• Bright and quirky design throughout
• Surprisingly comfortable for two occupants
• The best models are pricey, though

The buzzword here is ‘funky’. There’s a decidedly modern feel to the cabin, with bold colours and fabrics employed to liven things up.

You’re greeted by a speedometer in the dash directly in front of the driver and a 3.5-inch screen for trip computer information. From there, depending on trim, you’ll get a number of gauges sprouting from the dash and four circular plastic air vents peering towards you.

The stereo seems a little mis-matched with the rest of the car if you’ve got the Smart audio system and smartphone cradle only, but the Smart Media screen looks perfectly suited.

We were impressed with the ForTwo’s driving position. The pedals and hand-operated controls are placed cleverly in the cabin for ease of use, and you’ve got very good visibility too considering it’s such a small machine.

Unfortunately the seats lack a little support when cornering quickly, which seems a shame considering that’s one of the most entertaining things you can do in a ForTwo.

Considering the size of the car, Smart ForTwo comfort levels are surprisingly high. It’s 100mm wider than the previous version, so there’s more than enough room for two adults to sit side-by-side in comfort without brushing shoulders. We found six-footers had a fair bit of headroom too, even taking into account the panoramic glass sunroof assembly on higher-spec models.

Comfort

We found the ride comfort vastly improved over the previous model. The entire car has been redesigned and the upshot is more suspension travel and the facility to fit larger tyres, which again helps smooth out bumps in the road surface.

Another thing we were impressed with was the refinement Smart has worked into the cabin. It’s remarkably well insulated from exterior wind or road noise, and even that distinctive engine is very quiet thanks to its location towards the rear of the car.