Should Smart bring the Forfour to the USA?

Mon, Mar 14 2016

With sales not improving much even with the new Fortwo, should Smart bring the other car it sells around the world? It's called the Forfour because, well, it's for four people.

Smart has said it would cannibalize the Fortwo's sales, but sales are money and the automaker should be happy if it can sell more cars and have a real presence in the market.

Many people say the only reason they don't buy the Fortwo is the lack of a backseat or because with the price range of the tiny car you can get something bigger. Those issues are resolved with the Forfour.

Besides, the USA market is showing some willingness to accept small hatchbacks if they offer good value for the money or are fun to drive that's the reason Fiat came back to the USA with the 500, Chevrolet sells the Spark and Sonic, Ford offers the Fiesta, Toyota imports the Yaris, the Honda Fits is in its third generation, that's why Hyundai keep selling the Accent and Kia the Rio, and Nissan brought the Versa Note, even Mitsubishi sells in decent numbers the dull looking Mirage. The Smart Forfour would be a nice addition to the segment.

And an interesting one too as it would be the only one with the engine located in the back, that's right, in the back, below the cargo area.

Power is provided by the same engine that moves the Fortwo: 0.9L turbo 3 cylinder with 89 HP, the transmission can be a 5 speed manual or a 6 speed double clutch automatic. Now let's think for a minute: manual, RWD and rear-engined...sounds like fun.

While the Fortwo is a niche car bought only for the enthusiasts, ads companies or Car2Go, the Forfour belongs to a real segment with plenty of competition that don't offer the funky style and other features the Smart does.

So, the question is: should Smart bring the Forfour to the USA? Let us know in the comments below.

Image Credit: Alfonso Rascon

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By Alfonso Rascon