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| Road Test: Smart Forfour (2004-) |
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| Superminis |
by: Farah Alkhalisi |
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| RUNNING COSTS RATING: |
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Demand should be high on the secondhand market, meaning strong residual (resale) values - always the biggest cost when running a new car. Fuel economy is good for petrol engines this powerful: the 1.1 returns 51.4mpg, the 1.3 48.7mpg (50.4mpg with the clutchless transmission) and the 1.5 47.9mpg (48.7mpg clutchless); carbon dioxide outputs are 130g/km, 138g/km (133g/km) and 140g/km (138g/km) respectively, leading to relatively low tax bandings and ratings for BIK company car levies. The diesels both return 60-plus mpg and 122 g/km of carbon dioxide; being Euro IV-compliant, they're both exempt from the three percent BIK diesel surcharge. Insurance should be sensibly-priced, too. Prices are likely to remain high in the short term, with the only hope of a near-bargain being an imported LHD example (a poor investment) or a well-used ex-dealer demonstrator. As sales will not reach Fiesta/206/Clio volumes, supply is likely to remain tight and high secondhand prices to continue - until the next new fashion accessory comes along, at least. The Forfour is expensive for what it essentially is - a small car somewhere between the city car and supermini market segments - but as with the MINI, we nonetheless expect buyers to spend out on high specifications and extensive shopping from the lengthy options list. It's easy to foresee (no pun intended) a fair few £15k-plus Forfours leaving the showrooms. People seem to be prepared to pay handsomely for a stylish runaround with the right image, and we see no reason why Smart shouldn't benefit from this, even if cars like the Citroen C2 (admittedly a three-door) are just as accomplished, better-equipped and a lot cheaper.
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