It was inevitable that, having established a foothold in the micro car market, Smart would seek to expand. Tiny, but fun sports cars followed and have been greeted warmly by the image conscious and small car enthusiasts alike. From there, the only way is up and so Smart now finds itself entering into the more conventional car world. To do this Smart has co-developed its larger offering, the ForFour, with Mitsubishi, a company with a proven track record in developing and selling decent small cars. The first Smart could be sold as a cleverly packaged city car, but the ForFour has nowhere to hide, staring straight down the barrels of the shotgun that is the cutthroat super-mini market. How does it fare?

As with other Smarts the unique selling point of the ForFour is its looks. The Smart is completely different to anything else from any angle, anything else apart from another Smart that is. Most models feature a two-colour layout with our test car having the "Tridion" safety cell highlighted in silver, with bright red main panels, which are plastic incidentally. A total of 30 exterior combinations are available across three trim levels (for a full selection have a look at the suitably modern and efficient brand website: www.thesmart.co.uk), although for the more modest an all black version, imaginatively named "black" is also available. The quad lamp treatment is reminiscent of the other, more famous, DaimlerChrysler brand, i.e. Mercedes, and may be an attempt to build more of an association between the brands as Smart push up into the super-mini market. Whether this signals intent to go even larger remains to be seen.

Whilst not to all tastes, the styling ensures that the ForFour stands out in the relatively sombre super-mini market and will be enough to sell cars on that basis alone. If the exterior doesn't sway you, then the interior might. I can only think of one potential rival to the ForFour in this aspect, unsurprisingly it would be arch rival BMW's Mini. Only the Mini would offer the same high quality standard of trim materials and textures. What the Mini can't do is compete with the style of the Smart; conventional items such as the stereo become focal points. The multi-layered contoured dash, in this case complete with the remote instrument pods, is streets ahead of most other market offerings, as are the array of trim colours and the mixtures involved. It's a stylists dream, mostly lost on reserved journalists, but those in the know say that it is indeed very cool.

Whilst I have no claim to the Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen aspects of car design I can tell you that the interior is well equipped and quite roomy. The front seats are comfortable and supportive and definitely a sporty design, but with a typically Smart twist. They fold flat to offer what Smart calls the "lounge" effect. A real boon for picnics etc, but how much use they'd get in the real world I'm not sure. The rear bench seat can be slid fore and aft to free up more legroom or luggage space as needed. The other innovative interior feature fitted to our test car was a full panoramic glass roof, which makes the cabin very light whilst also offering stargazers a good view.

The sporty interior is reflected in the driving experience. The ForFour is no warm hatch, but the 1.3-litre 4-pot does its best to add to the fun. It pumps out a relatively high 95bhp and 92lb.ft, which is more than most competitors' larger engines manage. This gives the ForFour a 0-60mph time of 10.8 seconds and a maximum of 112mph. Those who want more power can opt for the punchier 1.5-litre petrol; the frugal amongst you have the choice of two good common rail units. The five speed 'box is a slick shifting short throw unit marred only by a slight notchiness, but nothing that spoils the fun. The steering is a little light, as are the pedals, but in context of the prospective purchasers this had to be expected. You can chuck the ForFour around and have a bit of a giggle, but it is more of an urbanite than a B-road thriller, although it does offer reasonable motorway refinement as long as you keep the cruising speed below 80mph, above which the 1.3 betrays its size and becomes a little vocal.

The middle pedal offers good stopping power thanks to the all-round disc set-up backed up with ABS and EBD. Following the early stammers on the safety of the ForTwo Smart now makes sure its cars are class leading in terms of safety as well as style. This car features numerous dynamic driver aids plus a rake of airbags as well as that highlighted Tridion safety cell. All of this is an essential addition to the main core of the package: the image.

If you want an individual fun car the ForFour is one of the best options in the market place at the price. This style comes at a premium, but for many the price will be worth paying. Considering the level of engineering, equipment and quality the ForFour should appeal to people other than the fashion conscious as well. It isn't a stand out innovative car like say the Honda Jazz, but it is still a very competent super-mini that will appeal to a broad spectrum of the buying public.