Print

[Unknown]

Well no, it's the fortwo/Twingo in America for testing! Can't wait for the new forfour? I can if that's the basis of the new model!

They're saying the UK Twingo will only be sold as a five door, so not to compete with the fortwo hmm So the fortwo will be a two door Twingo then, sounds like a good marketing strategy! 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/smart/fortwo/65273/smart-fortwo-spied-testing

[CrazyG]

... They're saying the UK Twingo will only be sold as a five door, so not to compete with the fortwo..

That means that it will compete with the ForFour then ! ! !  good marketing strategy !  NOT....... 

[mr singh]

or the 5 door twingo will be sold here but the forfour mk2 wont.

whats the point on having a 5 door twingo when you have the clio?!

[Brabs]

Although a shame that 'our' forfours were only made for a limited time at least we didn't have to suffer the constant annual updates whereby your model was soon out of date...  and also our forfours are now guaranteed to be unique! I'm keeping my two for as long as possible! 
 

[Unknown]

or the 5 door twingo will be sold here but the forfour mk2 wont.

whats the point on having a 5 door twingo when you have the clio?!

Because the Clio is bigger. All VAGs city cars all come in five guises (as well as three doors) and they have their bigger siblings.

Five doors offer more practicality and flexibility BUT what will be interesting is will the Twingo be a two or four seater if its sibling is the fortwo...

[mr singh]

my guess would be the twingo will be a 2 seater with a 2+2 version later which could be called the fortwo+2 and not the forfour as the rear seats will have limited usability.

[CrazyG]

You would think that the very name  Twin Go  would denote it as a 2 seater...
yet the current/previous version is a 4 seater. Oh well....

And yes...the Smart 4 seater will be a stretched ForTwo....and as I have stated elsewhere,
it is planned to release it a few months before the ForTwo that it is based on.
Shapewise it will be reverting back to a smooth curved shape, unlike the current
slightly boxy ForTwo.   No other details are available as Smart have/are keeping a
very tight hold on any information, especially as they did a complete re-design on
the orders of the head of Smart after someone released pictures and details to the
press/media late last year.

[brulaw]

From all of the speculation  one thing is becoming clear ...... ours are going to be the only " real "  forfours  , anything that comes from this next " joint venture "  will only be a jumped up RenMerc fortwo+two 1/2's ..... 

[CrazyG]

That's the trouble with MB....they don't ask what a potential or existing Smart
owner would want, you just get what they'll give you...if you want it that is.

As I've said in previous posts......it's too little, too late.  All the other major
manufacturers have got their feet in the marketplace already, and when it comes
to 'catch-up', MB don't exactly know how to.....especially where Smart is concerned,
so once again we could well see another Smart with a 2 or maybe 3 year lifespan....

[Unknown]

From all of the speculation  one thing is becoming clear ...... ours are going to be the only " real "  forfours  , anything that comes from this next " joint venture "  will only be a jumped up RenMerc fortwo+two 1/2's ..... 

The original forfour was a tie-up job and may have produced a good looking car but it failed. Smart has a very crowded market to compete in now, just think Vauxhall has two city cars - one for the trendsetters and one for cost influenced (same as Fiat). So how smart expect to compete now with the very well established 500, BINI, Panda and the emerging VAG offerings.

However the cars on offer are only part of the story, until smart can offer a comprehensive package when buying a new car they will struggle, most brands now offer a variety finance packages, service plans and decent warranties.

Like I have said before, Vauxhall is currently offering the best packages (the models might not appeal to everyone) and even Skoda is attempting to compete for 0% and 3 year servicing.

[mr singh]

when the London to Berlin run took place back in 2009 i think, on the way back we stopped at the brabus factory in botrop and the guy who was showing us around mentioned that there will be a 'new forfour' and there are/were some test mules at the time that were using the old A-Class platform. is that still the case or will they be of a Renault platform... and I'm going to put my neck out there and say its not just Renault that will benefit, it might stretch to Nissan and possibly Peugeot/Citroen.

[CrazyG]

Mr Singh....as has been stated quite a few times....
the next new ForTwo and ForTwo+2 (ForFour in other words)
is based on the Renault Twingo chassis...albeit with the engine
at the back...in other words the chassis has been flipped.
No Nissan or Peugeot or Citroen connection at all.

[Unknown]

Mr Singh....as has been stated quite a few times....
the next new ForTwo and ForTwo+2 (ForFour in other words)
is based on the Renault Twingo chassis...albeit with the engine
at the back...in other words the chassis has been flipped.
No Nissan or Peugeot or Citroen connection at all.

Mr G remember Daimler has a stake in the Renault-Nissan Alliance and they have a stake in Daimler. So somewhere in the development Nissan will possibly have an influence, more than likely in the electric versions. Nissan probably won't release a version of their own but could be involved with the development.

From what I have read this next generation of smarts will have minimal (if any) input from MB and be solely a RNA derived vehicle. This could prove interesting in the sales tactics, will MB pull their smart partnership and smart sold as an individual brand OR sold under Renault...

[Problemchild]

i can't see how, from a brand perspective, they can't do anything but have a huge input in the styling no matter what is underneath (e.g. this forfour with the colt underneath)

In terms of collaborations, I can't think of 2 models (forfour and colt) that look so different to each other while sharing the same rolling chassis.

JJ

[Unknown]

i can't see how, from a brand perspective, they can't do anything but have a huge input in the styling no matter what is underneath (e.g. this forfour with the colt underneath)

In terms of collaborations, I can't think of 2 models (forfour and colt) that look so different to each other while sharing the same rolling chassis.

JJ

Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo?
Fiat 500 and Ford Ka?
VW Golf and Audi TT?

Basically anything in the VAG alliance.

I think this will be a make or break for smart, they need to price keenly and be very different to their sisters under Renault.