2005 smart forfour Pulse review from Switzerland

Nothing.

My wife bought this car to replace her original smart for two when we had a second child. There are contrasts and similarities between these two cars from smart:

Similarities are that both cars have character, often lacking in modern cars although I admit with smart it can be a love it or loathe it experience. Both cars are also surprisingly practical for their size. The forfour can easily seat four adults and the back seat slides to trade leg room with boot space. Quality seems good and the plastic bodywork is resistant to scrapes and dinges picked up in car parks. Interior layout is also stylish and more interesting than many other super minis.

Contrasts: The forfour handles like it is on rails. We have the 1.3 - not the sporty brabus model, but the lively Mitsubishi sourced engine and low weight make it great fun to drive. The old ForTwo handled very poorly and once out of town was a disaster. In winter I would even say it was dangerous. The ForFour is amazing in comparison. The gearbox of our ForFour is an automated manual, but is quicker and less jerky than the original forTwo plus it has a creep mode which makes town stop-start driving more responsive than with the old forTwo. Makes a good compromise between manual control (in tiptronic mode) and a true automatic. Motorway driving is also possible and comfortable in the forFour.

In general we really like this car.