged from 10-80% capacity in 40 minutes. 

Optional Passion Advanced, Pulse Premium and Prime Exclusive trim packages are available on all three models, bringing bespoke wheel designs, different interior colours and extra equipment. 

The models, which made their public debut at the Frankfurt motor show in 2019, are said to allow the brand to “return to its origins”. Parent company Mercedes-Benz first envisaged an urban vehicle powered by a zero-emissions powertrain long before Smart was even formed. 

After offering electric versions of its models in both generations since 2007, Smart announced in 2018 it would transition to a “fully electric urban mobility brand” as its leadership was overhauled, ditching its three-cylinder petrol engines.  

The exterior of the new Smart EQ trio, described as “radically simple” by Daimler design boss Gorden Wagener, is evolutionary. The grille has been lowered and made larger, albeit with much of the surface area blanked off, because EVs require less air cooling. 

For the first time, the Fortwo and Forfour have different front-end looks, with Smart giving the four-seater a more “dynamic” profile than the “familiar friendly face” of the Fortwo. New tail-light designs also feature, while full LED headlights are optional, as are variety of colour combinations.