Editor’s Pick June 2025 | Smart car, stupid power

Reviews Editor Dan Trent writes…

Nobody needs 600-odd horsepower in an electric family SUV but the Smart #5 I was driving the other week has it anyway, this hot on the heels of the existing 428 horsepower versions of the #1 and #3 it will join when it goes on sale in the autumn.
And it’s all the fault of Brabus. Again.

Because these two brands have previous, the odd-couple hook-up between Smart and the German power junkies dating back to the days of the OG ForTwo. Back then Smart was known for tiny city cars, and Brabus for monster Mercedes with ridiculously powerful engines and bodykits only a Bundesliga footballer could love. Somehow the two got chatting and Brabus developed a range of wheels and trim bits for people who wanted a taste of its style … in a Smart car.
Power upgrades inevitably followed, and I have fond memories of the various Brabus-boosted Smarts that followed over the years, inevitably leading me to a bit of virtual tyre kicking on Autotrader to see what might help pass the time before the #5 actually goes on sale later in the year. And the ForFour Brabus I’ve found might actually be one of the rarest, given as I write this there’s literally only one listed. Possibly because when it was new everyone thought it was a bit rubbish, so not many were sold.

Maybe it’s the rose tints but I remember driving the ForFour Brabus back in the day and actually rather liking it. The signature Brabus wheels filled out the bodywork in suitably muscular fashion, and were dead cool for the fact they were the same design as those on the tuner’s 200mph Mega Mercs. The turbocharged engine might only have had 177 horsepower – little over a quarter of what the #5 has – but the whole car was light, agile and handled like a go-kart on its stiff suspension. OK, VERY stiff suspension. But that was OK, because it was a proper hot hatch.
Trouble is it was also very expensive. And a bit weird looking. So, most people – me included, as it happens – shrugged and bought hot Clios instead.

But every (under)dog deserves its day. And, fired up by the #5’s expression of the enduring relationship between the two brands, I think the ForFour Brabus is due some belated recognition. That’s another Autotrader search saved as ‘one to watch’, then.
Search for a Smart ForFour Brabus on Autotrader!