Press Release
- First smart with four seats and five doors goes on sale in UK
- First smart with diesel engine in the UK
- First manual gearbox in a smart
- First UK terrestrial TV advertising campaign
The smart forfour, the first smart with four seats and five doors, will be available on British roads from 1 September. Customers can choose from a range of five powerful engines, including two responsive diesel engines built by Mercedes-Benz; the first time customers have been able to buy a diesel smart in the UK.
The lively 1.1 litre, 3 cylinder petrol engine in pulse trim is available from £8,995 otr, rising to £12,370 otr, for the 3 cylinder 1.5 cdi (95 bhp) in passion trim. The range will also feature a manual gearbox for the first time, while still offering smart's softouch automated gearbox as an option.
Jeremy Simpson, Head of smart in the UK and Ireland, said: "This extremely attractive pricing is great news for customers and means the smart forfour is an absolute must for the shopping lists of anyone looking to buy a distinctive but practical hatchback."
All 56 smart retailers have a smart forfour on display in their showrooms and are taking customer orders ahead of the launch. Throughout the summer the forfour will feature in a national television advertising campaign starting on 19 July; the first time smart has been advertised on terrestrial television. The commercials will focus on smart features such as dent resistant panels, full screen satellite navigation with DVD player, lounge concept interior and panoramic glass roof.
As well as offering 30 exterior colour combinations, the smart forfour's innovative and versatile interior offers a high degree of functionality combined with the emotional appeal common to all smart models. Customers will be able to choose from two design and equipment lines: the entry level pulse version and the top of the range passion model.
In keeping with the high level of innovation customers have come to expect from smart, all the available engines in the smart forfour offer a much higher horsepower from a small cylinder capacity engine, than many of its competitors. For example the smart 1.1 litre petrol engine gives the same output as some competitors' 1.4 litre engines, whilst offering better fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions.
Since the smart brand was launched in the UK in 2000, smart sales growth has been consistent and is currently 15% ahead of last year, before the launch of the smart forfour. Jeremy Simpson added: "The smart forfour continues the expansion of the brand and we fully expect smart to record one of the highest growth figures in the industry for the fifth successive year as more and more customers decide to join in and choose smart."
Customers can get more information about the smart forfour, including details of their local retailer, by logging onto www.smart.com/uk or by calling 0808 000 8080.
