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The interior of the forfour is less quirky than the fortwo, although there's still, as there ought to be, an air of originality about it. One thing that's particularly neat is the display of little warning lights which curve down the outside of the speedometer and rev counter rims. And turning the knurled knob which operates the roof lights through their various phases is also, if you like that kind of thing, quite fun.

Practicality is the theme in the rear cabin, though. The important point here, if you open the tailgate and see a hilariously small luggage area, is that that will be with the movable back seat in its rearmost position, allowing for far better passenger kneeroom than you'd think possible from a quick glance at the car.

The seat can be moved forward by 150mm, though, at which point the passenger/luggage allocations become quite different. In standard form, the rear seat backs have a 60:40 split, and each one can be reclined or folded down, while the whole seat can also be tumbled forward.

Among the individual options and option packs in the forfour catalogue, there are several which upgrade the seating arrangements, even to the point of making scatter cushions available. The list goes right up to the level of Internet access via a WAP browser, and colour-screen DVD satellite navigation. As a member of the Mercedes Car Group, of course, smart has no problem about tapping into premium equipment.

A fixed panoramic tinted glass roof with pull-across blinds for the two individual panels is standard on the passion, while the forfour is also available with a solid non-see-through roof or an electrically operated glass sunroof.

The forfour has a comfortable driving position offering good visibility, and it will dart around quite vigorously in city traffic. It's far more of an out-of-town car than the fortwo, though, and the combination of a longer wheelbase with the standard ESP makes it handle more securely out in the country. You don't have to keep hold of the 1.1 on briskly taken bumpy back roads to the same extent as the high-powered forfour diesel.

As with earlier smarts, there's a range of Brabus accessories for the forfour, and next year we're promised complete Brabus-badged models as additions to the range.

Despite the Mitsubishi links, smart is still ploughing its own furrow, and although the price of the passion may seem some way up from the bargain basement, it's a well presented version of a very ingenious basic design.

Price: £10,370
Capacity: 1124cc
Power: 73bhp
0-62mph: 13.4 seconds
Maximum speed: 103mph
Economy: 61.4mpg extra urban, 51.4mpg combined
CO2 emissions: 130g/km
smart figures.

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