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ForJoy Or Not ForJoy? That Is The Question.

Topics:  Smart ForJoy

ForJoy Or Not ForJoy? That Is The Question.

Geoff Maxted
DriveWrite
September 7, 2013

They tried it once and we didn’t like it but you can’t keep a good car manufacturer down for long and Daimler/Smart are giving the four seater another go with the production version of the concept - called ForJoy(!) - in the image.

The old ForFour was never popular with the buying public but the company hope that, in this world of ever smaller cars, the new one will have more appeal. I wonder.

Try to imagine what the production vehicle will look like as it is apparently close to this concept. With that outline it smacks rather of the C1/Aygo/107 triumvirate which for a long time ruled the city car rankings until VW came along with their uppity Up! Is there room for yet another diminutive car in this crowded sector?

A company spokesman said that this vehicle will allow ‘families to travel together’ which, I think they will find, is what many cars are capable of. In fact, as this is a joint venture with Renault, this new ForFour - which is to be built alongside the third-generation Twingo in Slovenia - is probably a re-badging with Smart accessories.

The same electric system available in the existing ForTwo electric drive powers the FourJoy. It consists of a 55kW brushless electric motor mounted in back underneath the trunk floor with a 17.7kWh lithium-ion battery in the floor pan. Drive is sent to the rear wheels via a fixed-ratio gearbox. The production version of the ForFour will have both the electric driveline available or a new 900cc three-cylinder direct-injection petrol engine. DriveWrite wishes Smart good fortune with this new car but, sadly, I think it will sell sparingly.