SMART Fortwo COUPE Review - Buy it in 2023?

here's still a strong desire amongst city car owners to have rear seats, even though they're likely to be used less regularly than the Queen's skateboard. A boot of more than 220-litres is another feature that the Smart deems unnecessary but the indications are that people like to have one all the same. You could also argue that the Smart is a little too small at under three meters in length and just over 1.5m wide. Still, it's perfect in town even if outside the city limits the car is towered over by tailgating HGVs and buffeted by cross winds. Smart, of course, would counter that all of this frippery falls outside the ForTwo's remit of providing affordable, funky urban transport - something it does do exceedingly well.
Taken in isolation, the ForTwo doesn't look too different to its immediate predecessor but sit the two cars back to back and it's easy to see where the changes were made. For a start, the Smart swelled by almost 20cm in length and 4.3cm in width but don't worry, it's still tiny. The track and the wheelbase were also stretched but the majority of the length was imposed upon the company by pedestrian crash legislation. Inside, this ForTwo feels like part of the Mercedes-Benz family, rather than the troublesome stepchild that Smart's prestigious parent company would rather forget. Space for the two occupants is surprisingly generous, the switchgear feels quite upmarket and build quality is strong while the trademark funky design remains.
The entry-level Pure version is quite basic. It comes with a two-spoke steering wheel, a black grooved plastic roof and steel wheels. The lower part of the instrument panel is made of grained black plastic, as are the door trims. There are even manual window winders. Everything bar the essentials for two adults to get cheaply and stylishly about town is stripped away. The top-spec Passion version might fit the bill better with its electric windows and panoramic smoked glass roof.

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